Link
to text of agreement
Status
of agreement
| Basic information |
| Date of adoption | 17 March 1992 |
| Place of adoption | New York, United States |
| Entry into force | 29 March 1994 |
| Authentic text(s) |
English, French, German, Russian |
| Summary of provisions |
Objectives
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. [Article 2(1)]
Scope
- Material
Small cetaceans, defined as any species, subspecies or population of toothed whales Odontoceti, except the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). [Article 1(2)(a)]
- Geographic
The Agreement Area is defined as the marine environment of the Baltic and North Seas. [Article 1(3)(a)]
Organizational mechanism
To oversee and coordinate the implementation of the Agreement a Secretariat, an Advisory Committee and regular Meetings of the Parties are established.
| Description of agreement |
The Agreement for the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas was signed on 17 March 1992 after a lengthy and complicated negotiating process (which began when the issue of an agreement on North Sea and Baltic Sea populations of small cetaceans was raised at the first Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species in 1985). The Agreement was concluded under Article IV(4) of the Bonn Convention 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. At the Fourth Meeting of the Parties, in 2003, a Resolution was adopted to extend the area of application of the Agreement to the North East Atlantic and the Irish Sea (see below). The amendments set out in the Resolution are subject to ratification by the Parties; when they have entered into force, the Agreement will be renamed the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas.
Objectives and scope
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 marine environment of the Baltic and North Seas. Small cetaceans are defined as any species, subspecies or population of toothed whales Odontoceti, except the sperm whale; while the Agreement area is defined so as to include the whole of the Baltic Sea, the Kattegat and Skagerrak, the North Sea and the English Channel. Since its inception, however, the area of application of the Agreement has been a subject of discussion amongst the parties, with consideration being given to extension first to the waters around Ireland and then to the coasts of Spain and Portugal. In 2003, at the Fourth Meeting of the Parties, a Resolution was adopted to extend the area of application of the Agreement to the contiguous area of the North East Atlantic (including the Irish Sea and the waters of the North East Atlantic as far as southern Portugal) both in order to cover the migratory range of the cetacean species covered and to connect geographically with the ACCOBAMS Agreement (which applies in the Mediterranean and Black Seas). The Resolution is formally subject to ratification by the Parties.
Participation
The Agreement is open for ratification or accession to any Range State or regional economic integration organization (i.e. any State or REIO that exercises jurisdiction over any part of the range of a species covered by the Agreement, or a State whose flag vessels, outside national jurisdictional limits but within the area of the Agreement, are engaged in operations adversely affecting small cetaceans).
Organizational structure
The Agreement establishes three institutions to oversee and coordinate its implementation: Meetings of the Parties, an Advisory Committee and a Secretariat. In addition to the three main institutions, each Party is to designate a Coordinating Authority, which is to serve as a contact point for the Secretariat and the Advisory Committee in their work and through which the activities of each Party are to be coordinated and monitored.
Meeting of the Parties
The Meetings of the Parties is the decision making body. Meetings of the Parties are to take place not less than once every three years to review the progress made and difficulties encountered in the implementation and operation of the Agreement. All non-Party range States are entitled to attend as observers. 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 Secretariat and the Parties on the conservation and management of small cetaceans and other matters in relation to the running of the Agreement.” In practice many of the decisions taken by the Meetings of the Parties are based on proposals from the Advisory Committee. The Committee consists of one representative from each Party and meets at least once a year.
Secretariat
The Secretariat is to promote and coordinate activities undertaken under the Agreement, provide advice and support to the Parties and service the Meetings of the Parties and meetings of the Advisory Committee.
Main provisions and functions
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. In practice, ASCOBANS has focussed to date on three areas for priority action - the reduction of pollution, the reduction of direct interaction with fisheries and protected areas. Included in these areas was the adoption of a major initiative in 2002, the Recovery Plan for Baltic Harbour Porpoises (Jastarnia Plan).
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Further information and references |
- Internet sources
- Bibliographic references
R. R. Churchill, 'The Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas' in Burns, Gillespie, The Future of Cetaceans in a Changing World, 2003
R. R. Churchill, 'Sustaining Small Cetaceans: A Preliminary Evaluation of the ASCOBANS and ACCOBAMS Agreements' in Boyle, Freestone (eds), International Law and Sustainable Development, 1999, p. 225
- Additional treaty references
1995 UKTS No. 52
- Associated instruments