Anshu Bansal, Research Associate
“Whatever we do, the ocean will survive in one way or another. What is more problematic is whether we shall preserve it in a state that ensures humanity’s survival and well‐being”
Federico Mayor, Director General, UNESCO
The marine environment includes the waters of seas and estuaries, the seabed and its subsoils, and all marine wildlife and its sea and coastal habitats. It constitutes a fund of resources which can be used to achieve greater economic potential, so its protection in seeking to revitalise its economy ((Protecting and conserving the Marine environment, European Commission (2006).)). The marine environment is a vital resource for life on Earth. Marine ecosystems perform a number of key environmental functions — they regulate the climate, prevent erosion, accumulate and distribute solar energy, absorb carbon dioxide, and maintain biological control ((Ibid.)).
The world’s oceans are not only the domain of food for human being but also the legitimate concern of marine transport, offshore extraction of oil, gas and other minerals, climate control and recreation. Marine fisheries account for 85% of the global fish catch. Maritime shipping is involved in the transport of over 80% of the world’s merchandise trade ((A. N. Subramanian, Introduction: Marine Environment.)).
Though the seas cover the majority of our planet’s surface, far less is known about the biodiversity of marine environments then that of terrestrial systems ((Ormond (1997).)). The marine environment is also a great contributor to economic prosperity, social well-being and quality of life. Irish and Norse examined all 742 papers published in the journal Conservation Biology and found that only 5% focused on marine ecosystems and species, compared with 67% on terrestrial and 6% on freshwater ((Murphy and Duffus (1996).)). As a result of this disparity, marine conservation biology severely lags behind the terrestrial counterpart, and this gap of knowledge poses major problems for conservation of marine biodiversity and must be addressed ((Ibid)).
International Perspective to Marine Environment
Being a common heritage of mankind, marine resources are also subjected to international Conventions. For instance, many of Europe’s regional seas are the subject of international conventions. Some of the Conventions are: The 1992 OSPAR Convention which regulate and control marine pollution in the North Sea and North Atlantic, the Helsinki Commission on the protection of the Baltic Sea (Helcom) and the Barcelona Convention on the protection of the Mediterranean Sea. A number of these have made excellent contributions to marine protection, but they have few enforcement powers ((Ibid.)). The main reason for the failure of some of these conventions rests in the fact that they did not had effective enforcement mechanism. The most important legislation addressing the increasing problem of marine pollution is probably the 1978 Protocol to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), which recognised that vessels present a significant and controllable source of pollution into the marine environment [Lentz, 1987] ((Josee G.B. Derraik, The pollution of the marine environment by plastic debris: a review, Marine Pollution Bulletin 44 (2002) 842–852)).
International Management Regimes for Marine Environment
To address the complexity of management regimes, it is essential to develop a methodology and collect the information required for the systematic valuation of ocean assets and services. At the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) the international community agreed to “establish by 2004 a regular process under the United Nations for global reporting and assessment of the state of the marine environment, including socio-economic aspects building on existing regional assessments ((Symphony of the seas , The Marine Environment, The magazine of the UNEP (December,2007).)).” The 2004 target proved unrealistic, but in 2005 the General Assembly launched an “assessment of assessments” (AoA) as a preparatory stage for the ‘regular process’, as it is called ((Ibid)).
In February 2004, IMO adopted the Ballast Water Management Convention, addressing the immense damage that can be caused by microscopic aquatic life transported around the world in this way and deposited in alien local ecosystems, threatening to disrupt their delicate balance ((Conrad, Flexible Instrument.)). Most countries recognize the value of their coastal and marine biodiversity and have gazetted marine and wetland protected areas to ensure their sustainability ((UNEP- WCMC (2000).)).
At the global level, the Law of the Sea Convention, the central regime for ocean governance, has established a new treaty system of ocean institutions. Under the umbrella of the convention, a number of ‘sub‐regimes’ can be identified, each of which deals with specialized matters. The most important of these sub‐regimes cover ((A. N. Subramanian, Introduction: Marine Environment)):
- The sustainable management of marine living resources, the focus for which is Food and agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), including its network of regional fisheries commissions and conventions;
- Shipping and marine pollution control, centered on International Maritime Organization (IMO) and several related convention‐based institutions;
- The marine environment, the main responsibility for which has been assigned to United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), including its network of regional seas agreements and action plans;
- Marine scientific research and associated ocean services and management, centered on Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC);
- Deep seabed mineral development, through the International Sea Bed Authority (ISBA).
Major Threat To Marine Biodiversity
There are several causes of marine pollution, such as:
(a) Dumping of wastes at sea ((Art 1(1)(5)(a) 1982 Law of the Sea Convention.)).
(b) From land-based sources e.g. untreated sewage and the dumping of wastes which reach the sea and oceans through rivers and streams, fumes from power plants and factories, etc.;
(c) Pollution from ships during their voyages;
(d) Pollution from seabed activities i.e. exploration of mineral resources in the seabed ((Art 43 1982 Law of the Sea Convention, “User States and States bordering a strait should by agreement co-operate)).
It has also been established that one of the major contributor in pollution concerning marine biodiversity relates to disposing waste in marine environment. One among them is the threat posed by Plastic debris. There are overwhelming evidence that plastic pollution is a threat to marine biodiversity, already at risk from overfishing, climate change and other forms of anthropogenic disturbance. Due to the long life of plastics on marine ecosystems, it is imperative that severe measures are taken to address the problem at both international and national levels, since even if the production and disposal of plastics suddenly stopped, the existing debris would continue to harm marine life for many decades ((Josee G.B. Derraik, The Pollution Of The Marine Environment By Plastic Debris: A Review, Marine Pollution Bulletin 44 (2002) 842–852. )).
There have been nevertheless some attempts to promote the conservation of the world’s oceans through international legislation, such as the establishment of the 1972 Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping Wastes and Other Matter [the London dumping Convention or LDC] ((Ibid.)).
In addition to plastic debris, activities such as fishing and extracting aggregates, oil and gas all affect our marine environment. We have damaged many habitats, for example by some fishing methods and by boat anchor chains dragging through seagrass beds ((Ibid.)). Pressures from commercial activities have caused a decline in a number of species, including spiny dogfish and porbeagle and even extinctions, for example of the angel shark in parts of UK waters.
An estimated 70% of the world’s fish stocks are already being exploited at or beyond sustainable limits, but fishing generally continues unabated despite extensive regulatory arrangements for their management ((Supra note 3.)). Also, Oil spill is one of the major threat. The oil spill from the Erikaalong the French coast in December 1999, which was followed by two other cases of sinking ships and the release of hazardous substances, namely the Kristal and the Baku ((The Times Editorial, Rough Seas for Maltese Flag, 10th March 2001.)).
Conclusion and Recommendation
The marine environment is faced with a number of increasingly severe threats. These include loss or degradation of biodiversity and changes in its structures, loss of habitats, contamination from dangerous substances, and the impacts of climate change ((Supra note 4)). Coastal and marine resources are being vanished and damaged by increase in marine human activities. This leads to deteriorating biodiversity in such a way that livelihood opportunities are decreasing.
In order to deal with the problem, UK Marine Bill can be referred. In UK, Marine Bill was drafted which provided a number of tools to improve our marine environment. For instance, Marine Conservation Zones will provide a mechanism to protect nationally important species and habitats. Marine planning will help us to find space for the competing range of activities in our seas, for example fishing, wind farms and gravel extraction and manage them in a holistic way. The Marine Management Organisation will regulate marine activities and help enforce laws to protect the marine environment ((Jonathan Shaw, Protecting Our Marine Environment Through The Marine Bill, Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.)).