Policies
The Agreement
The Bonn Agreement has several levels of policy that govern its operation. Firstly the Agreement itself, originally signed in 1969 and regularly updated since, which outlines the legal basis for the organisation and its work. It stipulates the areas that the cooperation will cover and how Contracting Parties should act within the agreement in the case of pollution.
The Bonn Declaration
In 2019 the Bonn Agreement celebrated its 50 Anniversary with its second Ministerial Meeting. Ministers adopted the Bonn Declaration and the Bonn Agreement Strategic Action Plan 2019-2025. The new action plans includes expanding the scope of application of the Bonn Agreeement to include air pollution caused by shipping.
Ministers also agreed to the accession of Spain. An Observer nation since 2003, Spain became a Contracting Party and the Bay of Biscay was added to the Bonn Agreement Area.
The Dublin Declaration
The Bonn Agreement held its first Ministerial Meeting in 2010 marking the accession of Ireland to the Agreement. Ministers at the meeting also adopted The Dublin Declaration which set out the future strategic direction for the organisation
Bonn Agreement Strategic Action Plan
The Bonn Agreement Strategic Action Plan containes the practical actions to fulfil the Strategy of the Bonn Agreement. The BASAP is regularly updated to meet new and anticipated challenges to the Marine Environment.
Instrument of Modification of Joint Boundaries
The Bonn Agreement has an MoU with the OSPAR Commission, our sister organisations, to further our mutual goals.