The OSPAR Commission’s group on the protection of species and habitats convened in Madrid on Dec. 2-5 to address ways to more effectively protect species and habitats that are threatened and/or declining and to consider several new scoping studies regarding seamounts as biodiversity hotspots in the deep sea and threats to sea turtles in the OSPAR maritime area. OSPAR says that the scoping studies bring new information to light and will inform next steps in terms of protection actions.
The meeting also addressed new proposals to add habitat to the OSPAR List of Threatened and/or Declining Species and Habitats and proposals for new protective measures for features already on the list.
Established in 1972, OSPAR is a mechanism for cooperation between 15 governments and the EU to protect the marine environment of the Northeast Atlantic by addressing dumping, land-based sources of marine pollution, the offshore industry, and non-polluting human activities that can affect the sea. The 15 governments are Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
