Liability for polluting the mediterranean sea. The protocol on pollution from land based sources: impact on the eu's...
| Autor | Bernat Mullerat |
| Páginas | vLex |
Liability for polluting the mediterranean sea. The protocol on pollution from land based sources: impact on the eu’s law and policy.
The Mediterranean Sea is a relatively closed extension of water only connected to the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar, to the Indic Ocean through a man-made watercourse and to the Black Sea though the Straits of Bosphorus and the Dardanelles.
As a result of its specific morphologic and geographic features, the Mediterranean Sea requires continuous input of water to preserve its total volume. More importantly, renovation of sea water in the Mediterranean Sea is extremely slow, taking approximately 100 years for its complete renovation. These natural conditions result in a low capacity to absorb and neutralise polluting substances.
On the other hand, the population of the coastal states is approximately 415 million people. This population is greatly increased by the seasonal migration to the Mediterranean coast which brings approximately 100 million people each year.
Marine environment experts generally agree that the natural features of the Mediterranean coupled with the population, tourist and industrial activities place upon the Mediterranean Sea an excessively heavy burden that is not easily dealt with by natural factors.
In view of the above, it is understandable that the protection of the marine environment at regional level was achieved in the Mediterranean Sea before anywhere else.
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Background to the Barcelona Convention
The background to the regional system for environmental protection in the Mediterranean can be traced back to the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm in 1972. The Stockholm Declaration proclaimed that "[a] growing class of environmental problems, because they are regional or global in extent or because they affect the common international realm, will require extensive co-operation among nations and action by international organisations in the common interest".
As a result of this Conference the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) was created and in 1974 the UNEP drafted a Regional Seas Programme.
In 1975 the Intergovernmental Conference for the protection of the environment adopted, under the auspices of the UNEP, the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP). The
MAP is a general programme which sets out a co-operation system among riparian states for the purposes of protecting the Mediterranean Sea against pollution.
The MAP is comprised of 4 chapters:
· Integrated planning of resources development and planning in the Mediterranean basin.
· Programme for the investigation and surveillance of pollution in the Mediterranean.
· Legal framework.
· Institutional and financial impact.
On the following year, the UNEP organised a conference of plenipotentiaries of the Mediterranean riparian states in order to develop the legal framework chapter of the MAP. This conference took place in Barcelona from 2 to 16 February 1976 and concluded with the adoption of the Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea Against Pollution (the "Barcelona Convention").
The main objective of the Barcelona Convention is to prevent, reduce and abate pollution in the Mediterranean Sea. To that effect, it sets out a number of general obligations on prevention of pollution by dumping from ships, from land-based sources, accidents and from the exploitation of sea beds.
Since the obligations contemplated under the Barcelona Convention are not self-executing, two protocols were adopted together with the Convention:
a. Protocol for the Prevention of Pollution in the Mediterranean Sea by Dumping from Ships and Aircraft, 16 February 1976, Barcelona.
b. Protocol concerning Co-operation in Combating Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea by Oil and other Harmful Substances in case of Emergency, 16 February 1976, Barcelona.
In the first meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention that took place in Geneva in 1979, the executive Director of UNEP was requested to convene a meeting of plenipotentiaries to adopt a protocol on pollution from land-based sources. This conference took place in Athens on 1980 and adopted the Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution from Land-Based Sources (the "Athens Protocol").
The following Protocols to the Barcelona Convention have also been adopted:
a. Protocol concerning Mediterranean Specially Protected Areas, 3 April 1982, Geneva.
b. Protocol on Protection against Pollution from Exploration of the Continental Platform and the sea bed and its subsoil, 14 October 1994, Madrid.
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The Conference of Barcelona 1995 - Amendments to the Barcelona Convention
Immediately after the IX Ordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties, the plenipotentiaries held a conference in Barcelona in which the following instruments...
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