| Name of treaty,convention, agreement |
Main provisions and specific use in MPA creation |
Area of coverage |
Website |
Abidjan Convention - Convention for Cooperation in the Protection and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the West and Central African Region
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Adopted 1981 and in force since 1984, this convention covers the marine environment, coastal zones and related inland waters falling within the jurisdiction of the states of the Western African Region, from Mauritania to South Africa.
Out of the 22 countries in the Abidjan Convention region, 14 have so far ratified the convention. |
West Africa |
Abidjan Convention link |
ACCOBAMS - Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area
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Signed 1996, under the Bonn Convention (CMS), ACCOBAMS entered into force in 2001. It applies to coastal Mediterranean and Black Sea countries.Annex 1 lists the cetaceans of the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Atlantic Contiguous Area.
It specifically aims to establish a network of 'specially protected areas to conserve cetaceans'.It prohibits the deliberate killing of cetaceans in national waters. |
Mediterranean and Black seas: national waters (declared only to 12nm with some exceptions) and high seas |
ACCOBAMS link see Cetaceans of the Mediterranean and Black Seas: State of Knowledge and Conservation Strategies |
ASCOBANS - Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas
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Signed 1991, under the Bonn Convention (CMS), ASCOBANS entered into force in 1994.It originally covered small cetaceans in the Baltic and North seas, but by 2008 it was extended west to cover the Northeast Atlantic, including the Irish Sea.
The aim of the agreement is to promote close cooperation among countries to protect small cetaceans - dolphins, porpoises and beaked whales - in this region. The agreement does not include the larger whales.
MPAs are called areas of special importance (ASI). |
Baltic and North seas, Western European seas: to EEZ limits |
ASCOBANS link
CMS link |
Barcelona Convention - Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea Against Pollution
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Established under UNEP in 1975, the Barcelona Convention was amended in 1995. The Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP) applies to all Mediterranean coastal states.
Established in 1985, the Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas (RAC/SPA) was entrusted by parties to the convention to assist Mediterranean countries to implement the Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity (SPA/ BD Protocol), which came into force in 1999. |
Mediterranean: national waters (declared only to 12nm with some exceptions) and high seas |
Barcelona Convention link |
Bern Convention - The Emerald Network; Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats
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Formulated under the aegis of the European Community Council in 1979, it has been in force since 1982 and covers European states.Cetaceans are listed in Appendix II (List of strictly protected species) and in Appendix III (List of protected species). |
European seas: national waters to EEZ limits (declared and undeclared) |
Bern Convention link |
Bucharest Convention - Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution
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Adopted in 1992, the convention entered force in 1994. As part of the Strategic Action Plan for the Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation of the Black Sea, the Bucharest Convention calls for the reduction of the risk of extinction of threatened species, including the development of a stranding network, bycatch network and network of MPAs eligible for cetacean conservation. |
Black Sea: national waters to EEZ limits and high seas |
Black Sea Commission link
Bucharest Convention link |
Cartagena Convention (Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region) and the Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW)
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This regional association of Greater Caribbean countries was formed with the adoption of the Cartagena Convention in 1983 but not ratified until 1986. It is the key environmental treaty in the wider Caribbean.
The Cartagena Convention set up the Caribbean Environment Programme under the 1990 Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW). The SPAW Protocol, which entered into force in June 2000, recommends the establishment of protected areas and specific measures, providing a framework for developing a regional network of MPAs that would allow protection at the ecosystem level. The implementation is up to the individual states. The SPAW Protocol is also recognized as an instrument to help implement the Convention on Biological Diversity signed by most states. |
Greater Caribbean Sea: national waters to EEZ limits and high seas |
Cartagena Convention link
SPAW link
Oil spill link
Status link |
CCAMLR - Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
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Formulated in 1980, CCAMLR has been in force since 1982 with the objective of conserving living resources in the Southern Ocean.
CCAMLR is an important tool as it promotes research and analysis, partly through an ecosystem-based management approach.
The Madrid Protocol (Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty) regulates environmental protection in Antarctica and, in its Annex V, allows for the development of MPAs called ASPAs (Antarctic Specially Protected Areas). ASPAs include specially protected areas (SPAs), sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) and specially reserved areas. |
Antarctic: high seas |
CCAMLR link
see also the Antarctica and Southern Ocean Coalition site:
web: ASOC link ** Kimball 1999 |
CITES - Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
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Formulated under UNEP in 1973, CITES has been in force since 1975 and has worldwide application.CITES regulates international trade (all international movements for whatever purpose) of species listed on three appendices.
