Istituto Superiore per la Protezione
e la Ricerca Ambientale

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United Nations

Within the United Nations, ISPRA guarantees and supports the participation and the Italian contribution to the following international bodies and conventions :

Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean  Sea (UNEP / MAP) and its seven protocols relating to specific forms of pollution. ISPRA acts as the national focal point of some of the Regional Activity Centres and of the MED POL program . It is also head of the INFO / RAC Centre for the Information and Communication.

 

Bonn Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) and the related Monaco Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the adjacent Atlantic  areas ( ACCOBAMS ) . Furthermore ISPRA is Technical Focal Point and member of the Scientific Committee of the African - Eurasian Waterbird Agreement ( AEWA ) , one of the largest international treaties concluded within the CMS .

 

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD ) as a Scientific and Technical Correspondant .

 

International Maritime Organization (IMO , International Maritime Organization), in which ISPRA supports the Italian participation to the Committee for the Protection of the Marine Environment ( MEPC ) , including some Correspondence Group, in discussions on specific  environmental issues (noise, cooperation and response to maritime accidents, highly sensitive marine areas , GHG emissions , etc. . ) . The Institute also monitors the implementation of the various international conventions managed by the IMO for the prevention of pollution from maritime transport ( London Dumping Convention and London Protocol , the International Convention on the Control and Management of Ships ' Ballast Waters and Sediments , OPRC and OPRC -HNS conventions, etc. ) .

 

Upon request of or in support of the Ministry of the Environment, Land and Sea , ISPRA also guarantees the Italian participation in the three Rio Conventions :

United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development ( UNCSD ) : support to the preparation of the Italian participation to actions at the UN RIO +20.

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC) , preparing the annual inventory of emissions into the atmosphere and contributing to the editing of the National Communication on Climate Change .

ISPRA , as the National Nuclear Safety Authority , participates in the activities of the International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA) with the fulfillment of national obligations related to international conventions in which Italy is a Contracting Party. Under this role, ISPRA is responsible for the editing and presentation of national reports to to the review conferences , which are held every three years, for the peer review of the States Parties , as required by international conventions promoted by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) : the Convention on the Safety nuclear Energy and the joint Convention on the safe management of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste .

 

Also as part of the participation in the activities of the IAEA , ISPRA is present with its experts in all committees that provide advice at the Atomic Energy Agency for the development and upgrading of safety standards in the various fields of interest of safety nuclear installations, radiation protection, radioactive waste management , transport of radioactive materials .

 

The institute provides the fulfillment of duties required by the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and Nuclear Facilities , with preliminary investigations in view of authorization delivery in support of the Ministry of Economic Development and activity of control of power plants.

 

ISPRA also provides the fulfillment of duties required by the Treaty on the Non -Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons on the basis of the IAEA -EURATOM Agreement ( Verification Agreement and Additional Protocol) via the collection and transmission of information on activities related to the nuclear fuel cycle .

 

ISPRA performs the function of National alarm point and Authority expert in case of incidents in the country (in conjunction with the Department of Civil Protection ) in fulfillment with the obligations under the ratification of the International Conventions of the International Agency for Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA) on the Ready Notification of a nuclear Accident and on Assistance in the event of a nuclear accident or radiological emergency .

 

In this context, ISPRA takes part in international exercises ( CONVEX ) that the IAEA promotes regularity and who see the participation of the countries Party to the Conventions , including other international organizations in various capacities involved in the system of international response .

 

The collaboration within the IAEA is also expressed in the promotion of the International Seismic Safety Centre (ISSC ) and with the participation of experts in the Working Areas Seismic Hazard and Tsunami.

 

ISPRA manages on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , National Authority of reference for Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT - Comprehensive nuclear- test -ban treaty organization) one of the 16 laboratories for the measurement of radioactivity in the air, which are part of the International Monitoring System (IMS) for the detection of possible nuclear explosions . The treaty, approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1996, is part of the agreements for disarmament, control and limitation of weapons of mass destruction. Italy , among the 44 states with nuclear technology, signed the Treaty in 1994 and ratified it in 1996.