The Adriatic Sea has emerged as a marine area increasingly in the international focus, far beyond the confines of its natural and political boundaries. The end of the first decade of the 2000s may be a good occasion to review recent developments and challenges of the Adriatic Sea, many of which concern its specific sub-regional features. Formed as a narrow gulf deeply incised into the European mainland, the semi-enclosed Adriatic Sea has been a trade and transport route since antiquity. Due to its strategic position, the Adriatic Sea is now re-emerging as an arena of high geostrategic importance in the changing geopolitical picture of Eurasia.

In recent times governance has become a matter of increasing interest in Mediterranean affairs particularly with respect to the protection and preservation of the marine and coastal environment. Although the concept of governance may have different meanings within different contexts, we will focus here on ways and means for improving the existing prescriptive and enforcement mechanisms for environmental protection of the Mediterranean Sea. As we will see in the following pages Mediterranean environmental governance faces several structural problems that need to be addressed and solved.

The Council of Europe actively promotes sustainable development in line with Recommendation Rec (2002) 1 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the Guiding Principles for Sustainable Spatial Development of the European Continent, which were adopted initially by the Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Regional/Spatial Planning (CEMAT).

To fortuitously fish cultural properties lying on the continental shelf is an event not likely to occur frequently, even in waters particularly rich in underwater cultural heritage, as those of the Mediterranean Sea. Only twice in the last fifty years cases relating to such a prodigious fishing have been brought before Italian courts. In January 1955, a 38 cm high bronze statue accidentally became entangled in nets being dragged by the Angelina Madre, a fishing vessel flying the Italian flag. The recovery of the artefact occurred on the Italian continental shelf, at about 20 n.m. from the Italian coast south of the island of Sicily.

The devastating environmental, economic and social effects of the BP Deepwater Horizon drilling accident in the Gulf of Mexico brought to the surface the evidently inadequate regulatory regime of the powerful US to deal with the complexities and far-reaching consequences of this type of accident and the pitfalls of the present inadequate environmental governance of offshore activities conducted by dominant – and often elusive – oil companies. More importantly, it produced waves of systemic effects in Europe and threw new light on the existing and dangerously complacent situation in the Mediterranean...

Promoting sustainable management of the oceans, seas, coasts and maritime sectors requires the development and implementation of an integrated approach to maritime governance. Promoting sustainable management of the oceans, seas, coasts and maritime sectors requires the development and implementation of an integrated approach to maritime governance. This, in turn, presupposes the establishment of policy frameworks, structures, and common tools which contribute to implementing an all-inclusive approach to sea-related activities.