Protect the Mediterranean?
YES!!
But...
Ratify the Barcelona convention and its protocols
NOW!!

The Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean, signed in Barcelona in 1976 and which has since given rise to a series of protocols, together with the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) signed in February 1975, have not been fulfilled.

In 1995 there was a substantial modification of the Convention which is now called the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and Coastal Zones of the Mediterranean, and most of the protocols underwent major changes, and the Phase II of the MAP was approved, which is now known as the Action Plan for the protection of the Marine Environment. These changes have to be approved by the governments that are the Contracting Parties, together with the European Union, and then have to be ratified by the respective parliaments in order for them to come into effect. By the end of 1998, only 2 states (Monaco and Tunisia) had ratified the modified convention and the new and modified protocols. This means that the situation is blocked and that ratification of these instruments is urgent, as they are essential for the effective protection of the Mediterranean and its coastal zones.

MED Forum, the "Network of Mediterranean NGOs for Ecology and Sustainable Development", with more than 80 NGO members from 24 Mediterranean countries, wishes to denounce this situation in which these legal treaties are paralyzed and to stress how important it is that the governments should present them to their national parliaments for their immediate ratification and then enforcement, in order to improve the current situation of degradation of the Mediterranean Sea and its coastal zones.

Which documents have not yet been ratified?

6 of the 7 documents have been substantially modified and have to be ratified by the national parliaments. For them to come into effect, they have to be ratified by at least 6 of the Contracting Parties (20 states and the European Union). The fact that these important documents have not been ratified means that their contents can not be applied.

The following are awaiting ratification:

1. The Barcelona Convention. Modifications approved in 1995 (3 years ago)

2. The Protocol on Marine Platforms. Approved in 1994 (4 years ago).

3. The Protocol on Specially Protected Areas. Approved in 1995 (3 years ago).

4. The Protocol on Pollution from Ships. Modifications approved in 1995 (3 years ago).

5. The Protocol on Pollution from Land Sources. Modifications approved in 1996 (2 years ago)

6. The Protocol on Trans-frontier Residues. Approved in 1997 (1 year ago)

Why is it important that these 6 documents have not been ratified?

It means that the modified contents of the Barcelona Convention can not be applied, or those of the modified conventions, or the new protocols that have not yet come into force. This means that the scope of the Barcelona Convention, which in 1975 was effectively restricted to the marine waters of the Mediterranean, and which after the modifications of 1995 includes the coastal zones and watersheds, does still not apply to the terrestrial zone that is responsible for most of the Mediterranean Sea's problems.

What are the most important measures that are not being applied because the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols are not being applied?

The measures that have been approved could represent a great improvement in the protection of the Mediterranean, but they cannot be enforced because the various Contracting Parties (the coastal states plus the European Union) have not yet ratified it.

The following are the most important measures in each of the documents:

Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and Coastal Zones of the Mediterranean (The Barcelona Convention):

The convention could be extended to apply to defined coastal zones by each one of the Contracting Parties within their own territory (Article 1.2.).

Every Protocol to the Convention could be extended to the geographical scope to which that Protocol is applied (Article 1.3.).

The Contracting Parties will take individually or jointly all the measures necessary, in accordance with the stipulations of the Convention and its Protocols (...) to prevent, reduce, combat, and as far as possible, eliminate pollution in the zone of the Mediterranean Sea and to protect and improve the marine environment in the zone in order to contribute to its sustainable development (Article 4.1.).

In order to achieve the aim of sustainable development, the Contracting Parties will take fully into account the recommendations of the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development (MCSD) as established within the framework of the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP). (Article 4.2).

The Contracting Parties will try to ensure that their competent authorities provide adequate public access to information on the state of the environment that is within the scope of this Convention and its protocols (Article 15.1).

The Contracting Partiees will ensure that the public has the opportunity to participate in the decision-taking procedures (Article 15.2.).

Protocol on the prevention and elimination of pollution of the Mediterranean Sea by discharges from boats, airships, or incineration at sea (Protocol on Discharges from Boats)

The discharge of wastes or other materials is prohibited, except for:

- Dredging materials
- Fishing wastes
- Boats, until December 31, 2000
- Platforms and other structures (Article 4)

Incineration at sea is prohibited (Article 7)

The Protocol on Specially Protected Areas and Biodiversity in the Mediterranean (SPA Protocol)

Every Party can establish specially protected areas in the marine and coastal areas subject to its sovereignty or jurisdiction (Article 5).

The Parties will establish "a list of Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMI)" (Article 8).

The Parties will take concerted measures to ensure the protection and conservation of the flora and fauna listed in the Annexes to this Protocol, in relation to the list of threatened and endangered species and the list of species whose exploitation is controlled (Article 12.1)

Each party will draw up an inventory of:

- Zones containing rare or fragile ecosystems
- Threatened or endangered species of animal or plant

 

Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea from pollution caused by land-based sources and activities (Protocol on Pollution of Terrestrial Origin)

The scope of this Protocol includes:

- The Mediterranean Sea zone
- The watershed of the Mediterranean Sea
- Brackish and saline coastal waters, including coastal marshes and lakes and underground waters (Article 3).

A meeting of the parties will adopt, by a two thirds majority, the short- and medium-term action plans and regional programs containing the measures and timetables for their completion (...)

The nonratification of the Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea from pollution caused by land-based sources and activities (Protocol on Pollution of Terrestrial Origin), approved in Syracuse in 1996, and which takes into account the World Action Plan for the Protection of the marine environment from pollution caused by land-based activities adopted in Washington in 1995, means that the measures contained in the Strategic Action Program (SAP) to combat pollution caused by land-based activities, which was approved in Tunis in 1997, can not be applied.

