|
|
|
Agreement
on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas
Done at New York, 17 March 1992
Entered into force, 29 March 1994 |
| |
|
Membership
As
of 31 Jan 2005 |
|
Belgium,
Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and the
United Kingdom |
| |
|
|
The Baltic and North
Seas. |
| |
|
|
Small
cetaceans (defined as any species, subspecies or population of toothed
whales Odontoceti, except the sperm whale Physeter
macrocephalus). |
| |
|
|
To promote
close cooperation "in order to achieve and maintain a favourable
conservation status for small cetaceans" in the Baltic and North
Seas. |
|
ASCOBANS was signed on 17
March 1992 in order to
address the threats to the conservation of cetaceans in the Baltic and
North Seas. The Agreement
was concluded under the auspices of the
Bonn
Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species and, as such,
was the first agreement to be adopted under the Bonn Convention
concerning the conservation of cetaceans. It entered into force on 29
March 1994. The
basic purpose of ASCOBANS is to promote close cooperation in order to
achieve and maintain a favourable conservation status for small
cetaceans” in the Baltic and North Seas. The principal measures by
which ASCOBANS is to achieve its objectives are outlined in a
conservation and management plan, which appears as an
Annex to the
Agreement. |
| |
|
The
Agreement is open to participation by any range State (defined as any
State “that exercises jurisdiction over any part of the range of a
species covered by this agreement, or a State whose flag vessels,
outside national jurisdiction limits but within the area of the
agreement, are engaged in operations adversely affecting small
cetaceans) and by regional economic integration organizations (defined
as “an organization constituted by sovereign States which has
competence in respect of the negotiation, conclusion and application
of international agreements in matters covered by this agreement”). |
| |
|
ASCOBANS consists of
three main bodies: the Meetings of the Parties, the Advisory Committee
and the Secretariat.
Meetings of the Parties
The
Meeting of Parties is the main decision-making organ of ASCOBANS. It to decide
on the further implementation of the Agreement. It adopts resolutions
concerning conservation measures, discusses financial matters and
formulates the terms of reference for the Advisory Committee and the
Secretariat. Most
decisions are taken by a simple majority - with each party having one
vote - except those on financial decisions and amendments to the
Agreement or the Annex, which require a three-quarters majority.
Advisory
Committee
The
Advisory Committee is established to "provide expert advice and
information to the Secretariat and the Parties on the conservation and
management of small cetaceans and other matters in the relation to the
running of the agreement." The Committee consists of one
representative from each party and meets about once a year. In
practice, many decisions of the Meetings of the Parties are based
closely on proposals from the Advisory Committee, which has held several
meetings and working groups since ASCOBANS became operational.
The
Secretariat
The
Secretariat promotes and coordinates activities undertaken under the
Agreement, provides advice and support to the Parties and services the
Meetings of the Parties and meetings of the Advisory Committee. |
| |
|
The basic
purpose of ASCOBANS is to promote close cooperation “in order to
achieve and maintain a favourable conservation status for small
cetaceans” in the Baltic and North Seas. The principal measures by
which ASCOBANS is to achieve its objectives are outlined in a
conservation and management plan, which appears as an
Annex
to the
Agreement. The plan, which was designed by taking into consideration
all known and suspected threats to small cetaceans in the Agreement
area, covers a wide range of actions. Inter
alia, it seeks to prohibit any intentional taking and killing of
small cetaceans, and requires parties to reduce pollution harmful to
small cetaceans; to modify fishing gear and practices in order to
reduce bycatches and prevent gear from being abandoned or discarded at
sea; to regulate activities which seriously affect the food sources of
small cetaceans; to prevent significant disturbance (e.g. seismic
testing, whalewatching) to small cetaceans; to carry out population
surveys and research into the causes of their decline;and to carry out improved reporting and retrieving of bycatches
and strandings. Pursuant to the Conservation Plan,
ACCOBAMS has implemented a wide-range of initiatives including the
adoption of a
Recovery Plan for
Baltic Harbour Porpoises (Jastarnia Plan) in
2002.
|
|
BACK TO INDEX |
|
