The Role of Maritime Zones in Promoting Effective Governance for Protection of the Mediterranean Marine Environment

The European Commission DG for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries invited a group of legal experts on the Mediterranean Sea for a meeting held in Brussels between the dates of 14-15 January 2009 to discuss in detail and to prepare a report based upon the following terms of reference:

1. Describe in detail the current legal status of Mediterranean waters, including a mapping of jurisdictions and declared zones,
2. Describe and assess the issues arising from this situation, in particular regarding the monitoring, control and enforcement of human activities at sea that impact on the ecosystem (such as movement of goods and people, pollution, exploitation of all marine resources, etc.), and including tools such as spatial planning and management,
3. Discuss the possible economic and social implications of these issues, and
4. Make recommendations on possible solutions for effectively improving the application of rights and duties as laid down in the UNCLOS, in the Mediterranean, including references to legal tools and instruments that could be used.

This report will discuss issues related to effective governance of the marine environment in the Mediterranean Sea in relation to maritime zones, including the challenges that prevent full exercise by coastal states of their right to establish EEZs. The report will focus primarily on the legal rights derived from the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention (1982 LOS Convention), which has been ratified by the majority but not all of the Mediterranean States.