Some of the most important measures in the SAP are:

- By the year 2005, cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants will be connected to a drainage system and will treat their sewage
- They will update and adopt, within a period of two years, national regulations on the discharge of sewage into rivers and the sea.
- By the year 2000 they will establish RSU collection and elimination systems that are environmentally appropriate and economically viable.
- By the year 2005, air pollution levels in cities of more than 100,000 inhabitants, and in the areas of interest, will conform to the dispositions of the Protocol,and other internationally accepted dispositions.
- By the year 2005, to draw up and adopt air quality objectives for the different air pollutants.
- By the year 2005, to draw up and adopt guidelines for the treatment and elimination of industrial discharges.
- By the year 2010, to draw up and adopt, where appropriate, environmental quality criteria and objectives, and values for emission limits for discharges from point sources into the water or atmosphere.
- By the year 2010 to eliminate progressively the inputs of the 9 listed pesticides (*) and PCBs, and to reduce the input of undesired pollutants as far as possible.
- By the year 2005 to reduce by 50% the inputs of the 12 priority POP.
- By the year 2005 to collect and eliminate all PCB residues in a safe and environmentally appropriate way.
- Within two years, to draw up an inventory of the quantities and uses of the 9 pesticides and PCBs, and of the industrial premises that manufacture or treat them.
- By the year 200 to progressively suppress the use of the 9 pesticides.
- By the year 2000, to prohibit the manufacture, sale and new uses of PCBs, and by 2010 to prohibit all the existing uses.
- By the year 2000, to organize the collection and the environmentally safe elimination of the existing quantities of the 9 pesticides.
- By the year 2025 to progressively eliminate, as far as possible, the inputs of PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons).
- By the year 2010 to reduce PAH inputs by 25%.
- By the year 2010 to formulate and adopt, where appropriate, values for emission limits for sources of PAH.
- By the year 2000, to reduce by 25% the discharges, emissions and losses of heavy metals (mercury, cadmium and lead); by the year 2005, to reduce this by 50%; and by the year 2025 to progressively eliminate, as far as possible, all discharges.
- By the year 2025, to dispose of all dangerous wastes in a safe and environmentally rational way: to reduce this quantity by 20% within 10 years, and to eliminate 50% by 2010.
- By the year 2005, to collect and dispose of all obsolete chemical products.
- By the year 2000, to draw up an inventory of used lubricant oils, and by the year 2005 to collect and dispose of 50%.
- By the year 2010, to dispose of 50% of used batteries in a safe and environmentally sound way, and within 10 years to reduce the quantity of used batteries by 20%.
- By the year 200, a permanent register will be established of the quantity and quality of water in the rivers.
- To identify the potential participation of NGOs in the SAP.

Protocol for the protection of the Mediterranean Sea from pollution caused by exploration and exploitation of the Continental Shelf, the sea floor and its subsoil (the Protocol on Sea Floors)

All the activities performed in the zone governed by the Protocol, including the on-site construction of installations, will require written authorization in advance for exploration or exploitation, which must be issued by the relevant authority (Article 4.1).

The Contracting Party shall require all requests for authorization, or their renewal, to be subject to the presentation of the project by the aspiring operator to the competent authority, and this request must contain the responses to a series of requirements that are listed (Article 5.1).

The Parties will impose on the operators the general obligation to use the best techniques available, that are ecologically effective and economically suitable, and to respect internationally accepted standards, in order to reduce the danger of pollution to a minimum (Article 8).

The Parties commit themselves to cooperate, as soon as possible, to draw up and adopt suitable procedures to determine responsibilities and compensation for damage caused (Article 27).

Protocol on the prevention of Pollution in the Zone of the Mediterranean Sea caused by the trans-frontier movement of dangerous wastes, and their elimination (The Protocol on Trans-frontier Movement of Wastes)

The parties will take all the measures necessary to reduce to a minimum the trans-frontier movement of dangerous wastes and, where possible, eliminate this movement in the Mediterranean. To achieve this aim, the Parties will have the right to prohibit, individually or collectively, the import of dangerous wastes (Article 5.3).

(...) all the Parties will take the necessary legal or administrative measures, or of any other type, within the zone subject to their jurisdiction to prohibit the export of dangerous wastes, or their transit, to developing countries, and the Parties that are not member states of the European Union will prohibit the import and transit of all dangerous wastes (Article 5.4).

The parties will present annual reports to the Organization on the dangerous wastes that they have generated and transferred within the zone governed by the Protocol (Article 8).

Each Party will pass appropriate national legislation to prevent and punish illegal traffic, including the imposition of prison sentences for all those involved in these illegal activities.

The Protocol on Cooperation to Combat Pollution of the Mediterranean in situations of emergency, caused by hydrocarbons and other prejudicial substances (Protocol on Emergencies).

What is Med Forum, the "Network of Mediterranean NGOs for Ecology and Sustainable development" going to do to ensure the ratification of the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols.

We are going to start a campaign, aimed at all the Contracting Parties (the Member States) of the Barcelona, requesting its urgent ratification. We will send messages to the Governments and their respective Parliaments to denounce this situation, and we are going to start a campaign to raise public awareness so that the public will demand the immediate ratification and then application of the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols in order to improve the environmental situation in the Mediterranean Basin.

General Assembly of Med Forum,

Barcelona November 21, 1998.