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Dieren en planten

Water en land

Landforms   Sea regions   North Sea (biotope)   Sandbanks   

Treaties of Oslo and Paris (OSPAR)

The treaties of Paris and Oslo (OSPAR) were signed in 1992 and regulate the protection of the marine environment in the north-east Atlantic region. They went into effect in 1998. The treaties are binding for all of the participating countries. An international committee (mostly referred to as OSPARCOM) is responsible for working out these treaties.

  • Appendices

    The treaties of Paris and Oslo contain two appendices: the black list of materials which are not allowed to be discharge and the grey list of materials which are only permitted to be dumped when a permit has been given from the country where the dumping takes place.
    Participating countries regularly revise the agreements at special conferences, based upon new knowledge and insight. OSPARCOM publishes this knowledge in the form of Quality Status Reports (QSR). The most recent QSR for the North Sea dates back to 2000. The next one will be published in 2010.

  • EcoQOs

    Seven Ecological Quality Objectives (EcoQOs) have developed as tools to help fulfill commitments in managing human activities that could effect the North Sea marine environment. EcoQOs for other regions are still being developed. EcoQOs can be targets (commitment to attain them), limits (commitment to avoid breachting them) or indicators (values which indicate change that may lead to research).