Programmes and Measures
Since 1972, OSPAR has worked to identify the threats to the marine environment, and has organised, across its region, programmes and measures to ensure effective national action to combat them. In doing so, it has pioneered ways of ensuring monitoring and assessment of the quality status of the seas, of setting internationally agreed goals and of checking that the participating Governments are delivering what is needed. The OSPAR Convention requires the Contracting Parties to report on what they have done to implement their obligations and commitments, and requires the OSPAR Commission to evaluate what has been achieved.Work to implement the OSPAR Convention and its strategies is taken forward through the adoption of decisions, which are legally binding on the Contracting Parties, recommendations and other agreements. Decisions and recommendations set out actions to be taken by the Contracting Parties. These measures are complemented by other agreements setting out:
- issues of importance;
- agreed programmes of monitoring, information collection or other work which the Contracting Parties commit to carry out;
- guidelines or guidance setting out the the way that any programme or measure should be implemented;
- actions to be taken by the OSPAR Commission on behalf of the Contracting Parties.