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The Ministers responsible for the protection of the environment of the North Sea and the Member of the European Commission responsible for environmental protection met in Bergen on 20 and 21 March 2002 for the Fifth North Sea Conference in the presence of observers from Intergovernmental Organizations and Non-governmental Organizations.
The Ministers adopted a Ministerial Declaration covering a wide range of issues of importance for the Protection of the North Sea, i.e. establishing an ecosystem approach to management, protection of species and habitats, sustainable fisheries, shipping, hazardous substances, eutrophication, offshore activities, radioactive substances, promotion of renewable energy, marine litter, spatial planning and future co-operation.
The Ministers recognize the need to manage all human activities that affect the North Sea in a way that conserves biological diversity and ensures sustainable development. They therefore agree to implement an ecosystem approach and on a conceptual framework to guide this new approach to management. This includes the use of ecological quality objectives as a tool for setting clear operational environmental objectives and serving as indicators for the ecosystems health. Ministers agree to use those ecological quality objectives already developed as a pilot project for the North Sea, and invite OSPAR to review progress by 2005.
Ministers agree that by 2010 relevant areas of the North Sea will be designated as marine protected areas belonging to a network of representative sites.
Based on the potentially severe and irreversible risks which genetically modified organisms may present if released to the marine environment, Ministers agree to take all possible actions to ensure that the culture of genetically modified organisms is confined to secure, self-contained, land-based facilities in order to prevent their release to the marine environment.
The Ministers are concerned that the majority of the commercially important fish stocks in the North Sea are outside "safe biological limits" and that some non-target species and the physical environment are also threatened by excessive fishing pressure. The Ministers therefore stress the need to further reduce, without delay, the capacity of the fishing fleet and the deployed fishing effort to levels which sustain available fisheries and environmental resources and ecosystem function.
Ministers agree on many initiatives in order to reduce the environmental impacts from shipping. Ministers will create a network of investigators and prosecutors in order to improve the cooperation between North Sea States to enforce the internationally agreed rules and standards for the prevention of pollution from ships. They welcome Sweden's offer to convene by the end of 2002 an initial meeting of such a network.
Ministers agree to take urgent coordinated steps to reduce the problem of spreading of non-indigenous invasive organisms through ships' ballast water. In order to fully implement existing IMO Guidelines and in light of the forthcoming IMO Convention on Ballast Water, they will decide upon national and/or regional measures by, if possible, the end of 2004 taking into account progress within IMO. Such measures could, inter alia, include monitoring programmes, information exchange, early warning systems, combating actions, control and enforcement.
The Ministers stress that increased efforts are necessary in order to meet the target of the cessation of emissions, discharges and losses of hazardous substances to the marine environment by 2020 (the "one generation" target). The Ministers recognize the need for work to identify what action may be needed to tighten control on the use of hazardous substances in consumer products, and agree that to this end their use should be addressed as a priority issue in the reform of the EU chemicals policy and the development of the EU integrated product policy.
The Ministers commit themselves to achieve full implementation of the nitrates, urban waste water directives, and the water framework directive or equivalent national measures and to meet the target of the OSPAR Strategy to combat Eutrophication, i.e. to achieve by 2010 a healthy marine environment where eutrophication does not occur.
The Ministers realize that further work is necessary to prevent pollution caused by discharges and emissions from offshore installations, and invite OSPAR to investigate further the extent and effects of pollution caused by the hazardous, natural components of produced water and review techniques for the reduction of the volume of produced water discharged into the sea (e.g. injection, down hole separation or water shut-off).
Recognizing the concern about a potential accident during the transport of radioactive material by sea, the Ministers urge North Sea States and operators to undertake timely consultations with relevant coastal states in advance of shipments and agree to consider the issue of maritime transport of radioactive material again in 2006 at the latest.
Recognizing the need to address ongoing releases of radioactive substances to the marine environment, of which discharges from reprocessing facilities represent the main part the Ministers agree that the progressive reduction of discharges from nuclear facilities is necessary for the effective implementations of the OSPAR Strategy for progressive and substantial reductions of discharges, emissions and losses of radioactive substances. The Ministers, except France, encourage relevant North Sea States to evaluate the options for spent nuclear fuel management after current reprocessing contracts have come to an end.
The Ministers welcome the development of renewable energy technology; inter alia, offshore wind energy that has the potential to make a significant contribution to tackling the problems of climate change. They agree to consider how to exploit this potential fully and safely, taking into account the global and European commitments linked to the Kyoto protocol.
In order to ensure a consistent and coherent approach to future developments of wind energy, which takes account of environmental, and nature-conservation issues, the Ministers encourage the competent authorities to develop indicative guidance on areas suitable for offshore wind energy developments. They invite OSPAR, in cooperation with the European Commission, to develop a comprehensive set of criteria to assist competent authorities when deciding on applications for the
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