Nutrients, such as nitrogen and phospohorous, are key part of delivering food security and sustainable development. However, excess use and inefficient practices leads to nutrient overenrichment, causing soil acidification and groundwater pollution, harmful algal blooms and dead zones in the sea, and loss of coral and sea grass cover. This booklet is a crosscutting contribution to sustainable development and global advocacy for productive discussion and action by countries and their stakeholders.Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans
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The eighteen Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans (RSCAPs) play a fundamental role in the implementation of the GPA. The respective governments of some of the Regional Seas have negotiated legally-binding conventions/protocols that contribute to achieving the objectives of the GPA, while others have negotiated Action Plans that also contribute to the GPA. In some regions, projects funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) have resulted in Strategic Action Plans for specific ecosystems. These contribute positively to the GPA and are examples of the regional collaboration envisaged by the drafters of the GPA.
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Several regions have LBS/A (land-based activities and sources of pollution) protocols, others are in the process of developing this protocol, and some do not have such a protocol but address the issue of wastewater and implementation of GPA through different mechanisms within their programmes. Currently there are 7 LBS/A protocols (Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea, ROPME Sea Area, South-East Pacific, Wider Caribbean, Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, East and South Africa), and an additional two are under development in the Caspian, and West & Central Africa regions. To date, three of the UNEP administered regional seas have an LBS/A protocol and implement a number of activities addressing the GPA source category pollutants. For more information on the RSCAPs please visit www.unep.org/regionalseas |
Implementation of the gpa at regional level