As I have suggested some years ago and ever since, the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean and its seven Protocols, the so-called Barcelona Convention system (BCS) – along with all regional or global conventional environmental regimes – should be constructively explained as a conventionally determined international trust regime. The BCS sets up a conventional regime of international common interest (ICI) governing the protection of the marine environment and the resources of the Mediterranean in a sustainable manner so that the needs of present and future generations should be met in an equitable manner.

The Rio+20 Summit is widely regarded as a failure: “Yet another UN mega-conference ends in disappointment…”; “The Rio+20 Summit produced a largely meaningless document that failed to address the daunting environmental challenges the world faces”; the outcome of Rio+20 displays “a colossal failure of leadership and vision”.While expectations of civil society, scientists and parts of the business community have been high, the outcomes of Rio+20 are sobering.

The release of nuclear materials in the environment through an accident or a terrorist act will generate havoc for human health and the environment. The international community has enacted a number of instruments to ensure the safety and security of nuclear materials. Nuclear safety is one of IAEA’s top concerns and the Convention on Nuclear Safety was negotiated under its auspices. The convention is the first international convention that addresses the safety of land-based nuclear reactors (it does not apply to military and marine power reactors). The fundamental tenet of the convention is that responsibility for nuclear safety rests with the state that has jurisdiction over a nuclear installation.

The general rules of international law on the regime and extent of maritime zones within national jurisdiction, as set forth in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), apply also in semi-enclosed seas, such as the Mediterranean Sea. Despite a certain number of maritime boundaries waiting to be agreed upon by the Mediterranean States concerned, there is no doubt that States bordering enclosed or semi-enclosed seas are entitled to establish exclusive economic zones whenever they wish to do so, even though for geographical reasons they cannot claim a full size 200-mile zone.

Fostering the sustainable management of the oceans, seas and coasts and enhancing the overall development of all sea-related activities in a sustainable manner necessitate the adoption of overarching and integrated approaches to maritime governance. Within this context, the European Union has developed so far an integrated maritime policy framework aimed at promoting and implementing an all-inclusive and holistic approach to maritime affairs.

Twenty years ago, more than 100 heads of states met in Rio de Janeiro to address urgent problems for environmental protection and socio-economic development and set an action plan for sustainable development. In a few months’ time, a great number of heads of states will once again meet in Rio to determine the next steps for environmental protection and socio-economic development.