Cetaceans are listed in Appendix 1 (Species threatened with extinction), Appendix 2 (Species not threatened with extinction, but in danger if their commerce is not subject to restraints) and Appendix 3 (Single state protected species, entered into the appendix to regulate exports from their territory). |
World ocean: national waters to EEZ limits and high seas |
CITES link
WCMC link
To contact CITES Trade Database Team, UNEP-WCMC;
email: Email |
CMS or Bonn Convention - Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals
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Established by UNEP in 1979 and entering into force in 1983, CMS conserves 'entire populations or any geographically separate part of the population of any species or lower taxon ... a significant proportion of whose members cyclically and predictably cross one or more national boundaries'. A key operative function of CMS is the creation of regional agreements for the conservation of migratory species.
As of 2010, with seven instruments focusing on marine mammals, four of which are cetacean agreements, CMS holds a leading global and regional role in marine mammal conservation.For cetaceans, see Appendix I (Migratory species in danger) and Appendix II (Migratory species with an unfavourable conservation status requiring international cooperation for conservation and management).
As of 2010, the CMS Scientific Council is tasked to 'consider existing initiatives and research relating to ongoing conservation efforts for marine migratory species, such as the establishment of ecologically representative marine protected area networks and an integrated approach to coastal and marine management' and to report to the next Conference of the Parties (COP) with a way forward for the convention. |
World ocean: national waters to EEZ limits and high seas |
CMS link |
CNSP - Convention on Conservation of Nature in the South Pacific
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Formulated in Apia in 1976, CNSP entered into force in 1990.
CNSP may offer potential for the protection of cetaceans and their habitat in the South Pacific Commission area. |
South Pacific: national waters to EEZ limits and possibly high seas |
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CBD - Convention on Biological Diversity and the Jakarta Mandate
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The CBD, legally binding since 1994, is the most widely supported of all international agreements, with more than 145 countries now party to the convention. It is the first comprehensive international agreement committing governments to protect the Earth's biological resources through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.The CBD, in Article 8, calls on parties to 'as far as possible and as appropriate, establish a system of protected areas or areas where special measures need to be taken to conserve biological diversity'.State parties are asked to take measures to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, to monitor biodiversity in their territories, to identify and take measures for the control of destructive activities, and to integrate consideration of biodiversity within national decision-making.Article 4 states that the CBD applies in areas within national jurisdiction, the EEZs, as well as beyond the limits of national jurisdiction for processes and activities carried out by a member state, regardless of where their effects occur, such as on the high seas. Article 5 adds that states must cooperate with other contracting states, as far as possible and appropriate, in areas beyond national jurisdiction.In 1995, the Jakarta Mandate developed a programme of action for implementing the CBD in terms of marine and coastal biodiversity. Establishing marine and coastal protected areas is one of the five main tenets of the agreement, allied to provisions calling upon states to implement integrated coastal area management and to ensure the sustainable use of coastal and marine living resources.
The CBD established the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) as an expert scientific body to develop the programme of work on marine and coastal biodiversity, including marine protected areas.According to de Fontaubert (2001), the CBD presents 'a strong mandate for the establishment of MPAs on the high seas, constrained only by the need to negotiate with other parties in areas beyond national jurisdiction'. |
World ocean: national waters to EEZ limits and high seas |
CBD link |
EU Habitats Directive (Natura 2000)
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Formulated by the European Community Council in 1992, the EU Habitats Directive (also known as the EU Habitats and Species Directive; full name: Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) applies to all EU states, including the Azores and Madeira (part of Portugal) and the Canary Islands (part of Spain).
Parts relevant to cetaceans include: Annex II (Animal and plant species of community interest whose conservation requires the designation of special areas of conservation - SACs), which, for cetaceans, has only bottlenose dolphins and harbor porpoises; Annex IV (Animal and plant species of community interest in need of strict protection), which covers all the cetacean species in the marine areas of the European Union (EU); and Annex V (Animal and plant species of community interest whose taking in the wild and exploitation may be subject to management measures).
Natura 2000 is the programme to create a network of protected areas across the entire European Community.
