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66 / MONACO OCEAN WEEK PARTNERS


















                                         ACCOBAMS

                                         An international agreement for marine    One of the agreement’s innovative aspects is
                                         biodiversity                             to extend its application to all countries whose
                                                                                  ships operate in the area and whose activities
                                         The Agreement on the Conservation of     may jeopardize cetaceans. The agreement
                                         Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea   is part of global processes in sea and ocean
                                         and Contiguous Atlantic Area (ACCOBAMS) is   conservation.
                                         an intergovernmental cooperation tool for the
                                         conservation of marine biodiversity.     In order to improve knowledge on marine
                                         This Agreement embodies riparian countries’   biodiversity and to offer countries credible
                                         commitment to preserve all species of cetaceans   and acceptable conservation measures, the
                                         and their habitats by applying measures to   agreement relies on a Permanent Secretariat
                                         mitigate impacts of economic activities.   (based in Monaco), a Scientific Committee and
                                                                                  a Monitoring Committee tracking application of
                                         ACCOBAMS responds to the need            these measures.
                                         expressed by four international, European
                                         and Mediterranean Conventions specialized in   Conservation measures include:
                                         the conservation of marine biodiversity and in   •  Obligations to prohibit all voluntary capture;
                                         protection of the marine environment:      to reduce accidental capture of cetaceans in
                                         •  the Barcelona Convention for the Protection   fishing nets; to conduct impact assessments
                                           of the Marine Environment and the Coastal   for all activities liable to affect cetaceans and
                                           Region of the Mediterranean and its Protocol   to reinforce the fight against pollution;
                                           concerning Specially Protected Areas and   •  The evaluation and management of
                                           Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean,  interactions between human activity and
                                         •  the Bonn Convention on the Conservation of   cetaceans (fishing, pollution and waste,
                                           Migratory Species,                       underwater noise from all sources, collisions
                                         •  the Bern Convention on the Conservation of   with ships, tourist activity...);
                                           European Wildlife and Natural Habitats,  •  Protection of habitats, namely by creating
                                         •  the Bucharest Convention on the Protection   Specially Protected Areas and by
                                           of the Black Sea Against Pollution.      maintaining migration corridors;
                                                                                  •  Research and monitoring to justify
                                         The agreement was concluded under the      conservation measures and improve their
                                         auspices of the Bonn Convention, signed in   effectiveness;
                                         Monaco on November 24, 1996 and came into   •  Capacity building to enable effective
                                         effect on June 1, 2001.The Agreement Area   implementation of conservation measures and
                                         consists of the maritime waters of the Black   the collection of relevant data;
                                         Sea, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic   •  Information, training and education
                                         area west of the Straits of Gibraltar (this area   programmes for the public and for
                                         was extended in 2010 to the entire Portuguese   professionals;
                                         and Spanish Atlantic coast). 23 countries are   •  Emergency response capability for the
                                         currently engaged in these conservation activities   rescue of wounded, ill or stranded animals
                                         alongside most of the international organizations   and follow-up for improving scientific
                                         working on the marine environment and on   understanding of the causes of such events.
                                         management of the region’s living resources.
                                                                                                     https://accobams.org
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