The Nineteenth Ordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (“the Barcelona Convention”) and its Protocols, which was held in Athens, Greece from 9 to 12 February 2016, adopted Decision IG.22/3 related to the Mediterranean Offshore Action Plan in the framework of the Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution resulting from Exploration and Exploitation of the Continental Shelf and the Seabed and its Subsoil, hereinafter referred to as the Mediterranean Offshore Action Plan (UNEP(DEPI)/MED IG.22/28).
In accordance with Specific objective 3 of the Mediterranean Offshore Action Plan and Article 23 of the Offshore Protocol, as the core substance of the Offshore Protocol aims at establishing common standards and guidelines to harmonise regional practices in the Mediterranean region, Contracting Parties agreed to consider relevant existing standards and guidelines in this field (vide REMPEC/WG.35/INF.3), in line with overarching ecosystem-based ecological objectives, EcAp Roadmap and in particular with the Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme (IMAP) of United Nations Environment Programme/Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP). Contracting Parties further agreed to develop and adopt the regional offshore standards and guidelines identified in Specific objective 7 and Specific objective 8, respectively.
The Nineteenth Ordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols agreed to support the development of the following offshore common standards and guidelines in the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) Programme of Work and Budget 2016-2017:
1 Develop the common offshore standards on the disposal of oil and oily mixtures, the use and disposal of drilling fluids and cutting and analytical measurements (Activity 2.2.1.3)
2 Prepare Environment Impact Assessment guidelines from Offshore activities (Activity 2.2.1.10)
3 Develop the offshore common standards and guidelines for Special restrictions or conditions for specially protected areas (Activity 3.2.2.7)
To support REMPEC in carrying out this activity, which is financed by the Mediterranean Trust Fund (MTF), proposals for the provision of consultancy services for the development of the above mentioned offshore common standards and guidelines should be sent to REMPEC not later than five (5) p.m. (Malta local time) on Friday, 19 December 2016:
For information on how to apply, please visit the REMPEC website