The EU Habitats Directive provides a first framework for the protection of coastal and marine wildlife. However, the protection afforded to the offshore, pelagic and deep sea marine environment in this context is extremely limited. |
EU waters: national waters to EEZ limits |
EU Habitats Directive link |
HELCOM or Helsinki Convention - Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area
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This 1992 convention protects Baltic marine waters from pollution partly through creating a system of marine and coastal protected areas.
Signed by countries bordering the Baltic Sea and by the European Community, HELCOM stipulates that all contracting parties must establish a system of coastal and marine protected areas. The Environmental Action Programme has guidelines for offshore protected areas in the Baltic Sea. |
Baltic Sea: national waters to EEZ limits and possibly high seas |
HELCOM link |
ICRW - International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (convention responsible for establishing the International Whaling Commission - IWC)
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Signed in Washington, DC, in 1946 and in force since 1948, ICRW had some 88 nation members (as of 2011) who are parties to the convention and belong to the IWC.
According to ICRW, whale species are protected from overfishing; but there is debate over the definition of 'whale' and whether it includes small cetaceans.
The convention provides for the adoption of regulations designed to open and close waters, including the designation of sanctuaries on the high seas where no whaling is allowed, under Article V of the convention. Approval of a sanctuary through an amendment to the schedule requires a three-quarters majority vote. Currently, two ocean sanctuaries are in place: the Indian Ocean and Southern Ocean.
IWC sanctuaries only prohibit whaling, although there is evidence that these sanctuaries have promoted other conservation measures and research. This agreement provides some precedent, since 1946, of nations working together on the high seas. |
World ocean: high seas |
ICRW link |
Jeddah Convention - Regional Convention for the Conservation of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Environment
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Adopted in 1982 and in force since 1985, Jeddah Convention parties have established the Programme for the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (PERSGA).
PERSGA is the organization 'responsible for the development and implementation of regional programmes for the protection and conservation of the marine environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden'. |
Red Sea and Gulf of Aden |
Jeddah Convention link |
Kuwait Convention - Kuwait Regional Convention for Cooperation on the Protection of the Marine Environment from Pollution (ROPME)
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The Kuwait Convention was adopted in 1978 and has been in force since 1979.
ROPME objectives are to coordinate the member states' efforts towards protection of water quality in the ROPME Sea Area and to protect environmental systems and marine life, as well as to abate the pollution caused by the development activities of the member states. ROPME member states must exert maximum efforts to protect the marine environment and prevent pollution. |
Persian Gulf including national waters of Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates |
Kuwait Convention link |
Lima Convention or CPPS - Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and Coastal Area of the South-East Pacific
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In force since 1986, CPPS is implemented under the guidelines of UNEP OCA/PAC's Action Plan for the Protection of the Marine Environment and Coastal Areas of the South-East Pacific. CPPS includes the countries of Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Panamá and Peru.
CPPS is aimed at stopping marine pollution and could help to protect cetacean prey and habitat.The Coordinated Programme on Marine Pollution Monitoring and Control in the South-East Pacific (CONPACSE) is a monitoring and assessment programme under CPPS. |
Southeast Pacific: national waters to EEZ limits and possibly high seas |
CPPS link |
MARPOL Agreement - International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships put into practice by IMO (International Maritime Organization)
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Drafted in 1973 and in force since 1978, IMO is a UN forum on shipping issues which formulates international regulations on shipping.
IMO recognizes its responsibilities to limit adverse environmental impacts from shipping. IMO can designate particularly sensitive sea areas (PSSAs) within EEZs or on the high seas to protect significant ecological, socioeconomic or scientific features that may be vulnerable to damage by maritime activities (MPA News, 2002a).Candidate PSSAs can be suggested by member states, and are then reviewed by the Marine Environment Protection Committee. Guidelines list ecological, social, cultural, economic and scientific criteria to be met before an area can be designated a PSSA.
Designated PSSAs may have traffic separation schemes, pilotage, vessel traffic services and no-discharge areas to avoid the risk of collision, grounding and other adverse impacts from shipping. The measures are legally binding to the vessels belonging to all IMO members. PSSAs are located in or near MPAs such as the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, the Wadden Sea Conservation Area, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and the proposed Alborán Sea SPAMI. |
World ocean: national waters to EEZ limits and high seas |
MARPOL link |
NAFO - Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization and Convention on Future Multilateral Cooperation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries
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Instituted in 1978 in Ottawa, NAFO has been in force since 1979.
