Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas
Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas, often abbreviated to ASCOBANS, is a regional agreement on the protection of small cetaceans that was concluded as the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas under the auspices of the UNEP Convention on Migratory Species, or Bonn Convention, in September 1991 and came into force in March 1994. In February 2008, an extension of the agreement area came into force which changed the name to “Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas”. ASCOBANS covers all species of toothed whales (Odontoceti) in the Agreement Area, with the exception of the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). Background Numerous species of small cetaceans live in the Baltic, Irish and North Seas and the North East Atlantic, including dolphins, whales and harbour porpoises. The harbour porpoise is the most common small cetacean species in the North Sea and the only cetacean species native to the Baltic Sea and therefore is the flagship species of the Agreement. As migratory species, cetaceans face of a number of threats caused by human activities. These include habitat loss, marine pollution, acoustic disturbances from various sources and, most importantly, incidental catch by entanglement in fishing gear, so-called bycatch. Every year, thousands of whales, dolphins and porpoises fall victim to bycatch, drowning because they can no longer swim up to the surface for a breath of air. Organisational structure The Agreement has three main bodies that collaborate towards the implementation of ASCOBANS: Meeting of the Parties The Meeting of the Parties is the decision-making body of the Agreement. It meets every three years to assess progress and develop further steps in the implementation of ASCOBANS. Apart from the Member States, Non-Party Range States and relevant regional, intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations can attain observer status to attend MOP meetings without having a decision-making mandate themselves. Advisory Committee Each Party to the Agreement can nominate one member and a number of advisors to the Advisory Committee, which meets once a year. The role of the Committee is to provide scientific and policy advice to the Secretariat (see below) and the Meeting of the Parties. As with the MOP, external observers may take part in AC meetings, while the nominated members are the sole decision makers. Secretariat The ASCOBANS Secretariat, located in Bonn, acts as the coordinating body of the Agreement. It gathers and disseminates information to the MOP and the AC. It plays an important role in awareness-raising and provides advice and support to the Parties, assisting them in the implementation of the agreement. It services the sessions of the Meeting of the Parties and meetings of the Advisory Committee. The ASCOBANS Secretariat along with other Regional Agreement Secretariats within the framework of the Bonn Convention is integrated into the Agreements Unit of the CMS Secretariat. The 5th Meeting of the Parties of ASCOBANS (2006) decided that from 1