Agenda Item 5 and 8
IMPACT 99/5/7-E
Original: English
English only
Document not /partly available in electronic form*
OSPAR CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT OF THE
NORTH-EAST ATLANTIC
WORKING GROUP ON IMPACTS ON THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT (IMPACT)
BREST: 15-19 NOVEMBER 1999
________________________________________________________________________________
Nature Conservation in the Baltic Sea Area
- Rules and Procedures of International Law for Protecting Off-shore Areas Presented by World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF)
Background
1.
Cross reference is made to WWF’s submission Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSAs) – A
Precautionary Tool to Protect the World's Sensitive Marine Ecosystems from Shipping Impacts as at
IMPACT 99/5/6.
2.
In 1997 the report “Nature Conservation in the Baltic Sea Area- Rules and Procedures of
International Law for Protecting Off-shore Areas” by Jonas Ebbesson was commissioned and published by
WWF Sweden. The report sheds light on the opportunities to protect sensitive off-shore areas of the Baltic
against impacts arising from shipping.
3.
The above report is not available in electronic format. However, an overview of its contents is
attached as Annex 1, and hard copies of the document will be made available at the IMPACT meeting.
Action Requested
4.
IMPACT is invited to consider the attached information and WWF’s recommendations with a view
to examining the benefits from a similar approach to the North-East Atlantic.
*
The report described in this document is not available in electronic format, but copies will be made available at
the IMPACT meeting
OSPAR Commission
1
IMPACT 99/5/7-E
Annex
Rapport från Världsnaturfonden WWF Nr 3:97
Nature Conservation in the Baltic Sea Area
Rules and Procedures of International Law for Protecting Off-shore Areas
By Jonas Ebbesson
Faculty of Law, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm
April 1997
CONTENTS
Foreword
3
1. Recommendations on How to Proceed
1.1 General: What is Intended?
1.2 Measures to be Taken within the Baltic Sea Regime
1.3 Measures to be Taken within the IMO
4
2. Hazards to Fauna and Flora in the Baltic Sea Area
7
3. Navigational Freedom and Environmental Protection
1.1 Coastal and Flag State Jurisdiction in Different Zones
1.2 Internal Water
1.3 Territorial Sea
1.4 Exclusive Economic Zone
1.5 High Seas
1.6 Options for Protecting Sensitive Marine Areas
10
4. Global Regimes for Protecting Sensitive Marine Areas Against Shipping
4.1 Global Instruments
4.2 Special Areas – 1973/78 MARPOL Convention
4.3 Control of Ships’ Routeing – 1972 COLREG Convention and 1974 SOLAS Convention
4.4 Ecologically Sensitive Areas – 1982 UNCLOS
4.5 Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas – 1991 IMO Guidelines
4.6. 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity
4.7 Other Relevant Global Regimes
18
5. The Baltic Sea Regime
5.1 Nature Conservation and Biodiversity in the Legal Framework
5.2 Regulations on Shipping
29
6. Nature Conservation in Other Regional Sea Regimes
30
7. References
31
Literature
List of Treaties and Other International Documents
OSPAR Commission
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IMPACT 99/5/7-E