Marine Environment : Prevention, Protection and Preservation

What is Marine Environment?

Importance of Protection of Marine Environment.

Problem Arisen Marine Environment.

Preventive Action Against Marine Environment Pollution.

Global Programme of Action 
Protection and Preservation of the Marine Environment .

Marine Environment

The oceans, seas, bays, estuaries, and other major water bodies, including their surface interface and

interaction, with the atmosphere and with the land seaward of the mean high water mark is known as marine environment.

Importance of Protection of Marine Environment

Thirty-eight per cent of the world’s population live within a narrow fringe of coastal land, only 7.6 per cent of the Earth’s total land area (unep2006) and largely depend on coastal resources for their livelihoods. As a result, coastal and marine ecosystems are rapidly deteriorating because of human pressure, almost 80 per cent of which originate on land. In recognition of this, governments adopted the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (
gpa) in 1995.

Coastal areas and oceans are complex and fragile environments with many different functions linked to public health, food security, and other economic and social benefits. These are also decisive elements in the alleviation of poverty. Healthy Earnestine, near-shore and oceanic systems provide cultural heritage, food, building materials, traditional lively-hood, tourism opportunities, transportation routes, storm protection, organisms for biotechnology and many more benefits that are frequently overlooked or abused. 

Problem Arisen in Marine Environment

The following problem are arising day by day..

- Sewage treatment varies considerably, as does the degree of action and the priority accorded to the problem.

- Persistent Organic Pollutants are highly toxic and stable organic chemical substances that can last for years or even decades before breaking down.

- An increasingly serious problem globally is that of ‘electronic waste’, particularly the disposal of computers and mobile phones,

- The incidence of oils in the environment can be considered at various levels.

- The amount of nutrients entering the oceans tend to vary significantly over time and from region to region.

- Natural sediment mobilization is important in the development and maintenance of coastal habitats,

Preventive Action Against Marine Environment Pollution

Global Programme of Action

The Global Programme of Action (GPA) aims at the development of a conceptual and practical guidance for decision-makers at the national and/or regional level dealing with actions to prevent, reduce, control and/or eliminate marine degradation from land-based activities. The GPA supports the states in the identification of adequate policies and measures aiming at the prevention and protection of the marine environment. The GPA has been operating in The Hague since 1997/1998 is coordinating the UNEP Regional Sea Programme which is operating via regional offices. Each regional office has a legal officer which deals with all aspects of IEL aiming at the implementation of the all the UNEP environmental programmes. The GPA founding documents is the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities and the Washington Declaration (1995) and is a soft law instrument with no binding effects on parties.

The Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities

The Programme of Action, therefore, is designed to be a source of conceptual and practical guidance to be drawn upon by national and/or regional authorities in devising and implementing sustained action to prevent, reduce, control and/or eliminate marine degradation from land-based activities. Effective implementation of this Programme of Action is a crucial and essential step forward in the protection of the marine environment and will promote the objectives and goals of sustainable development.

The Global Programme of Action reflects the fact that States face a growing number of commitments flowing from Agenda 21 and related conventions. Its implementation will require new approaches by, and new forms of collaboration among, Governments, organizations and institutions with responsibilities and expertise relevant to marine and coastal areas, at all levels, national, regional and global. These include the promotion of innovative financial mechanisms to generate needed resources.

Washington Declaration

Declare their intention to do so by:

1. Setting as their common goal sustained and effective action to deal with all land-based impacts upon the marine environment, specifically those resulting from sewage, persistent organic pollutants, radioactive substances, heavy metals, oils (hydrocarbons), nutrients, sediment mobilization, litter, and physical alteration and destruction of habitat.

In particular, the GPA invites the UN states to undertake the following activities:

Identification and assessment of problems related to the most common sustainable development criteria (i.e. food security and poverty alleviation, public health, etc.), to the impacts of contaminants (i.e. sewage, persistent organic pollutants, etc), physical alteration (habitat modification and distruction), sources of degradation (i.e. coastal area, atmosphere, etc.), the affected or vulnerable areas of concern (i.e. critical habitats, habitats of endangered species, etc.);

Establishment of priorities for action in respect of the above factors;

Identification of objectives for priority problems for source categories and areas affected on the basis of the established priorities.

Identification, evaluation and selection of strategies and measures to achieve such objectives.

Development of criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of strategies and measures.

In respect of the protection of the marine environment from land-based activities, these are the milestones of GPA in terms of global and regional conventions and events:

1974 - The regional seas Conventions and related Protocols (e.g. North Sea, 1974; Mediterranean, 1976; Kuwait region, 1978; South-East Pacific, 1981; Wider Caribbean, 1983);

1982 - United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

UNEP started addressing issues related to impacts on the marine environment from land-based activities;

1985 - Montreal Guidelines for the Protection of the Marine Environment Against Pollution from Land-based Sources

1992 - United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) and Agenda 21, 

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

1995 - UNEP Governing Council decisions 18/31 and 18/32 pertaining to the Washington Conference and persistent organic pollutants (POP's), adoption of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities and adoption of the Washington Declaration, Jakarta Mandate on the Programme of Action for Marine and Coastal Biodiversity within the CBD

1996 - GPA Implementation Plan presented to the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-4), United Nations General Assembly resolution 51/189 on the institutional arrangements for the implementation of the GPA

1997, 1998 - UNEP Governing Council decision 19/14 on global and regional GPA implementation, Establishment and operationalization of the UNEP/GPA Coordination Office in The Hague, The Netherlands

The implementation of the GPA is the result of the joint activity of governments, stakeholders, local communities, public organizations, non-governmental organizations and the private sector which work together in the definition of national and regional programmes of action. Such activity has the support of the UNEP, as the secretariat of the GPA, and its partners. In order to facilitate compliance with the GPA, UNEP uses a wide range of soft law instruments. In December 2006 the document entitled; Guidance on the implementation of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities was released by the UNEP.

