The Convention on the Protection of the Rhine (PDF 35 kB) is the basis for international cooperation for the protection of the Rhine within the ICPR. It was signed on 12 April 1999 by representatives of the governments of the five Rhine bordering countries: France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Switzerland and by the European Community. They thus formally confirm to continue to protect the valuable character of the Rhine, its banks and floodplains by increased cooperation.
Among other objectives, the preservation, improvement and sustainable development of the Rhine ecosystem are central elements of the convention. This target was fixed against the background that the Rhine is an important European navigation lane and is supposed to continue to serve different uses.
Keeping in mind preservation and improvement of the North Sea, the restoration of the Rhine has an additional international dimension.
The Convention signed in 1999 replaces the Treaty of Bern signed in 1963 as well as the Chemical Convention of 1976 and is being completed by the Rules of Procedure and Financial Regulations of the ICPR (PDF 197 kB). The cooperation of the ICPR with the Coordinating Committee Rhine in which all States of the Rhine catchment are represented is subject to seperate Rules of Procedure and Financial Regulations (PDF 357 kB).
The international secretariat of the ICPR in Koblenz, Germany is the international office for the implementation of the Convention.