Accord RAMOGE - Prévention et lutte contre la pollution marine. L'Accord
RAMOGE signé en 1976 est l'instrument dont se sont dotés la France, Monaco
et l'Italie pour une gestion intégrée du littoral.Les zones maritimes
de la Région Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, de la Principauté de Monaco et
de la Région Ligurie constituent une zone pilote de prévention et de lutte
contre la pollution du milieu marin.
Accord RAMOGE - Prévention et lutte contre la pollution
marine,Ramoge, accord, accordo, agreement, accord international, accordo
internazionale,international agreement, protection, protezione, protection,
pollution marine, inquinamento marino, marine pollution, pollution, inquinamento,
pollution, marin, marino, marine, littoral, litorale, coast, coastlinemarine,
marina, gestion du littoral, gestione del litorale, coastline management
littoral méditerranéen, litorale mediterraneo, mediterranean coastline,
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Provenza-Alpi-Costa Azzurra, Provence-Alpes-Côte
d’Azur region, Principauté de Monaco, Principato di Monaco, Principality
of Monaco, Monaco, France, Francia, Italie, Italia, Italy, Région Ligurie,
Regione Liguria, Ligurian, region, prévention, prevenzione, prevention,
environnement, ambiente, environment, ports, porti, port, marina, plaisance,
diporto, sailing, biosurveillance, biosorveglianza, sanctuaire marin,
santuario marino, marine sanctuary sanctuaire, santuario, sanctuary, sauvegarde,
salvaguardia, safeguard, méditerranée, Mediterraneo, the Mediterranean
méditerranéen, mediterraneo, mediterranean, plan ramogepol, piano RAMOGEPOL,
Ramogepol plan, ramogepol,pollutions accidentelles, inquinamenti accidentali,
accidental marine pollution, exercices antipollution, esercitazioni, anti-inquinamento,
antipollution exercices, antipollution, antinquinamento, gestion intégrée
du littoral, gestione integrata del litorale, integrated coastal management,
biomarqueurs, biomarcatori, biomarkers, sig, GIS
PELAGOS The Sanctuary
for marine mammals in the Mediterranean
After a decade of debates and of information-sharing, France, Italy and Monaco, lead by a common will, signed, on November 25 th 1999 an Agreement concerning the creation of a Sanctuary for marine mammals named PELAGOS. This Agreement became effective on February 21 st 2002, after its ratification by the three countries.
Covering an 87.500 sq.km area, this Sanctuary constitutes a protected international marine area which is mainly situated in high sea. It was registered on the list of Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance (S.P.AM.I.), thus hallowing the innovating character of the Barcelona Protocol concerning the specially protected areas and the biologic diversity in the Mediterranean. This registration allows the Sanctuary to have official recognition from the Convention of Barcelona’s signatory States, for the protection of the Mediterranean.
The main affected species are :
Blue-white Dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba),
The Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus),
Long-finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala melas),
Risso’s Dolphin (Grampus griseus),
The Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus),
The Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus),
But also, even if less frequently:
The Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) and the Cuvier’s beaked whaled (Ziphius cavirostris).
Click on the iamge in order to enlarge it >>
Created in order to protect marine mammals against every cause of disruption originating from human activities, the Sanctuary aims to conciliate the harmonious development of human activities and the necessary protection of the habitats and the species.
Referring to the management plan and for a better knowledge of the biological inheritance in need of protection (relative abundance and distribution of the species, evolution of the habitats) and of the impact of human activities, a programme of priority actions is the main thought within the working groups in order for them to suggest concrete management measures, first to the Scientific Committee, then to the Conference of the Parts:
- whale-watching,
- fishing and aquaculture,
- maritime traffic and commercial maritime transport, - speedboat races,
- monitoring of the activities at sea,
- the development of a common database,
- the development of a tripartite website.
This approach is harmonized with other European intergovernmental organizations such as ACCOBAMS, RAC/SPA, the GFCM, the CIESM, RAMOGE and the IUCN.
Other Sanctuaries for marine mammals
With similar goals for the protection of marine mammals and their habitats, several Sanctuaries or projects are carried out or encouraged by France in the framework of a national strategy for biodiversity:
- The Sanctuary of French Polynesia in the EEZ and the territorial waters of the archipelago, including the Fakarava biosphere reserve in the Tuamotu, was created in 2002 by a Government Arrest of the French overseas territory.
-
The Project for the Sanctuary of the Caribbean in the EEZ of the French Indies is based on the Cartagena Convention for the protection of the marine environment in the Caribbean, with Guadeloupe, Martinique and Saint Barthelemy. It should be operational in 2009 with a future extension to Dutch Indies.
-
A zone of Protection for marine mammals in New Caledonia (including the Humpback Whale and the Dugong) is established by the deliberation of the Southern Province Assembly in 2004, against any type of action leading to impacts (destruction, harassment, hunt, transport...) .
-
The Antarctic Sanctuary, instituted in 1994, is France’s own initiative for the protection of cetaceans against hunting and harassment. France also supports the Sanctuary for Whales in the Indian Ocean as well as the projects for Sanctuaries in the Southwestern Pacific and the Southern Atlantic.
These zones would thus be immune from commercial hunting if it started again someday.
Therefore a Sanctuary is a space for Concerted Management of Coastal and Offshore Zones as well as a structure of mobilisation and of sharing of institutional, scientific, administrative, professional and associative skills.
Photo Credits : B. Belfiore, P. Fixois, D. Luquet, J.M. Mille,
M. Pansini, F. Platini - Acknowledgements : A.M.P.N.
