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Provided by Erasmus University Digital Repository Marine Bulh, tin, V~.~l, 28, No. I I, pp. 649-652, 1994 Copyright © 1994 Elscvier Science Ltd Pergamon 0025-326X(94)00146-4 Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved 0025-326X/94 $7.00 + 0.00

Sea, the Baltic , the Black Sea and the Arctic) are Land-Based Discharges of covered by more or less operational programmes for Marine : From Local to land-based pollution, whereas programmes for the South East Pacific and the Persian Gulf are as yet Global Regulation dormant (Nollkemper, 1992). Equally significant, exist- ANDRE NOLLKAEMPER ing programmes have been inadequate. They have not Faculty of Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam, addressed the full range of sources of marine debris; PO Box 1738 3000 DR, Rotterdam, The Netherlands" they have treated land-based pollution too much as an isolated problem, as if unrelated to generation; This article outlines the major regulatory requirements and have provided insufficient inducements by way involved in the control of land-based discharges of of information exchange, technical co-operation and marine debris, and reviews the main developments in financial assistance to move marine debris higher on the the process towards more appropriate international agenda of, in particular, developing states. Each of these controls of such discharges. problems will be elaborated below. The bleak prospects for adequate regional solutions rightly has set in motion a global process. Responding Marine debris poses a continuing threat to marine to the imperatives set forth in Agenda 21 (adopted at ecosystems. Most visibly, it has resulted in entanglement the 1992 UNCED), a global programme of action for of marine wildlife. Debris washing up on may land-based sources of is now being also have considerable economic impacts, such as lost prepared, scheduled for adoption in November 1995 in tourism and recreation potential. Most of the concern Washington, DC, with prepatory meetings in Nairobi, has focused on debris discharged from vessels. How- December 1993 and Montreal, June 1994 and ever, there is now ample evidence that land-based Reykjavik, March 1995. This programme should discharges are a major source of marine debris. Much constitute a commanding global strategy to re-activate of the existing knowledge on these issues was presented existing regional instruments and induce the intro- at the Third International Conference on Marine duction of such instruments in regions where land- Debris, May 1994, Miami. based pollution is an as yet unregulated source of Absence of treatment installations, combined disturbance of marine ecosystems. Marine debris, sewer outflows, storm water discharges, run-off having been identified in Agenda 21 as one of the main sited nearby rivers and in coastal areas, absence of forms of land-based pollution, will be one of the focal waste services or landfills in rural ares, and - points sources of the global programme of action. ing all contribute to debris ending up on beaches or in The following three sections will indicate the main . issues to be addressed in future regional agreements, Regulation of such land-based discharges has been and to be supported and guided by the global underdeveloped. In many states, local and national programme of action. rules are anywhere between absent and inadequate. The argument that local and national efforts should be Coverage of All Land-based Sources of Marine backed up by international regulations is well Debris established. In summary, such regulations serve to induce states to install works, to Existing regional regulations have not focused on prevent industrial discharges of and to under- marine debris as a priority issue. They have mostly take other preventive action where they are otherwise confined themselves to two sources of debris: point unwilling, or incapable of doing so; to prevent sources and sewage installations. economic disruptions that may be caused by unilateral Point sources have justifiably been covered by actions such as mandatory packaging controls; to regional instruments. There is evidence of industrial prevent transboundary pollution of marine debris; and discharges of debris from point discharges to surface to offer economics of scale in such fields as public waters (Bauer & Iudicello 1990, at 79). Agreements for awareness and education, and development and the North East Atlantic, Baltic Sea and the Mediter- application of clean production processes. ranean Sea have included floatables in the black list, Yet, in marked contrast to the regime for sea-based and thereby obliged states to eliminate discharges of pollution (Annex V to MARPOL 73/78), international floatables. However, this has largely remained a rules to induce appropriate national and local policies symbolic obligation. Whereas specific targets have been on land-based discharges a marginal existence. For developed for other black list substances, such as one thing, too few states have been willing or able to and cadmium, none have been developed for participate in regional instruments. Some 20 years after floatables. the first regional instrument, at present only several Sewage treatment has elicited more regulatory regions (the North East Atlantic, the Mediterranean activity (more caused by concern over nutrient inputs

