The Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea Against Pollution (the Barcelona Convention) was adopted on 16 February 1976 by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries of the Coastal States of the Mediterranean Region for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea, held in Barcelona. The Convention entered into force on 12 February 1978.
The original Convention has been modified by amendments adopted on 10 June 1995 by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution and its Protocols, held in Barcelona on 9 and 10 June 1995 (UNEP(OCA)/MED IG.6/7). The amended Convention, recorded as “Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean” has entered into force on 9 July 2004.