We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Selected international legal aspects of marine environment protection
Summary
This paper reviews the international laws and treaties designed to protect our oceans from pollution — especially oil and plastic waste — and explains how countries work together (or should) to enforce them. It matters for your health because ocean pollution, including plastics that break down into microplastics, can contaminate seafood and water supplies, ultimately making their way back to our dinner tables; the authors argue that new biotech tools to break down plastic waste, paired with stronger global cooperation, are key to keeping our oceans (and us) safer.
Introduction. The principle of ensuring the protection of the marine environment belongs to the sphere of integrated international legal regulation. The simultaneous affiliation of the legal standards of such protection with international maritime and environmental law makes it possible to create interstate treaties that include various forms of cooperation on the conservation of water resources. The direct effect of the sovereignty of states in relation to ships with national affiliation and in certain maritime spaces strengthens the control over the fulfillment of obligations under such treaties. Materials and methods. The text uses the content of international legal acts on the protection of the marine environment and biological diversity, a number of scientific works of Russian and foreign jurists on this topic. The methodology of scientific study is represented by methods of analysis and synthesis, comparative law and formal logic. Results of the study . The 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea establishes that pollution of the marine environment is associated with the direct or indirect introduction of substances or energy into it, which leads or can lead to such harmful consequences as harm to living resources and life at sea, danger to human health, interference with navigation, etc. The authors determine the risks of marine pollution with petroleum products and plastic; features of interstate cooperation in this area are taken into account. The individual and the marine environment are considered in the 2023 Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity in interaction, which is also associated with the maintenance of traditional forms of habitat of indigenous peoples and communities. Discussion and conclusion. The focus of special attention of the world community is the clarification of the dangers of a particular type of pollution of the marine environment as the consequences of shipping, transportation of liquid liquids, discharges from land and atmospheric transport, underwater development of resources. The issues of the use of biotechnology against plastic pollution of the World Ocean have been studied separately. The authors consider the adoption of international legal standards for the use of such biotechnologies and the application of a unified ecosystem approach to the conservation of marine biodiversity to be a significant point of protection.