Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

OSPAR definition

What does OSPAR mean? In legal practice, OSPAR refers to the Oslo‑paris convention for the Protection of the Marine environment of the North‑East Atlantic and the OSPAR Commission, which set regional rules and standards to prevent and control marine pollution. It is an international treaty, not a statutory definition, but is implemented in the UK and Ireland through domestic permitting and marine licensing. OSPAR requires contracting parties (including the UK and Ireland) to apply best available techniques and best environmental practice to reduce pollution from land‑based sources, offshore oil and gas activities and dumping at sea, and to protect biodiversity. OSPAR binding Decisions...

OSPAR Convention: legal framework, obligations and 2021–2025 ministerial outcomes for protection of the North-East Atlantic marine environment

Published by a LexisNexis Environment expert

Practice notes

Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (ospar)

Parties

Fifteen governments and the EU:

Belgium
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Iceland
Ireland
Luxembourg
the Netherlands
Norway
Portugal
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
the United Kingdom
the EU

Adopted

22 September 1992

entry into force

25 March 1998

Full text

Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic

Subject

Marine pollution, marine conservation

OSPAR

OSPAR is a regional arrangement through which 15 governments and the EU (see implementing Council Decision 98/249/EC) co-operate to safeguard the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic. Its name stems from the two instruments it replaced: the 1972 Oslo Convention on preventing pollution by dumping from ships and aircraft, and the 1974 paris convention tackling pollution from land-based sources. Those original treaties reflected rising awareness of the need to protect the seas, sharpened by disasters such as the 1967 grounding of the Torrey Canyon in Cornwall and the release of 117,000 tonnes of oil into the North-East Atlantic. In 1992, after a joint meeting of the Oslo and Paris Commissions, the agreements were unified, updated and expanded...

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