| With a view of strengthening
governance in the Region. ROPME has developed
protocols addressing the critical areas
of environmental management. The Kuwait
Regional Convention for Co-operation on
the Protection of the Marine Environment
from Pollution (1978) has related protocols
that were developed in accordance with
the recommendations of the Legal Component
of the Kuwait Action Plan. These protocols
included:
- Protocol concerning Regional Co-operation
in Combating Pollution by Oil and Other
Harmful Substances in Cases of Emergency
(1978)
- Protocol concerning Marine Pollution
resulting from Exploration and Exploitation
of the Continental Shelf (1989)
- Protocol for the Protection of the
Marine Environment against Pollution
from Land-Based Sources (1990)
- Protocol on the Control of Marine
Transboundary Movements and Disposal
of Hazardous Wastes and Other Wastes
(1998)
- Protocol concerning the conservation
of biological diversity and the establishment
of protected areas.
KUWAIT REGIONAL CONVENTION FOR
CO-OPERATION ON THE PROTECTION OF THE
MARINE ENVIRONMENT FROM POLLUTION
The Convention is the basic legal instrument
binding the eight States of the Region
to coordinate their activities towards
protection of their common marine environment.
The Convention consists of thirty Articles
broadly dealing with responsibilities
of the Contracting States for the protection
and preservation of the marine environment
which is under constant threat of pollution
from offshore and land-based activities
as well as marine transport. The Convention
was adopted with the objective to ensure
that development projects and other human
activities do not in any way cause damage
to the marine environment, jeopardize
its living resources or create hazards
to human health. Another objective of
the Convention was the development of
an integrated management approach to the
use of the marine environment and the
coastal areas in a sustainable way which
will allow the achievement of environmental
and developmental goals in a harmonious
manner. To this effect, the importance
of cooperation and coordination of action
on a regional basis with the aim of protecting
the marine environment and the coastal
areas for the benefit of present and future
generations, is emphasized throughout
the Convention. The Convention which was
signed on 24 April 1978, entered into
force on l July 1979 and enjoys the participation
of eight Parties. No Signatories without
ratification, acceptance, approval or
accession.
The Regional Organization for the Protection
of the Marine Environment (ROPME), as
defined in Article XVI of the Convention,
was established on 1 July 1979 to implement
the Kuwait Action Plan, as well as the
Kuwait Regional Convention and its Protocols.
Subsequently, based on the arrangements
adopted at the Conference of Plenipotentiaries,
a UNEP Interim Secretariat administered
the programmes and activities of the Organization
until the establishment of the ROPME Secretariat
in Kuwait on 1 January 1982.
The Convention shall apply to the sea
area in the Region bounded in the south
by the following rhumb lines: from Ras
Dharbat Ali in (160 39 / N, 530 3 / 30//E)
then to a position in (160 00/ N, 530
25/E) then to a position in (170 00/ N,
560 30/E) then to a position in (200 30/
N, 600 00/E) then to Ras Al Fasteh (250
04 / N, 610 25 / E), referred to as the
“Sea Area”. The Sea Area shall
not include internal waters of the Contracting
States unless it is otherwise stated in
the Convention or in any of its Protocols.
That part of the Sea Area located north-west
of the rhumb-line between Ras Al Hadd
(22030 / N, 59048 / E) and Ras Al Fasteh
(25004 / N, 61025 / E) is designated by
MARPOL 73/78 as a “Special Area”.
ROPME PROTOCOLS
ROPME Protocols have been developed in
accordance with the recommendations of
the Legal Component of the KAP. These
Protocols have made the mandate of the
Kuwait Regional Convention more specific
and have had an important role in harmonizing
the policies of Contracting States concerning
protection of the environment under the
national jurisdiction of each State and
that of the Region. Meetings of regional/international
experts are convened regularly to examine
the status of implementation of various
programmes in order to ensure that the
provisions of the Protocols are complied
with.
PROTOCOL CONCERNING REGIONAL
COOPERATION IN COMBATING POLLUTION BY
OIL AND OTHER HARMFUL SUBSTANCES IN CASES
OF EMERGENCY, 1978
The objective of the Protocol, which
was signed on 24 April 1978 and entered
into force on 1 July 1979, is to provide
cooperative and effective preventive and
response measures to deal with marine
emergencies caused by oil and other harmful
substances. Marine emergency means any
casualty, incident, occurrence or situation,
however caused, resulting in substantial
pollution or imminent threat of substantial
pollution to the marine environment by
oil or other harmful substances and includes,
inter alia, collisions, strandings and
other incidents involving ships, including
tankers, blow-outs arising from petroleum
drilling and production activities, and
the presence of oil or other harmful substances
arising from the failure of industrial
installations. The Protocol with 13 Articles
and an Appendix on guidelines for reporting
marine emergencies has the same status
of participation as the Convention.
