Contribute with data to London Convention Global Disposal Report
9 December 2008
IMO is currently undertaking a global review of dredged sediment disposal and is seeking to get all information on disposal activities from countries around the world. The London Convention and Protocol/ IMO Circular which details the project and requests the information needed can be downloaded below.
CEDA as an official observer to the London Convention and Protocol* has been requested and is pleased to assist in collecting as much information as possible about disposal activities. Information is requested from both Contracting Parties to the London Convention/Protocol that has not reported any disposal data to the LC/LP Secretariat and importantly from non-Contracting Parties to those instruments.
Even partial information from countries will be useful e.g. covering some major ports. As you will see from the Circular Letter, the report will be focused on the period 2000-2005. For Contracting Parties a spreadsheet can be downloaded below which indicates (with cells highlighted in yellow) where there are gaps in the reporting of disposal data over the period 2000 to 2005.
You will see that the IMO Circular letter uses the word 'dumping' as it covers wastes or other matter including fish waste and inert inorganic geological material that may be placed at sea. Dredged material is included in this list, however WODA/CEDA would like to see all references to dredged material in this context referred to as 'disposal' and are currently campaigning to change this in the conventions.
Please send information to by 31 January 2009:
Dr. A. C. Birchenough
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS)
Lowestoft Laboratory
Pakefield Road, Lowestoft
Suffolk NR33 0HT
United Kingdom
Tel: +441502-562244
Fax: +441502-513865
Email: andrew.birchenough@cefas.co.uk
* The "Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter 1972", the "London Convention" for short, is one of the first global conventions to protect the marine environment from human activities. It was set up primarily to regulate the placement of noxious substances into the oceans, but also included the regulation of the disposal of dredged material. This was to be expected as the annual volumes of dredged material greatly exceeds any other material.
As an Official Observer to the London Convention and its Protocol (a separate agreement that modernised and updated the London Convention) , CEDA provides independent expert advice to the Convention to ensure that legislation pertinent to disposal activities is based on sound technical and scientific knowledge and best practice and is workable.
In this capacity CEDA, along with a number of other organisations, was instrumental in changing the image of dredged material ensuring it is treated as a special case recognising that it consists mainly of natural sediments and only a small proportion of the total volume dredged annually is contaminated, as a result dredged ‘spoil’ became know as dredged ‘material’ a term now embedded in the conventions.
To learn more about the London Convention and Protocol browse the LC brochure, visit the LC website or contact any member of the CEDA Environment Commission.
Download
| Title and description | Download | ||
|---|---|---|---|
 | LC Global disposal report | 129 Kb |  |
 | LC Global Disposal Overview | 59 Kb | |
| London Convention Description | 212 Kb | |
Last update: 12 December 2008