Download International Treaties and Conventions

International Treaties and Conventions
The international conventions that directly address various aspects of marine litter (ML)
include Annex V of the International Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution
from Ships (MARPOL 73/78), the Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by
Dumping of Wastes and other Matter (the London Convention) and the Convention on
the Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (the Basel
Convention).
While there are existing laws regulating the dumping of trash at sea and on shore, the
global nature of marine litter, its inability to be confined within territorial boundaries, and
the complexity of identifying litter sources have made effective laws difficult to draft and
even harder to enforce. The following is a detailed listing of relevant international treaties
and conventions that address the jurisdiction and handling of marine litter from landbased and ocean-based sources across the globe and support the foundation of the
UNEP Marine Litter (ML) Initiative:

The Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes
and Other Matter (London Convention) was signed in 1972 and addresses the
control of dumping of wastes at sea. Annex I of the Convention lists wastes and
other matters which must not be dumped. It is recognized that plastic materials, and
other materials that may cause problems of entanglement and ingestion by marine
organisms, constitute an environmental hazard. As a consequence, the dumping of
such materials is prohibited. The Convention is applicable to wastes from land-based
sources that are loaded onto ships for the deliberate purpose of dumping them at
sea and to dredged spoils. It should be noted that the Convention does not address
wastes that have been generated during the normal operation of ships.
http:/www.londonconvention.org

The Law of the Sea Convention 1982 establishes general rights and obligations for
the ocean, including protection of the marine environment. It provides that all States
have a duty to protect and preserve the marine environment, including rare and
fragile ecosystems and species habitats. This duty extends to all forms and sources
of pollution, including marine debris and derelict fishing gear. Those engaged in
commercial and recreational fishing and coastal States must cooperate to conserve
living marine resources, including fish, marine mammals and endangered and
threatened species.
http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_overview_conventio
n.htm

The Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA) is an elaboration of the general provisions of
the Law of the Sea Convention applicable to high seas fishing for straddling stocks
and highly migratory species such as tuna. It supports ML prevention efforts by
providing that States are under the obligation to minimize pollution, wastes, discards
and catches by lost or abandoned gear. It also requires that states minimize impacts
on species associated with targeted fish, particularly endangered and threatened
species.
http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_overview_fish_stoc
ks.htm

The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships
(MARPOL 73/78) provides a comprehensive approach to dealing with ocean
dumping by creating international guidelines for pollution prevention from ships.
There are six annexes associated with MARPOL: Annex I - Discharge of oil; Annex
II -Control of hazardous liquids; Annex III-Transport of hazardous materials in a
packaged form; Annex IV - Discharge of sewage; Annex V - Disposal of plastics and
garbage (bans all dumping of plastics into the oceans); and Annex VI - Air pollution.
http://www.imo.org/
Annex V of MARPOL prohibits ocean dumping of all ship-generated plastics and
regulates the dumping of other garbage. Annex V is of particular importance to the
maritime transport community (shippers, oil platforms, fishers, recreational boaters
and cruise lines) as it prohibits the disposal of plastic at sea and regulates the
disposal of other types of garbage at sea. Under Annex V of the Convention,
garbage includes all kinds of food, domestic and operational waste, excluding fresh
fish, generated during the normal operation of the vessel and liable to be disposed of
continuously or periodically. This annex also requires ports and terminals to provide
garbage reception facilities for boats. As of January 2008, 136 countries have ratified
Annex V controlling the disposal of plastics and garbage into the oceans.
http://www.imo.org/Conventions/contents.asp?doc_id=678&topic_id=258
“Special Areas” are designated by MARPOL Annex V as locations where, due to
the site’s unique oceanographic, ecological, or traffic conditions all overboard
discharges of garbage (except ground-up food wastes) are prohibited. Food wastes
may not be discharged within 12 nautical miles of the nearest land in Special Areas.
To date MARPOL has designated nine Special Areas: Mediterranean Sea, Baltic
Sea, Black Sea, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Gulf of Aden, North Sea, Antarctic area, and
the Wider Caribbean (including the Gulf of Mexico).
http://www.imo.org/Environment/mainframe.asp?topic_id=760

Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their
Disposal (Basel Convention) was adopted in Basel (Switzerland) in March 1989
and entered into force in May 1992. The Basel Convention addresses the problems
and challenges posed by transboundary movements, and the environmentally sound
management of hazardous wastes and other wastes. Per the Convention, any
hazardous marine litter from land-based sources would fall under the scope of this
instrument as would other categories of wastes requiring special handling, such as
household wastes. It should be noted that solid plastics wastes would not normally
be considered under this Convention unless it exhibits any hazardous
characteristics. http://www.basel.int/index.html

The FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing is a guidance document,
stating that fishing should be conducted in accordance with International Maritime
Organization’s (IMO) requirements (e.g., MARPOL Annex V) to protect the marine
environment and prevent loss of fishing gear and supports program efforts to
address marine litter issues related to fishing activities.
http://www.fao.org/fi/agreem/codecond/codecon.asp
Other international and regional conventions and agreements supporting the ML
initiative
Marine litter abatement and control can also be addressed through other instruments
that are related to the resources that are affected by marine litter. The current challenge
that is plaguing governmental organizations and civil society is how to apply these
various outlets to help address ML issues as part of a broader campaign for
environmental protection, development and resource management efforts.

The Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment
from Land-Based Activities (GPA) is a non-binding global agreement, which
reflects the resolve of States to address the serious impacts of land-based sources
of pollution and physical degradation of the coastal and marine environments. The
GPA aims at preventing the degradation of the marine environment from land-based
activities by facilitating the realization of the duty of States to preserve and protect
the marine environment. Marine litter is one the nine source categories identified by
the GPA and it has recommended that States identify and assess problems related
to severity and impacts of these contaminants. (www.gpa.unep.org)

Agenda 21 is the comprehensive plan for global, national and local action by
organizations of the United Nations system, governments, and major groups in every
area in which human activity impacts the environment. Chapter 17 of Agenda 21
deals with the protection of the oceans, all kinds of seas (including enclosed and
semi-enclosed seas, and coastal areas and the protection, rational use and
development of their living resources). Chapter 18 deals with freshwater (including
the management of rivers and lakes). Chapter 21 deals with solid waste ("all
domestic refuse and non-hazardous wastes such as commercial and institutional
wastes, street sweepings and construction debris. In some countries, the solid
wastes management system also handles human wastes. Environmentally sound
waste management is concerned not just with safe disposal or recovery but also with
the root cause of the problem, such as unsustainable production and consumption
patterns").
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21toc.htm

With the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation at the World Summit on
Sustainable Development (2002), issues related to the protection of the marine
environment are included in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation adopted by
the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), held in 2002. Paragraph 22
deals with prevention and minimization of waste and maximization of reuse, recycling
and use of environmentally friendly alternative materials, in order to minimize
adverse effects on the environment and improve resource efficiency. Paragraph 32
deals with land-based sources stating that the implementation of the UNEP GPA
should be advanced. Paragraph 33 deals with marine pollution from shipping stating
that relevant international conventions should be ratified and
implemented.(http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/P
OI_PD.htm#1/#1/)

The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals
(CMS, Bonn Convention, 1979) is an environmental treaty under the aegis of the
United Nations that provides a global platform for the conservation and sustainable
use of migratory animals and the places where they live. The Agreements and
Memoranda of Understanding related to many protected species (e.g. water birds,
sea turtles, cetaceans, dugongs, and monk seals) support conservation efforts
related to species interactions with various forms of marine litter, especially derelict
and discarded fishing gear. http://www.cms.int/

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD, 1992) concerns the protection,
management and sustainable use of the biodiversity in general, and its subsidiary
programme called “Jakarta Mandate on Marine and Coastal Biodiversity” (1995;
work program – 1998, updated in 2004) and is concentrated on relevant issues in
the marine and coastal environment, including some ML-related aspects such as:
the smothering of the seabed; effects of entanglement and ingestion of litter on fish,
marine mammals and seabirds; dissemination of alien species (ML as a vector for
transport of invasive species). http://www.cbd.int/convention/articles.asp

Regional Fishery Management Organizations (RFMOs) regulate fishing for fish
species such as tuna in the various ocean regions. The Fish Stock Agreement
provides that States acting through RFMOs have a duty to cooperate to conserve
living marine resources, including the duty to adopt and apply generally
recommended international minimum standards for the conduct of responsible
fishing operations (e.g., the FAO Code of Conduct). In addition, the treaties creating
two RFMOs contain specific obligations to minimize fishing by lost or abandoned
gear.
http://www.oceansatlas.org/cds_static/en/regional_fishery_organizations__en_2940_
all_1.html