NAFO covers all fisheries in the convention area and is supposed to include cetaceans not covered by IWC (ICRW, listed above). |
Northwest Atlantic: national waters to EEZ limits and high seas |
NAFO link |
Nairobi Convention or MCEA - Convention for the Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Eastern African Region
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Adopted in 1985, the Protocol Concerning Protected Areas and Wild Fauna and Flora in the Eastern African Region entered into force in 1996.
Protocol applies to regional waters, gives protection to listed species (Annex II and IV), including migratory species (such as blue and humpback whales) and ecosystems. Contracting parties 'shall ... establish protected areas in areas under their jurisdiction with a view to safeguarding the natural resources of the Eastern African region and shall take all appropriate measures to protect those areas [and] shall take into account, inter alia, their importance as (a) natural habitats, and in particular as critical habitats, for species of fauna and flora, especially those which are rare, threatened or endemic; (b) migration routes or as wintering, staging, feeding or moulting sites for migratory species'. |
East African and western Indian Ocean countries: national waters to EEZ limits and possibly high seas |
Nairobi Convention link |
Noumea Convention - Convention for the Protection of the Natural Resources and Environment of the South Pacific Region
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Adopted at Noumea in 1986, the Noumea Convention entered into force in 1990 as the umbrella agreement for the protection and management of the marine and coastal environment of the Pacific Islands Region.
Provisions include management of pollution from vessels, land-based sources, seabed activities and airborne particulates, and testing of nuclear devices; but there is also a provision for creating specially protected areas. |
Pacific Islands Region: national waters to EEZ limits and high seas |
Noumea Convention link |
OSPAR Convention - Oslo and Paris Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic
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Environment ministers of 15 Northeast Atlantic states and the members of the European Commission agreed in 1998 to identify marine species, habitats or ecosystems that need protection and to 'promote the establishment of a network of marine protected areas to ensure the sustainable use and protection and conservation of marine biological diversity and its ecosystems'. They signed Annex V to the OSPAR Convention and adopted the Strategy on the Protection and Conservation of Ecosystems and Biological Diversity of the Maritime Area.
Annex V (on the Protection and Conservation of the Ecosystems and Biological Diversity of the Maritime Area) promotes the establishment of specific areas needing protection and management of human activities in these areas, while Appendix 3 provides the Criteria for Identifying Human Activities for the Purpose of Annex V.
The OSPAR maritime area covers territorial waters from the 12-200nm (22.2-370.4km) EEZ and beyond, on the high seas of the Northeast Atlantic. Also relevant to this area are the EU Common Fisheries Policy, the Norwegian Fisheries Policy and the Icelandic Fisheries Policy. |
Northeast Atlantic Ocean: EEZs and high seas |
Nijkamp and Bijvoet 1996; Evans 1999; Evans and Urquiola 2001; Urquiola and Evans 2001 OSPAR link |
Pacific Cetaceans MoU - Memorandum of Understanding for the Conservation of Cetaceans and Their Habitats in the Pacific Islands Region
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Launched in September 2006, the Pacific Cetaceans MoU was negotiated under the auspices of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), in collaboration with the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
The MoU includes plans to protect and conserve Pacific cetaceans and their habitats, including their migratory corridors. It states that each signatory, as appropriate, will implement the MoU in the Pacific Islands Region with respect to its nationals and vessels; and the marine areas under its jurisdiction. Although not legally binding, this text suggests that the MoU has an implied competency to agree on the management of activities outside of national jurisdictions within the defined MoU area. |
Pacific Islands Region: national waters to EEZ limits and high seas |
Pacific Cetaceans MoU link |
PCSP - Permanent Commission and Agreements of the Conference on the Use and Conservation of the Marine Resources of the South Pacific
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Initiated in 1952 to regulate catching of large baleen and sperm whales in the South Pacific, PCSP was the first international agreement to claim jurisdiction over all marine resources, including the sea floor within 200nm (370km) of the coast.
