Barcelona Convention

The Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution ( Barcelona Convention for Protection against English Pollution in the Mediterranean Sea ) was signed by 14 States and the European Union in Barcelona in 1976 and is therefore also known as the Barcelona Convention and the Barcelona Convention. The regulations became effective on February 12, 1978 in force in 1995 and revised and re-signed by all parties.

The Convention belongs together with the protocols and the Mediterranean Action Plan to the Regional Seas Programme of the United Nations Environment Programme ( UNEP).

Objectives

The Barcelona Convention is to prevent target the pollution of the Mediterranean through the air and maritime transport, as well as facilities on the mainland or curb. The focus is on the ocean dumping, waste water discharge and pollutant infiltration. The signatories agree to provide in the event of an emergency which threatens the environment, to cooperate in the framework of the monitoring and research and mutually to provide assistance.

The protocols

The implementation of the Barcelona takes place primarily via multiple protocols:

• Protocol for the Prevention of Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea by dumping from ships and aircraft
• Protocol concerning cooperation in combating pollution of the Mediterranean Sea by oil and other harmful substances
• Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against pollution from land-based
• Protocol concerning Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean
• Protocol concerning cooperation in preventing pollution from ships and in combating pollution of the Mediterranean Sea in emergencies
• Protocol on Integrated Coastal Zone Management in the Mediterranean

Parties

Albania, Algeria, Bosnia - Herzegovina, Cyprus, Croatia, Egypt, Spain, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Monaco, Montenegro, Slovenia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey and the European Community have the convention signed. The status of ratification of the individual protocols varies widely from country to country.