IMO's 2020 report on marine waste dumping permits under the London Convention and Protocol

Eda Zenic -

The International Maritime Organization issued a detailed view of the 2020 dumping permits report for the London Convention and Protocol.

  • Purpose: This report provides a summary of the marine waste dumping permits issued by Contracting Parties in 2020. It reflects the activities related to the dumping or incineration of wastes at sea, as reported by the respective countries or their regional bodies.
  • Report Compilation: The Secretariat prepared the report based on submissions from Contracting Parties. It includes maps of waste dumping locations where provided by the reporting parties.

Key Details

Scope and Focus:

The report primarily details permits issued in 2020. However, some dumping activities permitted in 2020 or previous years might have occurred after 2020. Thus, the data reflects a snapshot of the permitting activities but may not fully capture all related dumping events.

Permit Categorization:

Permits are classified according to Annex 1 of the London Protocol, which outlines categories for different types of waste and dumping activities.

Contracting Parties and Reporting:

In 2020, there were 87 States party to the London Convention and 53 States party to the London Protocol.

Of these, 34 Contracting Parties reported their dumping activities for 2020. This represents an overall reporting rate of 34% of all parties.

  1. London Convention only: 8 out of 47 parties reported (17% reporting rate).
  2. Both London Convention and Protocol: 21 out of 40 parties reported (52.5% reporting rate).
  3. London Protocol only: 5 out of 13 parties reported (38.5% reporting rate).

Document Content:

Tables:

  1. Table 1 provides a summary of the number of permits issued for sea disposal in 2020.
  2. Table 2.1: Details permits issued in the East Atlantic and adjacent waters.
  3. Table 2.2: Covers permits issued in the Indian Ocean, Western Pacific, and adjacent waters.
  4. Table 2.3: Includes permits issued in the West Atlantic, Eastern Pacific, and adjacent waters.

Maps:

  1. Include locations of dumping activities in countries like China, Japan, Spain, and the United States, among others.
  2. These maps provide visual representation of where waste was disposed of at sea but come with the note that the boundaries and names used do not imply official endorsement by the International Maritime Organization.

Additional Notes

  • Legal Status: The use of country and territory names in the report does not imply any official stance on their legal status or boundaries.
  • Invitation: Contracting Parties are encouraged to review and take note of the report.