This agreement has not been actively pursued since Chile and Peru joined the IWC in 1979 and Colombia and Ecuador stopped whaling; but it is said that this agreement may have potential for dealing with the conservation and management of any cetacean species in PCSP waters. |
South Pacific: national waters to EEZ limits and high seas |
PCSP link |
Ramsar - Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat
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Formulated in 1971, Ramsar has been in force since 1975. This convention can protect wetlands, including marine water of not more than 20ft (6m) deep at low tide, which are of international importance to riverine and coastal cetaceans and to more pelagic species using inshore areas (e.g. for breeding or feeding). Many proposed or existing wetlands conservation areas already listed in Appendix II contain, or are likely to contain, cetacean habitat, but all have been listed for other reasons. Ramsar areas may protect the critical habitat of species in the food chain important as cetacean prey and are critical for ecosystem-based management. |
World ocean: inshore portions of national waters only |
Ramsar link |
UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) Regional Seas Programme
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Initiated in 1974 as a global programme to be implemented regionally, the Regional Seas Programme seeks to combat environmental problems through the rational management of marine and coastal areas. As of 2004, there are 13 separate regions and more than 140 participating coastal states and territories. Each regional seas programme is organized around a framework treaty which operates under UNEP. Existing protocols include the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention), the South Pacific (Noumea Convention), the Wider Caribbean (Cartagena Convention), East Africa (Nairobi Convention) and the Northeast Pacific (Antigua Convention). The protocols refer to protective measures, which include MPAs to serve a variety of objectives. For the most part, the terms of the conventions apply both in areas of national jurisdiction and on the high seas in the region. |
Individual regions of the world, typically national waters and high seas |
UNEP Regional Seas link |
SPA Protocol - Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity of the Barcelona Convention
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Established under UNEP in 1995 to apply to coastal states in the Mediterranean, this protocol has been in force since 1999. Appendix 2, which lists threatened species, contains certain cetaceans.There is a list of Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMIs). |
Mediterranean: national waters (declared only to 12nm) and high seas |
SPA Protocol link |
United Nations Agreement on Straddling Fish Stocks (1995)
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The full title of the UN Fish Stocks Agreement, which came into force Dec 2001, is The United Nations Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks. It builds upon and fills gaps in UNCLOS to manage fish species throughout their range between EEZs and the high seas, or migrating over long distances in the high seas. It recognizes the 'biological unity of the stocks'.
Article 6 emphasizes the precautionary approach and insists that states act with protective management to ensure that fish stocks are not damaged. One of the recognized ways to apply the precautionary approach is through MPAs. |
World ocean: national waters to EEZ limits and high seas |
Straddling Fish Stocks Agreement link |
UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB)
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MAB was set up through the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Biosphere reserves provide a valuable model for MPA conservation by combining the conservation, logistic and development roles and by using a combination of highly protected IUCN Category I core areas, along with surrounding areas which integrate the needs of local populations and are less protected transition areas. This model has been widely used by protected areas whether or not they are called 'biosphere reserves'.
Originally envisioned for land-based protected areas, biosphere reserves now include marine areas. Some sites have protected cetacean habitat. |
World ocean: national waters to EEZ limits and possibly high seas |
MAB link |
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED): Agenda 21
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Called Earth's Action Plan, Agenda 21 is a practical manual and blueprint for sustainable development negotiated and adopted by all participating states at UNCED in June 1992.
Chapter 17, on the protection of the oceans, calls on states to undertake measures to maintain biological diversity and productivity of marine species under national jurisdiction, including establishing and managing protected areas. It also calls for states to conserve marine living resources on the high seas, specifying the protection and restoration of endangered marine species and the preservation of habitats and other ecologically sensitive areas. According to de Fontaubert (2001): 'Agenda 21 may well be the most important soft-law instrument that recognizes the possibility of enacting MPAs on the high seas.' |
World ocean: national waters to EEZ limits and high seas |
UNCED link |
UNCLOS - United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea: General provisions
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Initiated in 1982 in New York, UNCLOS entered into force in 1994, after ratification by 60 countries.UNCLOS, often referred to as the Law of the Sea, gives all coastal states the right to extend their territorial sea from the former 3nm (5.5km) to 12nm (22.2km); in practice, many nations had already done this. Most important, it also gives countries the right to declare a marine EEZ up to 200nm (370km) from the coast as well as from national islands off the coast, and up to 350nm (649km) from the coast where a continental shelf extension can be established. Coastal states have management jurisdiction over their EEZ, including the management of both living and non-living marine resources. Other norms of high seas law, such as right of passage, apply.
The regime of the high seas (outside the EEZs) dictates that all states have the right to engage in fishing, subject to treaty obligations and the rights of other states.
UNCLOS also has relevance to areas outside the national EEZs and to high seas MPA creation. UNCLOS is a living treaty, subject to modification and elaboration.
