On 10 March 2021 the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC), a UNEP/MAP Regional Activity Centre jointly administered with IMO, convened the Regional Meeting of National Experts on the Mediterranean Strategy for the Prevention of, and Response to Marine Pollution from Ships (2022-2031).
Meeting online, representatives of the Contracting parties to the Barcelona Convention pored over a second draft of the Strategy and its Action plan for the decade from 2022-2031. (both documents were tabled by REMPEC as part of its mandate under the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols). The recommendations and conclusions that they adopted will be submitted, along with the Strategy and Action plan, to the 14th Meeting of the Focal Points of REMPEC—the last step before submission for adoption to the 22nd Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols (COP 22), due in December 2021, in Antalya, Turkey.
The representatives of the Contracting Parties agreed to the establishment of a working group, the principal mission of which will be to ensure complementarity with other initiatives and projects implemented in the Mediterranean region. In addition to REMPEC and the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention Secretariat, the group will bring together representatives of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention, IMO, the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (IPIECA), and other stakeholders who will contribute to the implementation of the Strategy.
In his opening statement, Gaetano Leone, Coordinator of UNEP/MAP—Barcelona Convention Secretariat, said that the attendance of the meeting was testament to the importance and relevance of the issue of marine pollution from ships.
The Mediterranean basin hosts 450 ports and terminals and one of the busiest traffic lanes in the world, especially for oil traffic. The incident linked to maritime traffic in the Eastern Mediterranean in February 2021, which resulted in large quantities of tar polluting sections of the coastline and triggered an emergency response from REMPEC, has demonstrated the importance of preparedness and the relevance of the post-2021 Strategy and Action Plan for the Prevention of, and Response to Marine Pollution from Ships.
Comparing the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention system’s endeavour for a healthy Mediterranean Sea and Coast to a jigsaw puzzle, Mr. Leone said that, after 45 years of unrelenting work, the legal, institutional and implementation framework at the disposal of the Contracting Parties “has reached maturity” and that “pieces are falling into place”. He spoke of the importance of dialogue and partnership in the region, and of the power of demonstrative action piloted through the UNEP/MAP project portfolio.
On issues such as pollution from ships, the importance of the regional approach to addressing it under the Barcelona Convention is evident. Mr. Leone highlighted the “integrator” role of UNEP/MAP and its constant strive for synergy and complementarity with existing institutions, instruments, and legal frameworks at the global and regional levels.
“To implement the actions proposed for the next ten years, it will be crucial to coordinate initiatives and processes and build on past and ongoing efforts so as to increase the effectiveness of the resources mobilized for this strategy,” Mr. Leone said in his statement.
The preparation of the Strategy for the Prevention of, and Response to Marine Pollution from Ships (2022-2031) is funded from the Mediterranean Trust Fund (MTF) and with the support of the Integrated Technical Cooperation Programme (ITCP) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Pointing to links with the main thrust of the UNEP/MAP Medium-Term Strategy (2022-2027), the UNEP/MAP Coordinator told the representatives of the Contracting Parties that their work on the Strategy and Action Plan to prevent and respond to marine pollution from ships will also feed into other crucial processes under the Barcelona Convention, including the the Ecosystem Approach, the Mediterranean Strategy on Sustainable Development (MSSD), the post-2020 SAP BIO, the Mediterranean Strategy on Ships’ Ballast Water Management (BWM), and the Regional Plan on Marine Litter Management in the Mediterranean.
The ramifications of the Strategy to prevent and respond to pollution from ships extend to themes such as non-indigenous species, spatial planning for a sustainable blue economy, marine litter prevention and reduction, and air quality enhancement, including through a Roadmap for a proposal for the possible designation of the Mediterranean Sea as a Control Area for Sulphur Oxides under Annex V of the MARPOL Convention.
