Protocol for the Protection of the Marine Environment against Pollution from Land-Based Sources

Pollution from land-based sources is a major threat to the marine environment, particularly in our ROPME Sea Area. This is a consequence of the economic growth in the petrochemical industry across all Member States of the ROPME. Therefore, in accordance with Article 6 of the Kuwait Regional Convention for Cooperation on the Protection of the Marine Environment of 1978.

the ROPME’s Secretariat prepared a draft protocol for the protection of the marine environment from pollution originating from land-based sources. This draft was presented to the third meeting of the ROPME’s Council in April 1984.

These discussions were conducted by legal and technical experts from member states and international and regional organizations. The protocol was then presented to the Executive Committee at its meeting on February 20, 1990, where it was approved. On February 21, 1990, the Protocol for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Sources was signed by the member states of the ROPME.

Its aim is to protect the marine environment from all sources of pollution originating from land-based sources. This will preserve the marine environment from pollution from these sources and address the clear shortcomings in the existing systems and regulations of the member states of the Organization, finding appropriate solutions to reduce marine pollution from land-based sources in our ROPME Sea Area.

In accordance with paragraph three of Article 16 of the Protocol, it entered into force on January 2, 1993, after five member states of the ROPME deposited their instruments of ratification with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the host country.

We refer here to some of the protocol articles for further clarification;

Sources of Pollution

This Protocol shall apply to discharges reaching the Protocol Area from land-based sources within the territories of the Contracting States, in particular:

a)      from outfalls and pipelines discharging into the sea;

b)      through rivers, canals or other watercourses, including underground watercourses;

c)       from fixed or mobile offshore facilities serving purposes other than exploration and exploitation of the sea bed, its subsoil and the continental shelf; and

the Contracting States shall progressively develop and adopt, in cooperation with competent Regional and International Organizations as appropriate:

a)       Regional guidelines, standards or criteria, as appropriate, for the quality of sea-water used for specific purposes that is necessary for the protection of human health, living resources and ecosystems;

b)      Regional regulations for the waste discharge and/or degree of treatment for all significant types of land-based sources;

c)       Stricter local regulations for waste discharge and/or degree of treatment for specific sources based on local pollution problems and desirable water usage considerations.

The Contracting States, shall carry out monitoring activities, if necessary in co-operation with the competent Regional and International Organizations, in order to:

a)       collect data on natural conditions of the Protocol Area as regards its physical, biological and chemical characteristics;

b)      collect data on inputs of substances or energy that cause or potentially cause pollution from land-based sources, including information on the distribution of sources and the quantities of pollutants introduced to the Protocol area;

c)       assess systematically the levels of pollution within their internal and territorial waters, in particular with regard to the substances that may have a potential significant impact on the Marine Environment. For the selection of the sampling locations and substances to be measured, information available, inter alia, from source inventories, discharge outfalls and marine environment characteristics shall be considered; and

2.       Contracting States shall collaborate jointly or collectively to establish comparable monitoring programs, as well as analytical quality control programs and to promote data storage, retrieval and exchange.

The Contracting States shall require on priority basis an assessment of the potential environmental impacts during the planning and implementation stages of selected development projects within their territories, particularly in the coastal areas, which may cause significant risks of pollution from land-based sources to the Protocol Area, in order to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to prevent or mitigate such risks.

2.       The Contracting States shall develop, with the assistance of the Organization, technical and other guidelines concerning the assessment of the potential environmental impacts of development projects referred to in paragraph 1, including possible transboundary effects. The assessment should, where appropriate, contain inter alia the following:

a)       A description of the geographical location of the activities to be carried out;

b)      A description of the initial ecological state of the marine environment and the coastal area which may be effected by the activities;

c)       An indication of the nature, aims and scope of the proposed  activities;

d)      A description of the methods, installations and other means to be used;

e)       A description of the foreseeable direct and indirect long-term  and short-term effects of the activities on the Marine Environment, including fauna, flora and the ecological balance;

f)       A statement setting out the measures proposed to reduce to the minimum the risk of pollution by carrying out the activities and, in addition, possible process and pollution abatement alternatives to such measures;

g)       An indication of the measures to be taken for the protection of the Marine Environment from pollution during and, as appropriate, at the end of the proposed activities;

1. The implementation of the selected projects referred to in paragraph 1 should be made subject to a prior written authorization from the Competent State Authorities which takes fully into account the findings of the environmental impact assessment.

 If discharges from a watercourse which flows through the territories of Contracting States are likely to cause pollution of the Protocol Area, the Contracting States in question, in accordance with the provisions of this Protocol in so far as each of them is concerned, are called upon  to co-operate with a view to ensuring its full application.

A Contracting State shall not be responsible for any pollution originating on the territory of a non-Contracting State. However, the Contracting State shall endeavour to co-operate with such State so as to make possible full application of the Protocol.

Contracting States shall ensure that recourse is available in accordance with their legal systems for prompt and adequate compensation or other relief in respect of damage caused by pollution of the Marine Environment by natural or juridical persons under their jurisdiction.