Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
was replaced by an amended version taking into account recommendations
of the 1992 Rio Conference on Environment and Development and it was
recorded as the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment
and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean, being in force since 2004.
The amended version of the Barcelona Convention introduces new prin-
ciples such as Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the polluter pays
principle and the precautionary principle and also suggests time limits
for environmental regulations (UNEP/MAP, 2005a). The 22 Contracting
Parties to the Barcelona Convention are: Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, the European Community, France,
Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Morocco, Serbia
and Montenegro, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey.
As described in Article 1.1 of the Convention (UNEP/MAP, 2005a),
geographically it covers:
the maritime waters of the Mediterranean Sea proper, including its gulfs and
seas, bounded to the west by the meridian passing through Cape Spartel light-
house, at the entrance of the Straits of Gibraltar, and to the east by the south-
ern limits of the Straits of the Dardanelles between Mehmetcik and Kumkale
lighthouses.
As is obvious from the above dei nition, the internal waters of the
Contracting Parties are excluded in the provisions, as are the Black Sea,
the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus, since the 'demarcation line' is the
southern limit of the Straits of the Dardanelles. In the following provi-
sions, the Convention may be extended to include coastal areas as dei ned
by each Contracting Party within its own territory, and also any Protocol
to the Convention may extend geographical coverage to that which the
particular Protocol applies.
In Article 2(a) pollution is dei ned and described as:
the introduction by man, directly or indirectly, of substances or energy into the
marine environment, including estuaries, which results, or is likely to result,
in such deleterious ef ects such as harm to living resources and marine life,
hazards to human health, hindrance to marine activities, including i shing and
other legitimate uses of the sea, impairment of quality for use of seawater and
reduction of amenities.
The protocols to the Barcelona Convention, also summarized in Table 7.1,
are the following:
Dumping Protocol.
The full title is 'Protocol for the Prevention of
Pollution in the Mediterranean Sea by Dumping from Ships and
Aircraft'. It was signed in 1976 and has been in force since 1978.
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