ACCOBAMS Secretariat

Since February 2002, the Government of H.S.H the Prince of Monaco hosts the ACCOBAMS Secretariat.  In 2016, at the occasion of the 20^th anniversary of the ACCOBAMS, an amended Head Quarters Agreement between the Government of H.S.H the Prince of Monaco and the Secretariat of ACCOBAMS was signed by the Chair of the ACCOBAMS Bureau and the Executive Secretary on behalf of the Parties to ACCOBAMS.

The functions of the Secretariat are:

a) to arrange and service the sessions of the Meeting of the Parties;
b) to liaise with and facilitate co‐operation between Parties and non‐Party Range States, and international and national bodies whose activities are directly or indirectly relevant to the conservation of cetaceans in the Agreement area;
c) to assist the Parties in the implementation of this Agreement, ensuring coherence between the sub‐regions and with measures adopted pursuant to other international instruments in force;
d) to execute decisions addressed to it by the Meeting of the Parties;
e) to invite the attention of the Meeting of the Parties to any matter pertaining to this Agreement;
f) to provide to each ordinary session of the Meeting of the Parties a report on the work of the Permanent Secretariat, the Coordination units, the Bureau, and the Scientific Committee, and on the implementation of the Agreement based on information provided by the Parties and other sources;
g) to administer the budget for this Agreement;
h) to provide information to the general public concerning this Agreement and its objectives; and
i) to perform any other function entrusted to it under this Agreement or by the Meeting of the Parties.

 

In addition, the Secretariat, in consultation with the Scientific Committee and the Coordination units, facilitates the preparation of guidelines covering inter alia:

a) the reduction or elimination, as far as possible and for the purposes of this Agreement, of adverse human‐cetacean interactions;
b) habitat protection and natural resource management methods as they relate to cetaceans;
c) emergency measures; and
d) rescue methods.

 

	A word from the Executive Secretary,
As one of the CMS-family Agreements, ACCOBAMS embodies the collective conservation efforts put together by 24 signatory Countries on a group of migratory animals, in a way that individual countries alone could not do. ACCOBAMS illustrates the outreach of a successful regional cooperation mechanism aimed at conserving cetaceans, and contributing to halt marine biodiversity loss on a wider scale. At the Meeting of the Parties, held in Malta, end of 2022, ACCOBAMS Countries reaffirmed their strong commitment to cooperate regionally towards the conservation of cetaceans and their habitats in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and its adjacent Atlantic area. They have entrusted the Presidency of the ACCOBAMS Bureau to Malta, assisted by Vice-Chairs from Bulgaria, Lebanon, Montenegro and Portugal, for the period 2023 to 2025. ACCOBAMS Countries took important decisions, such as the ambitious work program for 2023-2025 focused on improving their collective response to the multiple and cumulative threats posed to cetaceans by human activities, such as marine pollution, anthropogenic underwater noise, unwanted interactions in fisheries, commercial whale watching activities, or collisions with vessels. Their commitment is further illustrated by the 23 Resolutions adopted – half of which based on recommendations issued by the Scientific Committee – with guidance on how to improve cetaceans’ conservation state and resiliency. A long-term monitoring programme on dolphins and whales was recognised by the Parties as a priority activity in the ACCOBAMS area, particularly building up on the outbreaking Survey (ASI) that was recently conducted, for the sake of effective conservation efforts, and in face of the rapidly changing reality. We are called to pursue stronger efforts and collective work in order to restore and improve cetaceans’ conservation state, in alignement with the huge objectives defined for the near future.
Susana SALVADOR, ACCOBAMS Executive Secretary

 

Secretariat’s Team
Susana SALVADOR Executive Secretary ssalvador@accobams.net
Camille MONTIGLIO Assistant to the Executive Secretary cmontiglio@accobams.net	Frida NIGRI Accountant & Programme Assistant fnigri@accobams.net	Maÿlis SALIVAS Programme & Project Officer msalivas@accobams.net	Marwan ABDERRAHIM Programme & Project Officer mabderrahim@accobams.net