Meeting of National Experts on the Revision of the Regional Strategy for Prevention of and Response to Marine Pollution from Ships

The Meeting of National Experts on the Revision of the Regional Strategy for Prevention of and Response to Marine Pollution from Ships was organized by the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC) and was held at the Palace Hotel, Sliema, Malta, between the 11 and 12 March 2015.

The Meeting, pursuant to the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP)’s Programme of Work for the biennium 2014-2015 adopted by the 18th Ordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention) and its Protocols, (Istanbul, Türkiye, 3-6 December 2013), was partly financed by a voluntary contribution from the Government of Malta to REMPEC activities.

Forty (40) participants, including 19 Contracting Parties, as well as representatives from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations Environment Programme / Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP), the IPIECA - Global Oil and Gas Industry Association for Environmental and Social Issues, the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF), and Mr Miguel Palomares, REMPEC’s Consultant for the revision process of the Regional Strategy, attended the Meeting.

Following discussion, the Meeting agreed upon the Draft Revised Regional Strategy for Prevention of and Response to Marine Pollution from Ships 2016-2021 (Document REMPEC/WG.36/7), which contains 22 Specific Objectives.

Taking into account the key role of the Centre for the implementation of the Regional Strategy, the Meeting highlighted the need to ensure the stability of the Centre in the long term, inter alia, through the provision of the required human and financial resources to the Centre with a view to enabling it to fulfill its mandate. The Meeting further underpinned the importance of mobilising external resources to assist Contracting Parties in the implementation of the Regional Strategy and called for enhanced cooperation with the relevant industries in the region.

The Draft Revised Regional Strategy for Prevention of and Response to Marine Pollution from Ships 2016-2021 agreed upon during the Meeting will be submitted to the 11th  Meeting of the Focal Points of REMPEC to be held in Malta between the 15 and 17 June 2015 and subsequently to the Meeting of MAP Focal Points to be tentatively held between the 13 and 15 October 2015 in Athens, Greece with a view to its adoption by the 19th Ordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols tentatively scheduled to be held in February 2016 in Greece.