PROTOCOL CONCERNING MARINE POLLUTION
RESULTING FROM EXPLORATION AND EXPLOITATION
OF THE CONTINENTAL SHELF, 1989
The objective of the Protocol is to coordinate
regional activities towards protection
of the marine environment against pollution
from exploration and exploitation of oil
and gas in the continental shelf. The
Protocol with fifteen articles and four
Guidelines is a broad framework for developing
comprehensive action plans delineating
the obligations of Contracting States
at the national and regional levels for
sound environmental practices in offshore
exploration and production (E & P)
activities. The Protocol has the same
status of participation as the Convention.
The Kuwait Regional Convention at Article
VII stipulates that the Contracting States
shall take all appropriate measures to
prevent, abate and combat pollution in
the Sea Area resulting from exploration
and exploitation of the bed of the territorial
sea and its sub-soil and the continental
shelf. To this effect, the Protocol was
concluded, signed on 29 March 1989, and
entered into force on 17 February 1990.
Later, the following Guidelines to the
Protocol were adopted by the Seventh Meeting
of ROPME Council on 21 February 1990:
i. Guidelines on requirements for environmental
impact surveys and assessments.
ii. Guidelines on the use and storage
of chemicals in offshore operations.
iii. Guidelines on the conduct of seismic
operations.
iv. Guidelines on disposal of drill cuttings
on the sea-bed,
These Guidelines are to assist Contracting
States in developing their specific plans
and measures in compliance with the provisions
of the Protocol. Also, the application
of common standards, criteria and regulations,
as well as the harmonization of environmental
policies, programmes, administration and
legislation of Contracting States for
the fulfillment of their obligations under
the Protocol, are major objectives to
be achieved in the near future.
PROTOCOL FOR THE PROTECTION OF
THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT AGAINST POLLUTION
FROM LAND-BASED SOURCES, 1990
The Kuwait Regional Convention at Article
VI stipulates that the Contracting States
shall take all appropriate measures to
prevent, abate and combat pollution by
discharges from land reaching the Sea
Area whether water-borne, air-borne, or
directly from the coast including outfalls
and pipelines. Also, the development and
adoption of a protocol on pollution resulting
from land-based sources has been recommended
under the Legal Component of KAP. To this
effect, the Protocol with 16 Articles
and 3 Annexes was finalized in 1989, signed
on 21 February 1990 and entered into force
on 2 January 1993.
Annex III to the Protocol addresses
regional guidelines, regulations and permits
for the release of wastes. Accordingly,
regional regulations for the waste discharge
and/or degree of treatment should be specific
for each kind of source and, if necessary,
may be different between existing and
new sources.
Regional regulations along with the
programmes, measures and the timetables
required for the implementation should
be developed on a priority basis, inter
alia, for the following types of wastes:
- Ballast water, slops, bilges and
other oily water discharges generated
by land-based reception facilities and
ports through loading and repair operations.
- Brine water and mud discharges from
oil and gas drilling and extraction
activities from land-based sources.
- Oily and toxic sludges from crude
oil and refined products storage facilities.
- Effluents and emissions from petroleum
refineries
- Effluents and emissions from petrochemical
and fertilizer plants
- Toxic effluents and emissions from
industries such as chlor-alkali, primary
aluminium production, pesticides, insecticides,
and lead recovery plants.
- Emissions from natural gas flaring
and desulfurization plants.
- Dust emissions from major industrial
sources, such as cement, lime, asphalt
and concrete plants.
- Effluents and emissions from power
and desalination plants.
- Wastes generated from coastal development
activities which may have a significant
impact on the Marine Environment.
- Sewage and solid wastes
PROTOCOL ON THE CONTROL OF MARINE
TRANSBOUNDARY MOVEMENTS AND DISPOSAL OF
HAZARDOUS WASTES AND OTHER WASTES, 1998
The main objectives of the Protocol are
to protect the marine environment of the
Protocol Area from detrimental effects
of hazardous wastes and other wastes,
to assist Contracting States in environmentally
sound management of wastes they generate
and to enhance cooperation and coordination
of action on a regional basis with the
aim of controlling the transboundary movements
of hazardous wastes and other wastes.
To this effect, the transboundary movements
of wastes, the dumping of wastes at sea,
the ballast water of oil tankers and the
wastes of commercial ships are covered
by the Protocol.
The promotion of regional cooperation
for the establishment and management of
reception facilities for the reception
and treatment of ballast water and other
wastes from ships and for the development
of an effective monitoring and surveillance
system to detect and control dumping of
wastes at sea, are fully addressed in
the Protocol.
The Protocol with 16 Articles was signed
by six ROPME Member States during the
Meeting of the Plenipotentiaries held
in Tehran, I.R.Iran on 17 March 1998.
PROTOCOL CONCERNING THE CONSERVATION
OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY AND THE ESTABLISHMENT
OF PROTECTED AREAS
(Under preparation)
|
