Updated 1997

Background of the North Sea Conferences

The First International Conference on the Protection of the North Sea was held in Bremen 1984 with participation from Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom and the European Commission. The aim was to provide political impetus for the intensification of the work within relevant international bodies, and to ensure more efficient implementation of the existing international rules related to the marine environment in all North Sea States. It was thought that a political declaration from a North Sea perspective, would stimulate and bring further ongoing work within the existing international conventions (e.g. the Oslo Convention on dumping at sea, the Paris Convention on pollution from land-based sources and the IMO Convention on shipping issues).

The Bremen Conference initiated a continuous process where focus is put on the protection of the North Sea at regular Ministerial Conferences. At each Conference, ministers have made commitments to take certain measures aimed at protecting or enhancing the environment of the North Sea.

The Bremen Conference in 1984 was followed by the London Conference in 1987. At the London Conference, non-governmental organisations were for the first time permitted to attend parts of the conference. The London Conference was followed by the Hague Conference in 1990 where the Swiss Confederation for the first time attended. The Fourth Conference was held in Esbjerg in 1995 after an Intermediate Ministerial Meeting that was held in Copenhagen in 1993.

The North Sea Conferences are political events. The decisions of Ministers, as recorded in the Ministerial Declarations, are political commitments which have played an important role in influencing legally binding environmental management decisions both nationally and within the framework of competent international bodies.

The Ministerial Declaration of the Fourth International Conference on the Protection of the North Sea, addresses a wide range of issues as regards the protection of the North Sea such as species and habitats issues, pollution by hazardous substances and nutrients, radioactive substances and pollution from ships and offshore installations. Due to the concern about the impact of fisheries on the commercially important fish stocks, on other fish stocks and on the marine ecosystem in general, the fishery activities were introduced as a new issue.

Furthermore the ministers agreed that the next North Sea Conference would be held in Norway at some date in the period 2000-2002. They also agreed that Norway would organise an Intermediate Ministerial Meeting on the integration of fisheries and environmental issues with the participation of ministers responsible for environmental protection and ministers responsible for fisheries. The Intermediate Ministerial Meeting was held in Bergen, Norway on 13 and 14 March 1997.

The ministers agreed that there should be regular meetings of senior officials representing the North Sea States and the European Commission and that these meetings would be called the Committee of North Sea Senior Officials (CONSSO). The main task of CONSSO is to organise the work necessary to follow up the Fourth North Sea Conference Declaration.

A secretariat which supports the meetings of senior officials is established in the Ministry of the Environment in Norway.