Meeting of National Experts on the Draft Guidelines concerning Pleasure Craft Activities and the Protection of the Marine Environment in the Mediterranean – Feb 13, 2007

    Meeting of National Experts on the Draft Guidelines concerning Pleasure Craft Activities and the Protection of the Marine Environment in the Mediterranean

    The Meeting of National Experts on the Draft Guidelines concerning Pleasure Craft Activities and the Protection of the Marine Environment in the Mediterranean was convened in Monaco, between 13 and 15 February 2007. The Meeting was organized by the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC), and was held at the Auditorium Rainier III, in Monte Carlo, Monaco, thanks to the financial support of the Government of Monaco.

    All Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention as well as relevant International Agencies were invited to participate in the Meeting. Representatives from INDEMER (Institut du droit économique de la mer) and from Accord RAMOGE also attended the Meeting as observers.

    The main objective of the Meeting, which was chaired by Mr. Pierre Bouchet, the representative of the Principality of Monaco, was to review and approve the Draft Guidelines concerning Pleasure Craft Activities and the Protection of the Marine Environment in the Mediterranean, prepared and submitted by REMPEC. The Meeting discussed, amended as appropriate and agreed upon the text of the draft Guidelines.

    According to the wishes expressed by the Contracting Parties, these Guidelines are not aimed at creating new regulation but rather at assisting the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention in implementing the international and regional rules applicable to pleasure craft as well as at ensuring an environmentally sound management of marinas and of pleasure craft activities.

    The three pillars that sustained the development of the actions advocated are the pollution from crafts, the potential impacts of pleasure craft activities on biodiversity as well as environmental management and implementation measures. Moreover, although the Guidelines are for the Contracting Parties, they have been defined with a view to envisage the pleasure craft issues through three different angles, which are those of the three main stakeholders, namely competent national authorities in charge of maritime activities and of the protection of the marine environment, managers of marinas and users of pleasure craft.