WWF Logo


WWF Press Release






Back to 
the News Room

Related Information:

Fact Sheet: Marine Pollution

WWF Endangered Seas Campaign


Decisions to Eliminate Toxic Discharges Still Inadequate

Marine Pollution September 5th, 1997

BRUSSELS, Belgium - At the conclusion of the OSPAR Convention* meeting here, WWF-World Wide Fund For Nature today called upon the contracting parties to strengthen the new measures aimed at reducing and eliminating marine pollution and protecting marine wildlife. In their current form, the measures are too weak to make any significant difference to the health of the North East Atlantic.

Despite many North East Atlantic Governments' decisions to phase out hazardous substances in the marine environment, (the UK for example announced this week that it will be working to eliminate toxic discharges), there are still four contracting parties who have not yet ratified the Convention, the EC, France, Portugal, Luxembourg.

Despite OSPAR's ambitious targets to clean up pollution sources, large numbers of toxic chemicals from industry and agriculture are still entering the North East Atlantic via agricultural run-off, industrial discharges and atmospheric deposits.

Stephan Lutter, Head of WWF's North East Atlantic Programme said: "Despite the commitment to eliminate emissions of toxic chemicals such as endocrine mimickers and organohalogens, the decision to phase out these chemicals has yet again be postponed. Despite individual countries' changing their policy, we are seriously worried about the extremely slow progress of OSPAR in implementing existing commitments."

Furthermore, WWF is calling upon the contracting parties to protect marine wildlife and habitats throughout the North East Atlantic. "The current draft provisions make a mockery of the original objectives ," said Stephan Lutter.

Contact: Stephan Lutter + 49 171 70 15346 or Cherry Farrow at +44 1483426444.

Editors' Notes:
*OSPAR (Oslo and Paris Commissions) refers to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic agreed in 1992. The contracting parties have been meeting in Brussels since 2 September. There are delegations from the fifteen countries that border the North East Atlantic, the EC and NGOs.

The 2nd Ministerial Meeting of the contracting parties to the 1992 OSPAR Convention will be held in Lisbon, in July 1998 during EXPO '98.

A new Annex is being proposed on the protection of marine wildlife and habitats for adoption in July 1998.