ACCOBAMS

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The Convention for the protection of whales of the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the adjacent Atlantic zone (Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area, ACCOBAMS ) is a multilateral environmental agreement , which in the November 24, 1996 Monaco was signed. It came into force on June 1, 2001.

target

The aim of the agreement is to improve the protection of whales . This is to be achieved through detailed protection plans and improved national legislation in the participating states. Among other things, the targeted fishing of whales is to be banned and special protected areas are to be established. In addition, scientific research and information for the public are to be promoted.

organization

Emergence

ACCOBAMS was created by a collaboration between the secretariats of three other international environmental agreements , the Barcelona Convention , the Bonn Convention and the Berne Convention . The Bucharest Convention was added later. The first coordination of the representatives of the first three organizations already took place on October 26th and 27th, 1992 in Athens , where an action plan was also adopted. However, the main contract negotiations were carried out in Monaco from September 26th to 30th, 1995 and November 18th to 24th, 1996, where the agreement was then signed.

Contracting States

So far, the agreement has been signed by 21 states (as of May 2008). Seven other states are considered to be potential members, as their national territory is directly linked to the protected area specified in the treaty. In addition, there is also the possibility of the European Union joining.

Map of the ACCOBAMS member states and the protected seas

Signatory states or potential members (date of entry into force) :

structure

The meeting of the signatory states is the decision-making body of the agreement. It takes place at least every three years. Representatives of other international organizations such as the United Nations or other environmental agreements can also send observers to the meetings.

The permanent secretariat of the agreement is located in Monaco. Its tasks include the preparation of the meeting of the signatory states, the coordination between the member states, the support in the implementation of protective measures and the administration of the finances.

The partner organizations of ACCOBAMS also play an important role . These include above all organizations that have technical equipment for the protection of whales. The agreement itself does not maintain any technical equipment for researching or protecting whales. Therefore ACCOBAMS is dependent on the equipment of the member states or the partner organizations.

As of May 2008, the partner organizations include :

Year in which the partnership began

  • Alnitak Marine Environment Research and Education center (2007)
  • American Society of International Law - International Environmental Law Group (2002)
  • The Biological Conservation Research Foundation (BICREF) (2006)
  • Blue World Institute of Marine Research and Conservation (2004)
  • Brema Laboratory (2002)
  • Conservación, Información e Investigación en Cetáceos (CIRCE) (2004)
  • Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE) (2003)
  • European Cetacean Society (ECS) (2002)
  • Groupe de Recherche sur les Cétacés (GREC) (2005)
  • Israel Marine Mammal Research & Assistance Center (IMMRAC) (2004)
  • International Fund for Animal Welfare (2004)
  • Istituto Centrale per la Ricerca Applicata al Mare (ICRAM) (2002)
  • Morigenos - Marine Mammal Research and Conservation Society (2005)
  • National Institute for Marine Research and Development "Grigore Antipa" (2002)
  • Nature Trust (Malta) (2005)
  • OceanCare (2003)
  • Oceana (2007)
  • Oceanographic Museum Monaco (2002)
  • Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute (2002)
  • Prompter d'Ecume (2007)
  • Spanish Cetacean Society (SEC) (2003)
  • Swiss Cetacean Society (SCS) (2002)
  • Syrian Society for the Conservation of Wildlife (SSCW) (2007)
  • Tethys Research Institute (2002)
  • University of Genoa - Department of Biology (2005)
  • University of Malta - Conservation Biology Research Group (2005)
  • University of Valencia (2002)
  • Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) (2004)
  • World Conservation Union (IUCN) (2004)
  • WWF Mediterranean Program Office (2007)

Geographical scope

The areas protected by the agreement include the Mediterranean Sea , the Black Sea including all bays, all inland waters directly connected to the seas and all waters connecting these seas, as well as part of the Atlantic Ocean west of the Strait of Gibraltar.

In Article I. 1. a) of the Agreement this is regulated as follows:

  • The Black Sea is bounded in the southwest by the line of Cape Kelaga and Dalyan (Turkey).
  • The Mediterranean Sea is bounded in the east by the end of the Dardanelles between the lighthouses of Mehmetcik and Kumkale (Turkey) and in the west by the meridian at the entrance of the Strait of Gibraltar running through the lighthouse of Cape Spartel .
  • The adjacent area of ​​the Atlantic to the west of the Strait of Gibraltar is bounded in the east by the meridian running at the lighthouse of Cape Spartel and in the west by the line from the lighthouse of Cape St. Vincent (Portugal) and Casablanca (Morocco).

Protected whales

The bottlenose dolphin, which occurs in both the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, is under the protection of ACCOBAMS.
Humpback whales, which are occasionally found in the western part of the Mediterranean, are also expressly mentioned in the text of the contract.

The agreement relates to the following whales (Annex 1 of the agreement):

Black Sea:

Mediterranean and Atlantic

All whales not included in this list, which occasionally or inadvertently stay in the area designated by the agreement, are also protected by the agreement.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ www.accobams.org ( Memento from May 16, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) ACCOBAMS - Introduction (Retrieved May 5, 2008)
  2. ↑ www.accobams.org ( Memento of May 16, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) ACCOBAMS - List of Contracting Parties and Signatories (Retrieved May 5, 2008)
  3. ↑ www.accobams.org ( Memento of May 16, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) ACCOBAMS - Meeting of the Parties (Retrieved May 4, 2008)
  4. ↑ www.accobams.org ( Memento from May 16, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) ACCOBAMS - Secretariat (accessed on May 4, 2008)
  5. ↑ www.accobams.org ( Memento from October 12, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) ACCOBAMS - Partners (accessed on May 4, 2008)
  6. ↑ a b www.accobams.org ( Memento from July 4, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Text of the ACCOBAMS Agreement (English) (Retrieved May 5, 2008)

Web links