Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
2.4.3 The regional legal regime
The regional agreements considered here are regional seas conventions and action plans and
the instruments adopted by regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements.
Both elaborate and supplement the UNCLOS regime in their respective regions, and provide
forspecial areas where a higher level ofprotection can be established. They incorporate eco-
system approaches to various degrees, but there is a growing trend to move beyond single
species management and towards ecosystem-based management, and management of sea-
scapes. The text below looks at the degree to which this has been achieved, and the types of
modern management approaches and tools that are employed.
Regional seas conventions
There are currently 18 regional seas agreements and programmes, 13 of which have been es-
tablished under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Some
agreements, such as those in the North-East Atlantic and the Antarctic, pre-date the estab-
lishment of UNEP. Most regional seas have adopted binding framework conventions, while
others have non-binding action plans as a basis for their cooperation. Several have proto-
cols relating to specially protected areas and wildlife. Only six of these regional seas con-
ventions explicitly cover areas beyond national jurisdiction. These are the Convention for
the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR Convention),
the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the
Mediterranean (BarcelonaConvention),theConventionfortheProtectionoftheNaturalRe-
sources and Environment of the South Pacific Region (Noumea Convention), the Antarctic
Treaty, the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of
the Wider Caribbean Region (Cartagena Convention), and the Convention for the Protection
of the Marine Environment and Coastal Area of the South-East Pacific (Lima Convention).
In most cases, the area beyond national jurisdiction covered by these conventions is relat-
ively small.
