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IMO publishes new volume on PSSAs
In July, IMO will launch a new publication containing detailed information on the designation of Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSAs) by the Organization.
A PSSA is one that is deemed special protection because of its significance for recognized ecological, socio-economic, or scientific attributes - where such attributes may be vulnerable to damage by international shipping activities.
At the time of designation of a PSSA, at least one associated protective measure (APM), which meets the requirements of the appropriate legal instrument establishing such measure, must have been approved or adopted by IMO to prevent, reduce, or eliminate the threat to, or the identified vulnerability of the PSSA.
The new IMO publication will provide the reader with an overview of all PSSAs, including their APMs, which have been designated by the Organization since 1990 and will include all key legal documents adopted to date by the IMO Assembly and the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC).
To date, the following PSSAs have been designated:
- Great Barrier Reef, Australia (designated a PSSA in 1990)
- Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago, Cuba (1997)
- sea area around Malpelo Island, Colombia (2002)
- sea around the Florida Keys, United States (2002)
- Wadden Sea, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands (2002)
- Paracas National Reserve, Peru (2003)
- Western European Waters (2004)
- extension of the Great Barrier Reef PSSA to include the Torres Strait and Papua New Guinea 2005) á - Canary Islands, Spain (2005)
- Galapagos Archipelago, Ecuador (2005)
- Baltic Sea area, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden (2005)
Details of each, together with all the relevant APMs will be found in this new volume.
Customers wishing to be informed when this title is published can register online at the IMO website.
For more information please visit: www.imo.org/publications/contents.asp?doc_id=1231&topic_id=426&header=false&margin=no&productcode=I545E%20
Written: 2007-06-28 08.23.49
Editor: Cecilia Österman

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