OSPAR Ministerial Meeting 2010
Bergen, Norway, 20-24 September 2010
The Norwegian Ministry of the Environment will host the Ministerial Meeting of the OSPAR Commission (“the North-East Atlantic Environment Summit”) in Bergen, Norway. The 15 countries and the European Union, that are Contracting Parties to the OSPAR Convention, are expected to take urgent actions for the protection of the marine environment but also to celebrate some important achievements for the North-East Atlantic.
Important issues for in-depth consideration include:
• Actions and measures for the protection of marine biodiversity, including taking forward a coherent and well-managed network of marine protected areas, which may include areas beyond national jurisdiction;
• Climate change and ocean acidification;
• Achieving good environmental status in the North-East Atlantic by 2020, by providing the regional platform for implementing the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.
The North-East Atlantic Environment Summit will launch the Quality Status Report 2010, a major holistic assessment of the quality status of the North East Atlantic. The Quality Status Report 2010 will examine all aspects of human influence on the sea, including contaminants, nutrient pollution and radioactive substances and the effects of human activities such as the offshore oil and gas industry, offshore wind farms, maritime transport, and fisheries. It will guide OSPAR’s work and strategies in the period pots-2010.
The Ministers and representatives from the 16 OSPAR Contacting Parties (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the European Union) will be present.
The Ministers and governmental observers from Canada, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America, and observers from intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations have also been invited. During the North-East Atlantic Summit the 12th UNEP Global Meeting of the Regional Seas Conventions and Actions Plans will be held 20-22 September 2010 in Bergen, Norway. This is a particular opportunity for OSPAR to contribute in the International Year of Biodiversity to the global discussions on marine conservation.