OSPAR Convention
The Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic 1992 (PDF 102 KB) is more commonly known as the OSPAR Convention.
The OSPAR Convention unified and updated the Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping from Ships and Aircraft 1972 (the Oslo Convention) and the Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution from Land-Based Sources 1974 (the Paris Convention).
The UK is a signatory to the OSPAR Convention.
The OSPAR Commission manages work done under the OSPAR Convention. It is made up of representatives of the European Commission and 15 Governments of the western coasts and catchments of Europe: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
The OSPAR Commission regularly publishes reports and guidelines on matters affecting the marine environment.
Contact information
Marine Licensing Team
Marine Management Organisation
Lancaster House
Hampshire Court
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE4 7YH
Tel: 0300 123 1032
Fax: 0191 376 2681
Email: marine.consents@
marinemanagement.org.uk