The paper reviews the main anthropogenic pressures and the present status of the marine and coastal pollution of the Mediterranean basin and also describes the policy responses made and those expected to be made in the future by the riparian countries. The overall regional policy/legal framework considered in the paper is the 1995 Barcelona Convention on the protection and sustainable development of the Mediterranean region and in particular its Protocol on land-based sources of pollution and its implementation instruments. The Mediterranean countries have formally agreed to implement a pollution reduction programme that should gradually bring about the elimination of polluting releases into the sea by the year 2025. The paper reviews the actual state of implementation of the programme and describes the first achievements and results and those expected in the medium- and long-term.
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