Branches of international environmental law - Introduction to International Environmental Law - page 147

between the old and new conventions is in the principles guiding their devel-
opment and application. Article 3 in the 1974 Convention did not actually
adopt any of the modern principles of environmental protection, whereas the
corresponding new Article ('Fundamental principles and obligations') refers to
the precautionary principle, the best environmental practice and best available
technology principle, and the polluter pays principle.
The new Convention is also based on the promotion of biological diversity
and the ecosystem approach since the early 2000s. The Convention obligates
its parties to reduce pollution from all sources, to conserve marine life, and to
maintain biological diversity. The Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) within the
HELCOM was adopted in November 2007. Its objective is to restore the
good ecological status of the Baltic Sea and its ecosystems by 2021.
In April 2004, the Baltic Sea was identifi ed by the International Maritime
Organization (IMO) as a 'particularly sensitive sea area' (PSSA). This status allows
special measures to be implemented in restricting marine pollution from ships.
The governance of the Baltic Sea has also changed, because one by one its
coastal states have become members of the EU. After signing the Convention in
1992, Finland and Sweden were the fi rst to join the EU in 1995; Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania and Poland joined in the following wave in 2004. The Baltic Sea is
therefore, in effect, virtually an inland sea of the EU: all its coastal states except
for Russia are EU members. As part of its Integrated Maritime Policy, the EU
also adopted the Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, combining EU and local
level activities and ensuring cooperation between the countries and regions.
The aim of the EU Marine Strategy Directive is for European seas to
achieve good environmental status by 2020. The directive obligates member
states to develop a national marine strategy for their marine regions. This strat-
egy must involve an assessment of the status of the marine environment and a
programme of measures to be developed by 2016 to improve the status of the
marine region. The directive also requires member countries to coordinate
their operations and to cooperate with each other and with third parties. To
implement cooperation, existing organizations such as the HELCOM have
taken an active role.
Regulation of fi shing
The regulation of fi shing is relatively coherent. It was also unifi ed by the UN
Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Convention adopted the emerging
right of the coastal states to decide on the harvest and management of the fi sh
resources in their exclusive economic zones of 200 nautical miles. The major-
ity of fi sh resources were thereby turned from common resources of the high
seas (vulnerable to the 'tragedy of the commons') into resources under the
jurisdiction, management and responsibility of the coastal states.
The UNCLOS also regulated the general rights and obligations of the states
in relation to the following fi sh species: 'stocks occurring within the exclusive
economic zones of two or more coastal states [shared stocks] or both within