3. Key dates
1972: The United Nations General Assembly, meeting at the
Conference on the Human Environment (5-16 June in Stockholm,
Sweden), underlining the 'vital importance' of the seas
and all the living organisms which the oceans support, decides
to create UNEP and endorsed a regional approach to controlling
marine pollution.
1973: The MARPOL Convention for the Prevention of Marine
Pollution from Land-Based Sources is signed at Paris on
4 June (later amended by the Protocol of 26 March 1986).
1974: The Baltic Sea states (seven at that time) sign the
Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of
the Baltic Sea Area, known as the Helsinki Convention.
1974: The UNEP Governing Council decides to set up the
Regional Seas Programme, at first to concentrate on four
regions: the Mediterranean, the Kuwait region (also known
as the ROPME Sea Area), West and Central Africa and the
Caribbean.
1975: The Mediterranean Action Plan, based on the work
of a task team of scientists and government officials, is
adopted in Barcelona, Spain.
1976: The Barcelona Convention, the Programme's first regional
legal agreement, is adopted by the Mediterranean countries,
along with two protocols on dumping from ships and aircraft,
and on cooperation in pollution emergencies.
1976: The Action Plan for the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden
is approved, forming the basis of what is to become the
Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Environment Programme (PERSGA).
1977: A Regional Seas Programme Activity Centre is established
in Geneva (Switzerland).
1978: Eight governments of the Kuwait region adopt the
Kuwait Action Plan and Kuwait Convention in April.
1980: The important Mediterranean Protocol against Pollution
from Land-based Sources is signed in Athens by 12 Mediterranean
States and the European Economic Commission (European Union).
1980: UNEP begins work in two new regions, Eastern Africa
and the Upper South-West Atlantic.
1981: Sixteen coastal States adopt the West and Central
Africa Action Plan, Convention and Protocol.
1981: The Caribbean Action Plan is adopted by 23 countries.
1981: Five member countries of ASEAN adopt an Action Plan
for East Asian Seas.
1981: Five countries of the west coast of South America
adopt the South-East Pacific Action Plan along with the
Lima Convention and one Protocol.
1981: A Regional Organization for the Kuwait Convention
and Action Plan (ROPME) is established in Kuwait.
1981: A UNEP mission visits Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay
as the first step toward an Action Plan for the Upper South-West
Atlantic, bringing the number of Regional Seas to eight.
1982: Mediterranean States adopt a Protocol on Specially-Protected
Areas.
1982: The Jeddah Convention for the Conservation of the
Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Environment is signed by six coastal
States and Palestine, along with a revised Action Plan including
a strong chapter on environmental management.
1982: A Marine Emergency Mutual Aid Centre is established
in Bahrain as part of the Kuwait Action Plan.
1982: An Action Plan for the South Pacific is adopted in
Rarotonga by 21 Pacific States, bringing the number of UNEP
Regional Seas to10. The Programme now involves 120 States,
14 United Nations Agencies and 23 other international organizations.
1982: The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
is signed on 10 December.
1983: The South Asian Seas becomes the 11th Regional Sea
and begins developing an Action Plan.
1983: Caribbean States and the EEC (European Union) sign
the Cartagena Convention.
1985: Eight States adopt the Action Plan for Eastern Africa
and sign the Nairobi Convention.
1985: UNEP's Oceans and Coastal Areas Programme Activity
Centre, including the Regional Seas Programme, moves from
Geneva to UNEP Headquarters in Nairobi.
1985 Fourteen international organizations agree on a Global
Plan of Action for Marine Mammals at a meeting in Geneva
in March.
1986: Mediterranean countries adopt a Declaration on the
Second Mediterranean Decade, listing ten priority targets.
1986: 16 States of the South Pacific and the EEC (European
Union) sign the Noumea Convention.
1991: The Black Sea and North-West Pacific join the Regional
Seas, bringing the total to 13.
1992: The Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment
of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR Convention) is opened
for signature at the Ministerial Meeting of the Oslo and
Paris commissions in Paris on 22 September 1992.
1993: A Ministerial Declaration gives the Black Sea an
interim Action Plan.
1993: A Working Group on Protection of the Arctic Marine
Environment (PAME) was established by Arctic Ministers at
the second Arctic Ministerial Meeting in Nuuk, Greenland.
1994: Five countries adopt the North-West Pacific Action
Plan.
1994: The Governments of Australia, Cambodia, China, Korea
and Viet Nam join the East Asian Seas Action Plan and, together
with the original five member States (Indonesia, Malaysia,
Philippines, Singapore and Thailand), adopt the revised
Action Plan for the Protection and Sustainable Development
of the Marine and Coastal Areas of the East Asian Region
and the Long-term Strategy (COBSEA, 1994-2009).
1994: United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea enters
into force on 16 November.
