ABSTRACT
Because of the ubiquitous, continuous and high rates of growth of tourism, petroleum transport and advances in agricultural technology, there are genuine fears that the Mediterranean Sea, as an inland sea, cannot escape pollution on a large scale. In fact, as the evidence shows, these fears are probably wildly exaggerated, in part due to the significant improvements in prevention over the past twenty-five years (see Chapter 17). Nevertheless, the precautionary principle prevails: action taken now may offset severe and irreversible problems later. A series of protocols over the years have worked to prevent the balance from tipping to disaster. The 1953 London Convention sought to prevent pollution of sea water by oil spills. In 1973 this was extended to forbid the discharge of hydrocarbons 50 miles from the shore. In 1976 the Barcelona Convention produced three legal protocols:
• to prevent pollution by immersion operations of ships and aircraft; • to encourage co-operation between Mediterranean countries (north and south, east and
west) in the event of a critical situation (e.g. a large oil spill); • to protect the Mediterranean against land-based pollution.
