Protocol to the Kuwait Regional Convention for co-operation on the protection of the marine environment

The Kuwait Regional Convention is the primary legal instrument to co-ordinate the activities of the Region for the protection of the marine environment from pollution from various sources.

 Kuwait Convention was adopted with an over-arching objective to abate, prevent and combat pollution of the marine environment of the Region from various sources of pollution.   The pollution from ships, dumping of ships and aircrafts, pollution from land based sources, pollution resulting from exploration and exploitation of the bed of the territorial sea and its subsoil and the continental shelf, pollution from other human activities that may damage the marine environment and endanger its resources are all sufficiently covered under the provisions of the Convention. 

 Another objective of the Convention was the development of an integrated management approach to the use of the marine environmental and developmental goals in a harmonious manner.

The ROPME Regional Action Plan, under the umbrella of the Kuwait Convention, approaches the challenge of oil pollution through the mechanisms of Protocols and Programmes that are guided and implemented by the Comity of Nations.

 The Action Plan is intended to meet the environmental needs and enhance the environmental capabilities of ROPME Member States (Bahrain, I.R. Iran, Republic of Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates) and is aimed primarily towards implementation by way of coordinated national and regional programs.

The Action Plan consists of four main components, i.e. Environmental Assessment, Environmental Management, Legal Component, and Institu­tional and Financial Arrangements. Since protection of the marine environment is considered as the first priority with a view to promotion of human health and well-being as the ultimate goal, the Kuwait Action Plan aims to achieve, inter alia, the following:

•  Assessment of the state of the environment including socio-economic development activities related to environmental quality and of the needs of the Region in order to assist Governments to cope properly with environmental problems, particularly those concerning the marine environment.

•  Development of guidelines for the management of those activities which have an impact on environ­mental quality or on the protection and use of renewable marine resources on a sustainable basis.

• Development of legal instruments providing the legal basis for cooperative efforts to protect and develop the Region on a sustainable basis; d)      supporting measures including national and regional institutional mechanisms and structure needed for the successful implementation of the Action Plan.

As per the decision taken at the First ROPME council meeting in April 1981, ROPME Secretariat was established and the responsibilities and the staff were transferred to the new Secretariat of ROPME on 1 January 1982.  The functions of the Secretariat are stated in article XVIII of the Convention as follows:

• a) The secretariat shall be comprised of an Executive Secretary and the personnel necessary to perform the following functions:
• (i) to convene and to prepare the meetings of the Council and its subsidiary bodies and ad hoc working groups as referred to in Article XVII, and conferences as referred to in Articles XIX and XX;
• (ii) to transmit to the Contracting States notifications, reports and other information received in accordance with Articles IX and XXIII;
• (iii) to consider enquiries by, and information from, the Contracting States and to consult with them on questions relating to the Convention and its protocols and annexes thereto;
• (iv) to prepare reports on matters relating to the Convention and to the administration of the Organization;
• (v) to establish, maintain and disseminate an up-to-date collection of national laws of all States concerned relevant to the protection of the marine treatment;
  
  (vi) to arrange, upon request, for the provision of technical assistance and advice for the drafting of appropriate national legislation for the effective implementation of the Convention and its protocols;
• (vii) to arrange for training programmes in areas related to the implementation of the Convention and its protocols;
• (viii) to carry out its assignments under the protocols to the Convention;
• (ix) to perform such other functions as may be assigned to it by the Council for the implementation of the Convention and its protocols.
• b) The Executive Secretary shall be the chief administrative official of the Organization and shall perform the functions that are necessary for the administration of the present Convention, the work of the secretariat and other tasks entrusted to the Executive Secretary by the Council and as provided for in its rules and procedures and financial rules.

ROPME Secretariat, under the leadership of the Executive Secretary has a Co-ordinator assisted by professional officers and other necessary personnel to perform the above functions.

The Convention and its related legal instruments:

The Protocols in general have been devised to mitigate pollution and ensure environmental protection through various provisions and guidelines.  These protocols are closely interlinked with international instruments of similar nature and respect the social, economic and cultural identities of Member States.

Following is a summary of ROPME Protocols and Programs  that together act as the consensus instrument of action for environmental protection in the Region