1995: Following the adoption of the Global Plan of Action
for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based
Activities (GPA) at the Washington Conference in November,
UNEP initiated actions to revitalize the Regional Seas programme.
1995: The South Asian Seas Action Plan is adopted.
1996: The Cairo Declaration is signed by cooperating Parties
to the Jeddah Convention, formally establishing the Regional
Organization for the Conservation of the Environment of
the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (PERSGA).
1996: The Nairobi Convention for the Protection, Management
and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of
the Eastern African Region enters into force on 30 May.
1996: Mediterranean Contracting Parties adopt the Protocol
on Prevention of Pollution by Transboundary Movements of
Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal in Izmir, Turkey.
1996: The Arctic Council is established at Ottawa on 19
September 1996.
1997: Work begins on an Action Plan for the North-East
Pacific.
1997: The first meeting of the Conference of the Parties
to the Nairobi Convention is held in Mahé, Seychelles,
in March.
1997: The Regional Coordinating Unit of the Eastern African
Regional Seas Programme was inaugurated on St. Anne Island,
Seychelles on 12 August.
1997: Protocol on the Programme for the Regional Study
of El Niño (ERFEN) enters into force (South East
Pacific).
1997: Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention adopt
the Strategic Action Programme to address pollution from
land-based activities.
1997: The UNEP Governing Council establishes a new Regional
Seas programme covering the East Central Pacific region
(later renamed the North-East Pacific).
1997: UNEP establishes the GPA Coordination Office in The
Hague.
1998: The Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment
of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR Convention) enters into
force on 25 March 1998; replacing the Convention for the
Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping from Ships and
Aircraft, 1972 (the Oslo Convention) and the Convention
for the Prevention of Marine Pollution from Land-based Sources,
1974 (the Paris Convention).
1998: A new Protocol on the Control of Marine Transboundary
Movements and Disposal of Hazardous Wastes is adopted by
States members of the Regional Organization for the Protection
of the Marine Environment (ROPME) at Tehran (Kuwait Region).
1998: The Madrid Protocol on Environment Protection to
the Antarctic Treaty enters into force on 14 January 1998.
1998: The First Inter-Regional Seas Programme Consultation
is held in June at The Hague, bringing together for the
first time all the secretariats and coordinating units of
Regional Seas programmes to discuss the status of implementation
of regional conventions and action plans; common problems
and areas of interest for cooperation; evolution and future
of the Programme.
1999: UNEP convenes the Second Global Meeting of Regional
Seas Conventions and Action Plans at The Hague in July 1999.
Issues discussed include the role of Regional Seas conventions
and action plans in the implementation of the Jakarta Mandate
on Coastal and Marine Biodiversity, the International Coral
Reef Initiative, the Barbados Programme of Action for the
Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States
and the Buenos Aires Programme of Work of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change. Other issues discussed
included implementation of the Global Plan of Action for
marine mammals, relationship with the Law of the Sea, and
strengthening linkages and cooperation among Regional Seas
conventions and action plans.
1999: The UNEP Governing Council stresses the need for
UNEP to strengthen the Regional Seas programme as its central
mechanism for implementation of its activities relevant
to chapter 17 of Agenda 21.
2000: UNEP establishes a Joint Secretariat for the Abidjan
and Nairobi Conventions.
2000: UNEP convenes the Third Global Meeting of Regional
Seas Conventions and Action Plans in Monaco in November
2000.
2001: A meeting of experts designated by the Governments
of the North-East Pacific meeting in Managua adopts an Action
Plan and reviews the draft convention for the environmental
protection and management of the marine and coastal areas
of the region.
2002: On 18 February 2002 the North-East Pacific countries
adopted the Convention for Cooperation in the Protection
and Sustainable Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment
of the Northeast Pacific and its Plan of Action, at a Conference
of Plenipotentiaries convened at the invitation of the Government
of the Republic of Guatemala by the Executive Director of
UNEP.
2002: The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)
draws particular attention to pressures on marine and coastal
ecosystems from fisheries, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
Moreover, it specifically calls for strengthening regional
cooperation and coordination between relevant regional
organizations and programmes, including the UNEP Regional
Seas Programme.
2003: The North-West Pacific (NOWPAP) begins setting up
its Regional Coordinating Unit (RCU), to be co-hosted by
Japan (Toyama) and the ROK (Busan).
2003: The UNEP Governing Council, at its 22nd Session and
Global Ministerial Environmental Forum in early 2003, set
out the elements of a global strategy for the regional seas
based on the central idea of the Regional Seas Conventions
and Action Plans as an instrument for sustainable development.
2003 The Framework Convention for the Protection of the
Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea (Teheran Convention)
was signed in November.
2004: Inauguration of the NOWPAP Regional Coordinating
Unit in Toyama, Japan.
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