649 Marine Pollution Bulletin

than over solid ). Several fora have set targets for is true that this is an unrewarding object of legal sewage treatment, for instance for the Mediterranean controls; littering by individuals spending their day on Sea (in 1991 the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona the beach or along river-shores, or who dump thrash Convention adopted a plan for the collection, treatment from bridges into rivers resists effective control by any and disposal of sewage for each Mediterranean coastal law, and enforcement is bound to be haphazard and city with a population of over 10 000 inhabitants); the accidental. But there is a clear need for programmes Black Sea (in the 1993 Ministerial Declaration the focusing on educating and informing the public about coastal states agreed to construct sewage treatment consequences of littering. plants as a matter of urgency), the North Sea (as Future instruments on land-based pollution should, recently confirmed in the Statement of Conclusions of depending on the nature of the debris problem in a the intermediate Ministerial Meeting, 7-8 December specific region, to a greater extent cover the full scope 1993, Copenhagen), the North East Atlantic, the Euro- of land-based sources of debris and extend themselves pean Union and the United States and Mexico. The to sewage and waste water treatment, waste services, degree to which these agreements have been able to design, siting and operation of landfills, storm drains, reduce discharges of untreated sewage differs. For and other measures for managing wastes. instance, in the and the Black Sea Major support for such a broadened scope can be such discharges are still abundant. A key barrier to provided by the global programme of action. At the more effective programmes is the lack of adequate moment of writing, the contents of the global funding. programme of action as regards land-based discharges Next to the often unsuccessful programmes con- of marine debris has yet to be developed. In part, it can cerning point discharges and sewage treatment, other build on the targets contained in Agenda 21 which: (i) sources of marine debris have rarely or not been contains targets for ensuring that sewage, waste water addressed. and solid wastes are treated and disposed of in con- Storm water run-off from urban areas, construction formity with national or international environmental areas and landfills is a major land-based source of and health quality guidelines; (ii) requires improvement debris. The USA Environmental Protection Agency of coastal human settlements, inter alia in treatment and concluded that storm water run-off is one of the most disposal of solid wastes; (iii) contains recommendations significant remaining threats to the quality of surface for public awareness and education; and (iv) sets water in the United States (20 BNA Env't Rep., 1992, objectives for extending waste service coverage in p. 2569). A 1990 Recommendation of the Helsinki urban areas. The global programme of action needs to Commission on Reduction of Discharges from Urban build on, extend and specify these targets. Areas by Proper Management of is an isolated and rare effort to induce national controls for Integration with Prevention of Waste this source. Generation Where stormwater and sanitary sewage systems are combined, in wet weather, the capacity of sewage Existing instruments have been drafted to deal, and treatment facilities can be overwhelmed resulting in indeed have dealt with, land-based pollution as an untreated discharges. In the USA, overflow isolated problem, rather than as an integral part of mechanisms, built into such systems to divert the larger problems of waste generation and management. wastewater and stormwater to avoid overloading the It is now clear that this is an ineffectual approach. A sewer system, are one of the major land-based sources strict separation between land-based pollution and of plastics (20 BNA Env't Rep., 1990, p. 1842). This overall and reduction policies can problem has drawn little international attention. no longer be deemed acceptable. Run-off from landfills sited nearby rivers or in Land-based marine pollution, including pollution coastal areas may end up in the marine environment. In from upland discharges of marine debris, are not to be the USA, many have been affected by thrash considered an isolated set of problems. Rather, they are as a result of solid waste sitings near estuaries (23 BNA an integral part of sound environmental management Env't Rep., 1992, p. 1428). There is a clear need for and pollution control for every waste management regulations ensuring that solid waste facilities do not activity. The very policies that reduce generation of result in a washout by floods so as to pose a hazard to solid wastes will prevent them from entering the the aquatic environment. environment. For instance, it has plausibly been Absence of waste services in urban and rural areas suggested that there are direct links betwen near coastal areas is a direct threat to the marine programmes and the amount of debris washing up on ecosystem. Agenda 21 notes the unnerving figures that beaches; relatively small amounts of found on by the end of the century, an estimated half of the urban Scandinavian beaches have been said to be due to population in developing countries will be without 'progressive re-use and recycling of plastic in Scandin- adequate waste disposal services. No international avia, (16 BNA Int. Env't Rep., 1993, p. 655). instruments for land-based pollution have concerned Future regional programmes should take into themselves with this issue. account these inter-relationships. Either their scope International instruments have also not concerned should be broadened, and make recycling and source themselves with beach littering. This is a significant reduction subject to their regulatory programmes, or source of debris (20 BNA Env't Rep., 1990, p. 1842). It they should provide for adequate linkages with re-

