Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
about Mediterranean Sea pollution arose between the late 1960s and 1974
when some Mediterranean oi cials expressed for the i rst time a need
for action and governments sought ways to obtain information on the
extent of marine pollution by identifying sources and types of pollutants
and on possible ways to deal with the situation. Since adequate informa-
tion was not yet available the attention focused on oil pollution resulting
from maritime trai c and accidental spills, as this was the most visible
form. Afterwards, however, several scientii c meetings and conferences
revealed a variety of pollutants and their sources, with the most impor-
tant being the land-based, so in 1974 a i rst draft of a treaty was prepared
by the Food and Agriculture Organization. However, later the same
year, Mediterranean governments approached another United Nations
organization, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to
guide and support this regional ef ort, which in turn, with the help of 40
Mediterranean marine experts, developed a comprehensive plan. Finally,
in 1975 the Mediterranean Action Plan was adopted including seven
monitoring and research projects, for an entire set of pollutant types and
sources, and several pilot demonstration projects (Haas, 1990, ch. 3).
Thereafter MAP gradually widened its scope through creation of proto-
cols covering land-based sources of pollution, marine dumping, tanker oil
pollution, as well as pollution transported by rivers and in the atmosphere
and by extending the lists to include more pollutants. The environmental
assessment component of MAP also evolved as the research and monitor-
ing projects increased from seven to 12 and some interim standards were
developed (Haas, 1990, ch. 4).
However, following the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and
Development 'Earth Summit' in Rio and the requirements of the Rio
Declaration on Environment and Development (Agenda 21), MAP
attempted to translate the results of the summit onto the regional
Mediterranean level, and adapted Agenda 21 to the Mediterranean
context by setting up Agenda MED 21. This led to adoption of the Action
Plan for the Protection of the Marine Environment and Sustainable
Development of the Coastal Areas of the Mediterranean (MAP II) on 10
June 1995 (UNEP, 1995b). MAP II rel ected both increasing concern for
the pressures exerted on the Mediterranean environment and commitment
of Mediterranean states to the ideal of sustainable development.
International environmental cooperation and the creation of the
Mediterranean Action Plan
Regional cooperation was necessary to create a treaty aimed at protection
of the Mediterranean against pollution. Environmental cooperation, as
with any other international relations procedure, requires dif erent actors
