Page 181 - 7. State Of Environment Report Of Türkiye

C.1.3.6. International/Regional Co-operation in the Prevention of Marine Pollution

It is not sufficient to carry out the activities related to the protection of the seas against pollution
by a single country with the same coastline, and there is a need for inter-country co-operation
on the protection of the seas where the countries have common benefits. For this purpose, re-
gional co-operation agreements have been signed between countries in order to prevent pol-
lution of the marine environment, reduce and control pollution, and ensure sustainable use of
natural resources.
These are the Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution (Bucharest), to
which the countries bordering the Black Sea, including Türkiye, are parties, and the Convention
on the Protection of the Marine Environment and Coastal Areas of the Mediterranean Sea (Bar-
celona), to which the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea are parties. With these con-
ventions, co-operation activities are carried out among the littoral countries for the protection
and sustainable use of the Mediterranean and Black Sea marine environment. In this context,
measurements and analyses are carried out and pollution monitoring data and assessments are
reported within the framework of these conventions in order to monitor pollution in all our seas
and to form the basis for determining national marine and coastal management policies and
strategies. Türkiye hosts the Permanent Secretariat of the Black Sea Commission. The activities
of the advisory groups, national focal points and activity centres established under the Conven-
tion are followed.

Under the Conventions, National Action Plans are required to be updated every 5 years. Within
this framework, the work on updating the National Action Plan for the Protocol on Land-Based
Pollutants for 2023-2028 is being carried out by the TUBITAK Marmara Research Centre for the
Project on Updating the National Action Plan for the Protection of Our Seas against Land-Based
Pollutants.

At the 21 Meeting of the Countries Parties held in 2019 within the scope of the Barcelona Con-
st
vention, Türkiye was elected as a bureau member of the Secretariat for 2020-2021 and it was
decided to hold the 22 Meeting of the Countries Parties in Antalya. The COP22 Meeting held
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in Antalya between 07-10 December was successfully completed. Türkiye served as the Bureau
Chairmanship for 2 years. Türkiye will continue to serve as a member of the Bureau for the 2024-
2025 period.
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Furthermore, at the 23 Conference of the Parties (COP23) held in Slovenia on 05-08 December
2023, the decision to establish a Regional Activity Centre on Climate Change in Türkiye was una-
nimously adopted. Thus, a United Nations (UN) office will be established in Türkiye and the Me-
diterranean Region will be actively involved in policy-making activities related to climate chan-
ge. This centre will also contribute to the active utilization of international funding mechanisms.

The “By-law on the Implementation of the Protocol on Environmental Protection in Antarctic”
prepared within the framework of the transposition of the Environmental Protection Protocol,
which is an annex protocol to the Antarctic Treaty, was published in the Official Gazette dated
13.06.2020 and numbered 31154. The Management Plan for the declaration of Antarctic Special
Protection Area (ASPA) on Horseshoe Island, where Türkiye has a temporary base, submitted
together with the UK and Belgium within the scope of the Antarctic Convention studies, was
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approved in 2023. In addition, the 9 Our Ocean Conference (OOC) with the theme “An Ocean
of Potential” was held in Athens (Greece) on 16-17 April 2024 with a side event titled “Leading
Steps for the Sustainability of Our Oceans”. In addition, a commitment was made that we will
complete our National Action Plan for the protection of the marine environment in Türkiye by
the end of 2025.

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