Land Based Marine Pollution

2.3 LAND BASED MARINE POLLUTION

Land based marine pollution includes pollution from land based activities and pollution from or through the atmosphere. It is estimated that land-based pollution and air pollution contribute approximately eighty percent of marine pollution. The threat of land-based pollution to marine environment is a serious one since it mainly affects coastal waters, which are sites of high biological productivity. Article 207 of the UNCLOS, the 1974 Paris Convention and the 1992 OSPAR Convention, 1992 Baltic Convention, the 1995 Global Program of Action for the protection of the marine environment from land based activities with numerous non-binding international instruments provides for the development of national measures.

Traditional approach has been to adopt the black/grey list approach. Under this approach, harmful substances are divided into two categories. With respect to the substances listed in a black list, in principle, the state parties are obliged to eliminate pollution by such substances. With regard to the grey substances, the obligation of the state is relaxed and states are merely required to regulate the pollution from such substances. The black grey list was adopted by the 1974 convention for prevention of marine pollution from land based sources, Athens protocol of 1980, Quito protocol of 1983 and Bucharest protocol of 1992. But this approach was surrounded by many controversies for instance the regulatory measures applicable to the same substances vary depending on agreements. Secondly this approach is contrary to the fundamental goal of preventing all marine pollution. So an attempt was made to bring uniform approach which seeks to regulate harmful substances of the land based pollution without any differentiation of obligations according to the category of the harmful substances and the best example for this is the OSPAR Convention of

Firstly the activities which may cause land based pollution are within the territorial sovereignty of each state, and such activities are closely bound up with crucial national programmes for economic, industrial and social development of those countries. Hence states are often reluctant to approve any attempts at restricting their economic developments by legally binding instrument. Secondly the regulation of land based pollution is more complexed than that of pollution from other sources. Because in case of land based pollution sources and substances are difficult to identify Land based sources are variable in their nature over time and each source requires different measures to prevent environmental damage. Thirdly, the ocean environment is not homogeneous. The movements of ocean currents and winds are complex and different and consequently, the degree of marine pollution varies in each coastal region. Thus different kind of regulations is required based on the level of pollution. Finally, it is important to note that the protection of the marine environment from land based pollution is closely linked to widespread poverty in developing countries which is even recognized by the Washington declaration. Hence the regulation of land based pollution should be considered in the context of combating poverty in developing