A cooperative tool for the conservation of marine biodiversity in the Mediterranean and Black Seas

The purpose of ACCOBAMS is to reduce threat to cetaceans in Mediterranean and Black Sea waters and improve our knowledge of these animals.

ACCOBAMS is the first Agreement binding the countries in these two subregions, and enabling them to work together on a matter of general interest.

It requires the States to implement a detailed conservation plan for cetaceans, based first on respect of legislation banning the deliberate capture of cetaceans in fishing zones by their flag vessels or those subject to their jurisdiction, on measures for minimizing incidental capture and, finally, on the creation of protected areas.

This approach combines both the protection of threatened species and the institution of reinforced geographic protection. Governments are also undertaking to assess and manage the interactions between humans and cetaceans, conducting research and continuous monitoring, developing programmes to inform, train and educate the public and setting up emergency response measures.

The ACCOBAMS Agreement results from consultation between the Secretariats of the three Conventions: the Barcelona Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Mediterranean Coast (and its new Application Protocol relative to Special Protection Zones and the Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean adopted on 10 June 1995), the Bonn Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals and the Bern Convention relative to the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, whose standing Committee decide, in 1989, to create an informal group on little cetaceans that met in Palma de Majorca in 1991 with the view of drafting an Agreement. The Bucharest Convention on the protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution joined the group of Conventions later.

The first interconvention consultations held in Athens on 26 and 27 October 1992 bore essentially on the mechanisms of cooperation, coordination and transmission of information on cetaceans between the Secretariats of the three above-mentioned Conventions (Barcelona Convention, Bonn Convention, Bern Convention) and all organizations involved in implementing the Action Plan on the conservation of cetaceans in the Mediterranean and Black Seas.

Three years later, two meetings in Monaco negotiated a draft Agreement on the conservation of cetaceans in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. The first meeting, from 26 to 30 September 1995, led to drawing up the text of the Agreement and its conservation plan as well as extending the taxonomic coverage of the Agreement to large cetaceans found in the zone (in particular the fin whale and the sperm whale).

All questions regarding the exact definition of the Agreement area, in particular the status of the inland waters and the proposal to extend the instrument to the adjacent waters of the Atlantic Ocean that had remained suspended were resolved in a second meeting (18-24 November 1996) hosted by the Principality of Monaco. Representatives of over 20 countries on the Mediterranean and Black Seas, as well as observers from many intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations participated in the plenipotentiary Conference for signature, which closed the meeting.

The Agreement has been ready for signature in Monaco since 24 November 1996 and entered into force the 1st of June 2001.

The geographic scope of the Agreement, hereinafter referred to as the "Agreement area", is constituted by all the maritime waters of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean and their gulfs and seas, and the internal waters connected to or interconnecting these maritime waters, and of the Atlantic area contiguous to the Mediterranean Sea west of the Straits of Gibraltar.

For the purpose of the Agreement:

the Black Sea is bounded to the southwest by the line joining Capes Kelaga and Dalyan (Turkey)

the Mediterranean Sea is bounded to the east by the southern limits of the Straits of the Dardanelles between the lighthouses of Mehmetcik and Kumkale (Turkey) and to the west by the meridian passing through Cape Spartel lighthouse, at the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar

the contiguous Atlantic area west of the Strait of Gibraltar is bounded to the east by the meridian passing through Cape Spartel lighthouse and to the west by the line joining the lighthouses of Cape St. Vicente (Portugal) and Casablanca (Morocco).

1. Parties shall take co-ordinated measures to achieve and maintain a favourable conservation status for cetaceans. To this end, Parties shall prohibit and take all necessary measures to eliminate, where this is not already done, any deliberate taking of cetaceans and shall co-operate to create and maintain a network of specially protected areas to conserve cetaceans.

2. Any Party may grant an exception to the prohibition set out in the preceding paragraph only in emergency situations as provided for in Annex 2, paragraph 6, or, after having obtained the advice of the Scientific Committee, for the purpose of non-lethal in situ research aimed at maintaining a favourable conservation status for cetaceans. The Party concerned shall immediately inform the Bureau and the Scientific Committee, through the Agreement secretariat, of any such exception that has been granted. The Agreement secretariat shall inform all Parties of the exception without delay by the most appropriate means.

3. In addition, Parties shall apply, within the limits of their sovereignty and/or jurisdiction and in accordance with their international obligations, the conservation, research and management measures prescribed in Annex 2 to this Agreement, which shall address the following matters:

a) adoption and enforcement of national legislation;

b) assessment and management of human-cetacean interactions;

c) habitat protection;

d) research and monitoring;

e) capacity building, collection and dissemination of information, training and education; and

f) responses to emergency situations.

Measures concerning fisheries activities shall be applied in all waters under their sovereignty and/or jurisdiction and outside these waters in respect of any vessel under their flag or registered within their territory.

4. In implementing the measures prescribed above, the Parties shall apply the precautionary principle.