The Convention for the Protection
of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic
During the latter half of the last century
deliberate dumping of substances and spillage disasters in the
North-East Atlantic highlighted the need for international
cooperation to combat marine pollution in this region. Accordingly,
the Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping
from Ships and Aircraft (the Oslo Convention) was adopted in 1972
to address pollution at sea, while the Convention for the
Prevention of Marine Pollution from Land-Based Sources (the Paris
Convention) was adopted in 1974 to address marine pollution by
discharges of dangerous substances from land-based sources,
watercourses or pipelines.
The Convention for the
Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic
(
OSPAR) was adopted in Paris, France in September
1992 and entered into force in March 1998. OSPAR replaced both the
Oslo and Paris Conventions, with the intention of providing a
comprehensive and simplified approach to addressing all sources of
pollution which might affect the maritime area, as well as matters
relating to the protection of the marine environment other than
those relating to the prevention and elimination of pollution. It
retained all decisions, recommendations and agreements adopted
under the previous Conventions, subject to termination through the
adoption of new measures under OSPAR. An OSPAR Commission was
established to administer the Convention and to develop policy and
international agreements. In July 1998 parties agreed on a new
Annex V on the protection and conservation of the ecosystems and
biological diversity of the maritime area, and a new appendix 3
with criteria for identifying human activities for the purpose of
Annex V. The Commission has adopted five strategies for directing
its work. Measures and programmes within the Biodiversity Strategy
include the identification of ecological quality objectives of the
North Sea, development of lists of species and habitats in need of
protection, identification and selection of marine protected areas,
and the prevention and control of adverse impacts from human
activities.
The UK ratified OSPAR in 1998, and Annex V and Appendix 3 in
June 2000. The OSPAR Commission Secretariat is based in the UK.
Implementation in the UK is coordinated by the Department for
Environment Food and Rural Affairs' (Defra) Marine and Waterways
Division, with contributions to OSPAR Committees by a variety of
government departments, the devolved administrations and agencies.
Defra's European Wildlife Division leads on the UK's input to
implementation of Annex V, which is undertaken by the OSPAR
Biodiversity Committee.