THE LONDON CONVENTION and 1996 Protocol

States Parties: There are 79 Contracting Parties to the Convention of which 13 are from Africa. There are 16 Contracting Parties to the 1996 Protocol, of which South Africa is the only one from Africa.

Purpose and Objective

The Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and other Matter - otherwise known as the London Convention - was adopted at a conference in London in 1972 with the purpose of regulating the dumping of wastes at sea and, in so doing, protecting the marine environment. In relation to the Convention, dumping is defined as:

i) Any deliberate disposal at sea of wastes or other matter from vessels, aircraft, platforms or other man-made structures at sea;
ii) Any deliberate disposal at sea of vessels, aircraft, platforms or other man-made structures.

The definition was later extended to include incineration at sea, which is itself defined at the deliberate combustion of wastes or other matter on marine incineration facilities for the purpose of their thermal destruction.

Although the general intent of the new Protocol remains the same - namely the protection of the marine environment - it enhances the ability of authorities to do this, firstly by entrenching the ban on the dumping of radioactive and industrial wastes, and the incineration of wastes at sea; and secondly by introducing a number of additional provisions, including:

Status: The London Convention itself has been in force since 1975, while the 1996 Protocol is yet to come into force.

Next Meeting:
The next meeting of Contracting Parties is in November 2002.

The integrity of the marine environment is important, not only in support of the sustainable utilisation of marine resources, but also for the protection of public health, and for the promotion of tourism in coastal destinations. Any mechanism which serves to maintain this integrity is therefore of benefit to the country as a whole. The London Convention is regarded as being one of the more successful international agreements and has been at the forefront of developments in the control of marine pollution. Participating in meetings of Contracting Parties has allowed us to keep abreast of these developments and, when necessary, to access international expertise through the technical co-operation programme. It has therefore been central to the development of appropriate policies and regulations with respect to marine pollution.

From a political point of view, South Africa is the only Southern African country actively participating in the affairs of this convention, and we therefore play an important role in channelling relevant information into the region.

The provisions of the Convention are brought into force locally in terms of the Dumping at Sea Control Act, No.73 of 1980. New provisions, which will bring the national legislation in line with the 1996 Protocol, have been included into the draft National Coastal Management Bill.