Limits to the international control of marine pollution
International activities concerned with the prsvention of marine pollution are described and analysed f'rorl bO'ch the technicel and political perspective, in order to explain the observed divisions of responsioility between national and international authorities. The provisional outcome of the IN Third Conference on the Law of the Sea is interpreted as the partial codification of international prsctice as it developed du ri ng the 1 j 70 f S • The internatio nal bodies set up ,or enlarged, to deal with mar i n e poll uti 0 n had t 0 fa c e s e ri 0 us t:.:: c h ni ca 1 di f'f i cu 1 tie s , which account to some considerable degree f'or the cautious a p p ro a c h a do pte d by m 0 s t go v e r nm e nt s to sup ra na t i 0 na 1 mea sur e s • Governments were much more interested in the development of scien-tif'ic criteria for measuring and assessing pollution. Attempts to develop common norms fbr land-based pollution sources \JJere made by the EEL, but gave rise to much controversy involving political as well as technical matters.elsewhere the setting of standards and their enforcement remained nationaJ responsibilities, even in the few cases where intergovernmental consultative regimes based on inf'ormation s~,aring and research had been set up. The political pressures f'or the establishment of international pre vent at i v e no rm s w ere m u c h s t ro n g e r fo r mar it i m e sou r c e s , :especially oil tankerso The global regulatory regime which was agreed upon is, however, better explained by economic and poli-tical considerations than environmental concern. As such, it. does not inspire conf'idence in the ability of states to adopt common environmental norms. A rational case for international controls can only be made if there is strong evidence f'or, or suspicion of, trsnsfrontier pollution taking place. Because of the extension of' national rights ~ver ocean space, marine transfrontier pollution be'came an a-ttrlbute of only a small number of pollutants, of' oceangoing vessels, and of waste disposal into the deep Ocean. f'l~rine pollution is not a very useful category f'rom the perspec-1 tlve of regu~atory authorities. Pollution control-'can only ~ake pl~ce wlth respect to specif'ic pollutan-ts, specif'ic l n du s t r ~ e s, and s p e c i fi c r e c e i vi n g e n vi ro nm e nt s. Us u a 11 y the protectlon of the whole environment is required. The term came to have glo?al salience primarily f'or political reasons, and because of ltS scientific validity. The protection of the marine environment came to be perceived by governments as a bargaining counter in negotiations over other issues, such as the freedom of maritime transport and access to marine reSOL!rc,-:,
Thesis, Dissertation, English, 1981