The meeting hosted by Turkey reviewed and acknowledged progress achieved in the implementation of the MAP Programme of Work (PoW) on land-based sea pollution. Focal Points reviewed the status of implementation of 10 regional plans - adopted since 2009 under Article 15 of the LBS Protocol under the Barcelona Convention - and made recommendations to further strengthen the regulatory framework of the MAP-Barcelona Convention system with a view to preventing and reducing marine pollution from land-based sources.
The meeting recommended the establishment of working groups to develop new, or update existing regional plans to be submitted for consideration by the 21st Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention (COP 21, Naples, Italy, 2-5 December 2019). Focal Points also underscored the importance of the effective implementation of the Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme related to the Pollution and Marine Litter Clusters and called on Contracting Parties to step up their efforts in this regard with support from the MAP – Barcelona Convention Secretariat. Participants notably took note of the recommendations of the second meeting of the experts on Regional Plans (Istanbul, Turkey, 27 May 2019).