650 Volume 28/Number 11/November 1994 cycling and waste generation programmes developed in co-operation, exchange of information and transfer of other international fora. financial resources. It is to build on the universally The main regulatory options for recycling and source accepted linkages set forth in Agenda 21 between control are well established and are being applied to substantive requirements for prevention of marine differing degrees (Nollkaemper, 1994). For recycling, pollution and financial and technical co-operation, and they include targets for recycling to be achieved by ensure that requirements are realistic and achievable. manufacturers and in municipal waste recycling; re- Agenda 21 indicated several of the elements on cycling contents mandates on packaging; taxes or fees which the global programme of action should focus. For to encourage recycling, for instance on products made instance, as regards sewage, the programme could set with virgin materials or on products that do not meet targets for coastal populations to have properly recycling standards; incentives for development of new managed sewage, and supplement these by strategies to technologies furthering recycling; and creating markets. achieve that objective including mechanisms for Among the options for source control are: bans on inventory and transfer of low-cost systems for manage- products (such as six-packs); product standards, such as ment and treatment of sewage; and mechanisms for for non-degradable ring-carriers; standards requiring financial support, such as an international fund for the packaging industry to reduce the amount and planning, design and construction of sewage treatment control the types of packaging; fees or taxes on, for technologies. As regards waste minimization, key example, litter generating products, packaging, or waste elements of an effective strategy are transfer of techno- disposal to remedy the distorted incentives which do logy to support waste recycling and technology and not take into account true disposal costs, and thus dissemination of waste minimization technologies and distort consumer and manufacturing decision-making; procedures, including facilitation of transfer of waste and incentives for development of clean technology. reduction technologies to industry in developing Here, too, the global programme of action can countries. provide meaningful directon. One of the key features of Significantly, the development of substantive Agenda 21 is its linkage between different sectoral strategies for waste disposal and prevention of debris issues such as land-based marine pollution on the one should help co-ordinate and focus the activities of fund- hand, and general issues such as waste generation and ing institutions. In recent years there has been an management on the other. While not explicitly applied increasing willingness of donors to support relevant to marine debris, recycling and source control feature projects, such as the support by the Global Environ- prominently in Agenda 21. It calls for efficient waste mental Facility for waste water treatment in the Black and recycling; public eduction and awareness Sea; the funding by the European Union of Black Sea programmes to promote use of recycled products; protection programmes; European Investment Bank funding for pilot programmes for recycling; identifica- lendings for solid waste disposal in the European tion of markets for recycled products; stabilization or Union; funding of reduction of sewage problems and reduction of the production of wastes over an agreed solid waste disposal in Rio de Janeiro by the Inter- time-frame; and reduction of packaging materials. American Development Bank and the Japanese Over- Further development of targeted and costed pro- Economic Co-operation Fund; and investments in grammes for these issues will be decisive for the success Mexican waste water treatment facilities by the Inter- of efforts to reduce marine debris problems. It is of national Finance Corporation. concern that, with respect to recycling and prevention Agreement on common objectives and strategies for of waste generation, no follow-up process has been set reducing marine debris could enhance the readiness of in motion comparable to the development of the global donors to support national and local programmes. At programme of action for land-based pollution. It will be the time, it could help to focus financial support on essential in the global programme of action to provide internationally agreed priority issues, in much the same for adequate linkages with international programmes manner as the Global Environmental Facility already simulating national recycling and waste reduction. focuses its financial support on the implementation of internationally agreed rules. Funding and Technological Co-operation Concluding Observations Marine debris is a major actual and potential problem outside the developed world. With the There is a clear momentum for development of inter- dispersion of western products and packaging national controls for land-based sources of marine throughout the world and a growing lack of capacity for pollution. In many regions treaties or programmes have waste disposal, these problems can be expected to been developed in recent years or are in the process of magnify in the years to come. Many states are econom- development. The global programme of action will ically or technologically unable, or lack the information support and guide these regional programmes. and expertise, to implement policies to reduce The increasing knowledge that has become available generation of waste and improve disposal of waste. on the sources and effects of marine debris makes this Where resources are scarce, prevention of marine an excellent opportunity to develop adequate inter- debris will not emerge as a priority. national regulatory programmes for the prevention of One of the main objectives of the global programme land-based marine debris. Full coverage of sources of of action is to provide for reinforced technological marine debris, integration of waste disposal issues with

651 Marine Pollution Bulletin prevention of waste generation and development of Nollkaemper, A. (1994). Legal regulation of upland discharges of adequate strategies for funding and technological co- marine debris: from local to global controls and back. Proc. Third Int. Conf. on Mar. Debris, May 1994, Miami (forthcoming). operation are prime objectives for such programmes. Elaboration of these objectives at global and regional Bibliography levels should help to induce more integrated, targeted Bean, M. J. (1986). Legal strategies for reducing persistent plastics in and effective regional, national and local programmes the marine environment. Paper presented at the Sixth International for the prevention of marine debris. Disposal Symposium, p. 8, April 1986. Kindt, J. W. (1984). Solid wastes and marine pollution. Catholic Univ. LawRe~ 34, 37. Baur, D. C. & ludicello, S. (1990). Stemming the tide of marine debris Menell, P. S. (1990). Beyond the throwaway society: an incentive pollution: putting domestic and international control authorities to approach to regulating . Ecol. Law Quarterly work. Ecology Law Quarterly 17, 71. 17,655. Nollkaemper, A. (1992). Marine pollution from land-based sources: Recent Developments: Federal Regulation of Solid Waste Reduction towards global approach. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 24, 8. and Recycling, Harvard J. Legislat. 29, 251.

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