Marine mammals are specifically exempted from the general requirement to promote optimum utilization of living resources within the EEZs and on the high seas. According to Article 65, states are required to prohibit or regulate their exploitation more strictly than with other marine species. 'States shall cooperate with a view to the conservation of marine mammals and in the case of cetaceans shall in particular work through the appropriate international organizations for [their] conservation, management and study.' Article 120 extends this principle to the high seas. |
World ocean: national waters to EEZ limits and high seas |
UNCLOS General Provisions link |
UNCLOS: Environment Regime
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'States have the obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment' (Article 192).States have the right to exploit their natural resources but it must be done in accordance with their environmental policies and duty to protect and preserve the marine environment.
States shall act individually or jointly as appropriate to take all measures necessary for conservation, using the best practical means at their disposal.States shall take measures to ensure that activities under their jurisdiction or control are so conducted as not to cause damage by pollution 'beyond the areas where they exercise sovereign rights'. This also means that a state is responsible for the activities of vessels flying its flag on the high seas.States shall take measures to deal with all sources of pollution of the marine environment.
States must take measures to protect and preserve 'rare or fragile ecosystems as well as the habitat of depleted, threatened or endangered species and other forms of marine life'.
States shall refrain from unjustifiable interference with activities carried out by other states in the exercise of their rights and in pursuance of their duties in conformity with this convention. Thus, UNCLOS protects the rights of other states but holds them accountable for their obligations under the convention - one of which is the Article 192 duty to protect the marine environment. |
World ocean: national waters to EEZ limits and high seas |
UNCLOS Environment Regime link |
UNCLOS: Fisheries Regime
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The states' freedom to fish on the high seas is limited both by the right of other states to fish and their duty to cooperate 'as may be necessary for the conservation of the living resources of the sea'.With the right to fish comes the responsibility to respect the rights of other states and to ensure that the stocks do not become depleted. Overfishing is not permitted.
States shall cooperate to establish subregional or regional fisheries management organizations and to take measures 'which are designed, on the best scientific evidence available ... to maintain or restore populations of harvested species at levels which can produce the maximum sustainable yield'.States, together and/or through the regional fisheries management organizations, can adopt any measures negotiated and deemed necessary for the conservation of fish stocks.
States should take measures on the high seas that take into account the interdependence of stocks and associated species, which can be achieved through the protection of a whole area rather than a mere target stock. |
World ocean: national waters to EEZ limits and high seas |
UNCLOS Fisheries Regime link |
WATCH - Memorandum of Understanding Concerning the Conservation of the Manatee and Small Cetaceans of Western Africa and Macaronesia
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In effect since Oct 2008, this MoU covers small cetaceans and manatees but not large whales, although the agreement could be expanded later to include whales.
The goal is partly to identify essential habitats and critical areas of special biological interest for the region's species, including areas beyond the jurisdiction of the states, and to generate specific public policies and instruments for an appropriate management of knowledge related to cetaceans and their habitats in the different areas of the Macaronesia Region. |
West Africa and Macaronesia: national waters to EEZ limits |
WATCH link |
World Heritage Convention (WHC) - Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage
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Formulated through UNESCO in Paris, in 1972, WHC has been in force since 1975.
WHC is responsible for helping to protect cultural heritage as well as the world's most important natural habitats of threatened animals, and sites of outstanding scientific or conservation value.
Sites included on the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger qualify for the World Heritage Fund, administered by the World Heritage Committee. Some sites have cetacean habitat, although they may have been listed for other reasons. |
World ocean: national waters to EEZ limits and high seas |
World Heritage Convention link |
World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD): Plan of Implementation
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An action plan was agreed to by 189 countries attending the 2002 meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa.
WSSD recommended the establishment of MPAs worldwide under international law and based on scientific information, including representative networks of MPAs, by 2012.
WSSD recommended depleted fish stocks to be restored by 2015, with elimination of all subsidies contributing to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
Regular reporting and assessments of the state of the marine environment are to be made a regular process under the UN. The Global Forum on Oceans, Coasts and Islands was formed with national and international conservation groups and other organizations, and government representatives working on marine initiatives, to confer regularly to ensure that the initiatives, targets and timetables of WSSD are met.
According to Bud Ehler, IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, 'the targets and timetables found in the WSSD Plan of Implementation represent an important advance over actions taken in Chapter 17 of Agenda 21 at the 1992 Earth Summit that had provided few specific targets and timetables for action' (see UNCED: Agenda 21 above). |
World ocean: national waters to EEZ limits and high seas |
WSSD link |
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