The United Nations is committed to the peaceful, cooperative and legally defined use of the oceans and seas for the individual and collective benefit of humankind. Urgent calls for an effective international seabed and seabed regime beyond clearly defined national jurisdiction triggered a 15-year process that included the establishment of the United Nations Seabed Committee, the signing of a treaty banning nuclear weapons on the seabed and the adoption of the Declaration of the General Assembly. that all resources of the seabed beyond the limits of national jurisdiction are the common heritage of mankind, and the convening of the Stockholm Conference on the Environment. Rochette, J., Unger, S., Herr, D., Johnson, D., Nakamura, T., Packeiser, T., et al. (2014). The regional approach to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. Regulation 49, 109 to 117. doi: 10.1016/j.marpol.2014.02.005 Adam, I., Walker, T. R., Bezerra, J. C. and Clayton, A. (2020). Measures to reduce marine pollution from single-use plastics in West Africa.
Mar. Policy 116:103928. doi: 10.1016/j.marpol.2020.103928 Gago, J., Galgani, F., Maes, T., and Thompson, R. C. (2016). Microplastics in seawater: recommendations from the implementation process of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. In front of-. Mars Sci.
3:219. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2016.00219 Akenji, L., Bengtsson, M., Hotta, Y., Kato, M. and Hengesbaugh, M. (2020). « Chapter 21 – Policy responses to plastic pollution in Asia: summary of a regional gap analysis1, » in Plastic Waste and Recycling, ed. T. M. Letcher (Cambridge, MA: Academic Press), 531-567. doi: 10.1016/b978-0-12-817880-5.00021-9 Although not legally binding, the Arctic EIA Guidelines state that an EIA must be applied to activities in the Arctic that involve the exploitation of renewable and non-renewable natural resources, public use, military activities and infrastructure development for various purposes and that may have significant environmental impacts.
The guidance document also notes that the sensitivity of Arctic areas may justify the application of lower EIA thresholds, which recognize the sensitivity of Arctic areas and the potential for cumulative impacts. Sensitivity criteria in the marine context may be based on factors such as the duration of the project, the status of marine species, habitats and ecosystems in certain marine areas, the level of production or emissions of a given project and the scientific and cultural significance of certain marine areas. The first two regulations refer in places to previous regulatory systems (FEPA and CAP) that control marine activities, and their requirements are triggered by applications for these permits. Amendments were made to these regulations and came into force in April 2011 under the Marine Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2011 (Amendment), so that the regulations now relate to and apply to marine permits under the MCAA. By amending regulations, it streamlined the regulatory process by consolidating deposits, marine transportation and port work, and the dredging of marine minerals. The Environmental and Natural Habitats Impact Assessment (Extraction of minerals by marine dredging) Regulations 2007 (England and Northern Ireland) are repealed by amendments to the 2011 MFRs. Xanthos, D., & Walker, T. R.
(2017). International Policy to Reduce Marine Plastic Pollution by Single-Use Plastics (Plastic Bags and Microbeads): Review. Fable. Pollute. Bull. 118, 17-26. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.02.048 Most EIA projects in the marine environment are of very little Community interest and are numerous. A recent search of the World Wide Web revealed 28 potentially significant marine references under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act so far in 2008 and a total of 60 marine references in Australian waters for 2007. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority manages a small area of Australia and evaluated about 700 marine proposals in 2007.
Given that states and local councils also carry out EIAs and make decisions that impact the marine environment, it is very likely that 100 major decisions and perhaps 10,000 or smaller EIA decisions will be made each year that have an impact on the marine environment in Australia. It is likely that there will be similar or more EIA decisions for the oceans in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Until the early 1970s, marine pollution from shipping was far from regulated. Marine pollution from ships can come from oil carried on oil tankers or bunker fuel carried by any type of ship, as well as other substances such as chemicals. Marine pollution causes various types of loss, damage and expense, which can be compensated by the polluter and/or its insurers. The work of the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund is closely linked to the international oil pollution legal system, which includes the 1992 Civil Liability Convention and the 1992 Oil Pollution Convention. Civil liability is mainly intended to compensate victims of pollution damage. With the details of each national system, the criminal liability of the polluter is usually assumed in addition to the civil liability.
