Evolution of the Prevention and Emergency Protocol

    Overview of the process of revision of the 1976 Protocol concerning Co-operation in Combating Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea by Oil and other Harmful Substances in Cases of Emergency (Emergency Protocol) leading to the adoption of the 2002, Protocol Concerning Cooperation in Preventing Pollution from Ships and, in Cases of Emergency, Combating Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea (Prevention and Emergency Protocol).

    The Protocol Concerning Cooperation in Preventing Pollution from Ships and, in Cases of Emergency, Combating Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea (Prevention and Emergency Protocol) is the legal framework within which regional cooperation in the Mediterranean region in the fields of prevention of and response to marine pollution is developing. The Protocol was adopted on 25 January 2002 in Malta and entered into force on 17 March 2004.

    In Barcelona, in June 1995, the Contracting Parties and the Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution and its Protocols, adopted the Phase II of MAP for the decade  1996-1995 , as part of the revision process of the Mediterranean Action Plan in line with the provisions of UNCED 1992, and in particular with its Agenda 21.

    They also decided to promote regional cooperation for the implementation of the relevant International Conventions related to the protection of the marine environment from pollution by ships.

    This decision was followed, in 1997, by the adoption by the Tenth Ordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties (Tunis, November 1997) of the Resolution on the “Regional Strategy on prevention of pollution of the marine environment by ships”, which opened the way for amending the Emergency Protocol.

    The revision of the 1976 Protocol concerning Co-operation in Combating Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea by Oil and other Harmful Substances in Cases of Emergency (Emergency Protocol) aimed at addressing the prevention of marine pollution as indicated in the Regional Strategy, but also at updating its text.  The revision process effectively started in 1998, and comprised inter alia three Meetings of National Legal and Technical Experts and an Ad hoc Open Ended Meeting of Experts. The Twelfth Ordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention held in Monaco in November 2001 decided that, instead of amending the original Emergency Protocol, a new Protocol should be adopted.  The same Meeting approved the new objectives and functions of REMPEC, in order to reflect the modifications made in the text of the Protocol.

    The text was finalized and the revision process was eventually completed on 25 January 2002 when a Conference of Plenipotentiaries, convened in Malta by UNEP/MAP, adopted the new “Protocol concerning Cooperation in Preventing Pollution from Ships and, in Cases of Emergency, in Combating Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea” (referred to as “Prevention and Emergency” Protocol).

    The 2002 “Prevention and Emergency” Protocol now covers prevention of, preparedness for and response to marine pollution from sea-based sources.  Its text was also updated with a view to harmonizing it with the texts of other relevant international legal instruments developed since the adoption of the 1976 Protocol, and in particular with the text of the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC 1990), taking also into account the contribution of the European Community to the implementation of international standards related to maritime safety and prevention of pollution from ships.

    Related documents: