Dredges’ management: Comparison of regulatory frameworks, legal gaps and recommendations

Abstract

This work deals with an environmental issue affecting particularly the Mediterranean coastal countries, that of dredges handling, and investigates how it is nationally designed and regulated. The described legislative frames are based upon relevant European regulatory systems and highlight the differences in the legislation between the Northern European and the Mediterranean countries. The report has been based on legal information supplied by specific national dredging policies that are considered accurate. Each European coastal region has developed its own dredging management system for port areas, taking into consideration its special needs and regional characteristics. In comparison with the North, it is scoped that the Southern areas are barren of a general legal dredging plan, dealing with dredges and their disposal, and consequently, they follow non-cohered practices. The Mediterranean Sea is surrounded by many countries with different legal strategies; however, its physical protection and its sustainable development could be achieved only by following a unified and well-planned approach. The establishment of a Mediterranean regulatory framework adopting some of the existing relative legislative formulas will ensure the sustainability of dredges exploitation and their proper disposal at a non-border level.