The GPA is implemented through the cooperation on a regional basis and the UNEP Regional Seas Programme is a perfect example of a functioning integrated framework for national action programmes. Moreover, governments recommended the establishment of the GPA Clearing-House as a tool to mobilize experience and expertise, including facilitation of effective scientific, technical and financial cooperation, as well as capacity-building. The clearing-house provides a rapid and direct referral system to relevant information and data so as to provide appropriate advice and assistance.

The GPA Coordination Office is primarily funded through the regular budget of UNEP (Environment Fund) and a Technical Co-operation Trust Fund financed by various governments including the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Belgium, United States of America, and the United Kingdom. Projects for the implementation of the GPA by Governments are financed by sources such as the Global Environment Fund (GEF).

Among its tasks, the UNEP/GPA Coordination Office assists the duty of States to preserve and protect the marine environment from land-based activities, mainly through several capacity building and technical programmes, such as National Programmes of Action or the Integrated Coastal Area and River-basin Management (ICARM).

The legal officer of the UNEP/GPA Coordination Office is also the person responsible for the legal issues under the UNEP Regional Seas Programme. Therefore the legal co-ordination of the Programme is in The Hague. She sometimes is requested by ministries to write briefings on certain issues, but she is not allowed to take sides.

In a broader context, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) has been publishing extensively on international environmental law, mostly on compliance issues and in connection with judicial trainings. UNEP also publishes collections of environmental case law. Its recent publications include:


Compliance Mechanisms Under Selected Multilateral Environmental Agreement (2007)
  
Judicial training modules on environmental law
  
Selected Texts of Legal Instruments in International Environmental Law (2005)
  
Judicial Handbook on Environmental Law (2005)
  
Manual on Compliance with and Enforcement of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (2006)
 
Symposium of Judges and Prosecutors of Latin America (2003)

No cases of environmental nature have been submitted or dealt with by the GPA which was occasionally asked by ministries to provide a briefing but without taking sides.

Protection And Preservation of the Marine Environment in UNCLOS III

 
General obligation

According to Article 192 of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) III

States   have   the   obligation   to   protect   and   preserve   the   marine environment.


Sovereign right of States to exploit their natural resources

According to Article 193 of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) III

States have the sovereign right to exploit their natural resources pursuant to their environmental policies and in accordance with their duty to protect and preserve the marine environment.


Measures to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment

According to Article 194 of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) III

1. States shall take, individually or jointly as appropriate, all measures consistent  with  this  Convention  that  are  necessary  to  prevent,  reduce  and control pollution of the marine environment from any source, using for this purpose the best practicable means at their disposal and in accordance with their capabilities, and they shall endeavour to harmonize their policies in this connection.

2. States  shall  take  all  measures  necessary  to  ensure  that  activities under their jurisdiction or control are so conducted as not to cause damage by pollution  to  other  States  and  their  environment,  and  that  pollution  arising from incidents or activities under their jurisdiction or control does not spread beyond the areas where they exercise sovereign rights in accordance with this Convention.

3. The measures taken pursuant to this Part shall deal with all sources of  pollution  of  the  marine  environment.    These  measures  shall  include, inter alia, those designed to minimize to the fullest possible extent:

(a)   the release of toxic, harmful or noxious substances, especially those which are persistent, from land-based sources, from or through the atmosphere or by dumping;

(b)  pollution  from  vessels,  in  particular  measures  for  preventing accidents and dealing with emergencies, ensuring the safety of operations  at  sea,  preventing  intentional  and  unintentional discharges, and regulating the design, construction, equipment, operation and manning of vessels;

(c)   pollution from installations and devices used in exploration or exploitation of the natural resources of the seabed and subsoil, in particular measures for preventing accidents and dealing with emergencies,  ensuring  the  safety  of  operations  at  sea,  and regulating the design, construction, equipment, operation and manning of such installations or devices;

(d)  pollution from other installations and devices operating in the marine  environment,  in  particular  measures  for  preventing accidents and dealing with emergencies, ensuring the safety of operations  at  sea,  and  regulating  the  design,  construction, equipment,  operation  and  manning  of  such  installations  or devices.

4. In  taking  measures  to  prevent,  reduce  or  control  pollution  of  the marine environment, States shall refrain from unjustifiable interference with activities  carried  out  by  other  States  in  the  exercise  of  their  rights  and  in pursuance of their duties in conformity with this Convention.

5. The measures taken in accordance with this Part shall include those necessary to protect and preserve rare or fragile ecosystems as well as the habitat  of  depleted,  threatened  or  endangered  species  and  other  forms  of marine life.


Duty not to transfer damage or hazards or transform one type of pollution into another

According to Article 195 of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) III

In taking measures to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment,  States  shall  act  so  as  not  to  transfer,  directly  or  indirectly, damage  or  hazards  from  one  area  to  another  or  transform  one  type  of pollution into another.



Use of technologies or introduction of alien or new species

According to Article 196 of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) III

1. States  shall  take  all  measures  necessary  to  prevent,  reduce  and control  pollution  of  the  marine  environment  resulting  from  the  use  of technologies  under  their  jurisdiction  or  control,  or  the  intentional  or accidental introduction of species, alien or new, to a particular part of the marine  environment,  which  may  cause  significant  and  harmful  changes thereto.

2. This  article  does  not  affect  the  application  of  this  Convention regarding the prevention, reduction and control of pollution of the marine environment.