OSPAR Commission

OSPAR is the mechanism by which fifteen Governments of the western coasts and catchments of Europe, together with the European Community, cooperate to protect the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic (including: Artic Waters, Greater North Sea, Celtic Seas, bay of Biscay and Iberian Coast, Wider Atlantic). 

OSPAR focuses of 5 thematic strategies to address the main threats

• the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Strategy,
• the Eutrophication Strategy, 
• the Hazardous Substances Strategy,
• the Offshore Industry Strategy, and
•  the Radioactive Substances Strategy.

In addition, the Joint Assessment and Monitoring Programme assesses the status of the marine environment and follows up implementation of the strategies and the resulting benefits to the marine environment. 

The OSPAR Commission has also considered the relevance of climate change issues in a wider context, acknowledging that currently climate change has the potential to affect key aspects of the North-East Atlantic ecosystems ranging from physical parameters, such as sea temperature or ocean circulation, to biodiversity and ecological processes. Indirect effects include acidification of the oceans and potential changes in land-based inputs to the sea.