20-24 April 2009 UPDATE: 16th ASCOBANS Advisory Committee Paved the Way for the Next Meeting of Parties

The ASCOBANS Advisory Committee held its 16th meeting from 20-24 April 2009 in the beautiful city of Brugge, Belgium. The delegates enjoyed the proverbial Belgian hospitality while debating progress made in the implementation of the Agreement and recommendations to be made to the Meeting of Parties in autumn of this year. Nine of the member states to the Agreement were represented at the meeting, as well as three intergovernmental and seven non-governmental organisations and one invited expert. Among its main outcomes, the meeting agreed on final drafts of the revised ASCOBANS Recovery Plan for Harbour Porpoises in the Baltic Sea (Jastarnia Plan) and the ASCOBANS Conservation Plan for Harbour Porpoises in the North Sea, and transmitted them to the Meeting of the Parties for formal adoption. The meeting also established intersessional working groups tasked to further develop current drafts of a revised format for annual national reports and of a Communication, Education and Public Awareness (CEPA) Plan for ASCOBANS, with a view to their submission to the Meeting of the Parties for consideration. On the institutional side, the meeting recommended three options for future ASCOBANS Secretariat arrangements for further consideration by the Meeting of the Parties. A report of the meeting is available here

Last updated on 25 March 2014

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