The Mediterranean States meeting in Barcelona in 1975, adopted an Action Plan for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against pollution. The legal framework for this co-operative regional programme is the Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against pollution (also known as Barcelona Convention) and its related protocols which has been ratified by 17 Mediterranean states and the European Economic Community. So far, four protocols have been adopted and entered into force one of them being the Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against pollution from Land-based Sources (LBS protocol).