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Linking International Regimes on Oceans and Fresh Water since the 1972 Stockholm Conference: The Case of Preventing Land-based Marine Plastic Pollution via International Watercourses
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Rivers carry a huge amount of plastic pollution from land into the ocean, yet the international laws protecting rivers and those protecting oceans have historically operated separately, with little coordination. This paper argues that connecting these two legal systems—using shared principles like "don't cause harm" and "cooperate with other countries"—could help close loopholes and more effectively stop plastic waste before it reaches the sea. Since ocean plastic breaks down into microplastics that end up in our seafood, drinking water, and even our bodies, smarter international cooperation on this issue could mean less plastic contamination in what we eat and drink.
Despite the growing number of multilateral environmental treaties since the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, the inter-link between the legal regimes governing the protection of the marine environment (marine regimes) and those governing the protection of international watercourses (freshwater regimes) has attracted only limited attention. The absence of an inter-link between these legal regimes is problematic particularly in the context of the prevention of marine plastic pollution via international watercourses. While marine and freshwater regimes have been developed as distinct disciplines of international law, one can find some common principles/obligations, such as the no-harm principle, the obligation to protect the environment, the obligation to conduct an environmental impact assessment, and the obligation to cooperate. On the basis of these common principles/obligations, this chapter explores the inter-link between the marine and freshwater regimes in the prevention of land-based marine plastic pollution.
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