The Contracting Parties to the present Protocol,
BEING PARTIES to the Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea Against Pollution, adopted at Barcelona on 16 February 1976,
DESIROUS of implementing Article 4, paragraph 2, and Articles 8 and 15 of the said Convention,
NOTING the rapid increase of human activities in the Mediterranean Sea Area, particularly in the fields of industrialization and urbanization, as well as the seasonal increase in the coastal population due to tourism,
RECOGNIZING the danger posed to the marine environment and to human health by pollution from land-based sources and the serious problems resulting therefrom in many coastal waters and river estuaries of the Mediterranean Sea, primarily due to the release of untreated, insufficiently treated or inadequately disposed of domestic or industrial discharges,
RECOGNIZING the difference in levels of development between the coastal States, and taking account of the economic and social imperatives of the developing countries,
DETERMINED to take in close co-operation the necessary measures to protect the Mediterranean Sea against pollution from land-based sources,
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
The Contracting Parties to this Protocol (hereinafter referred to as "the Parties") shall take all appropriate measures to prevent, abate, combat and control pollution of the Mediterranean Sea Area caused by discharges from rivers, coastal establishments or outfalls, or emanating from any other land-based sources within their territories.