The history of international environmental law - Introduction to International Environmental Law - page 28

The major global agreements relating to the protection of the marine envi-
ronment were the London 1972 Convention on the Prevention of Marine
Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter 11 and the 1973 International
Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, complemented with
a Protocol in 1978 (together known as MARPOL). 12 The MARPOL regime
aims to reduce and minimize marine pollution from ships, both from accidents
and from routine operations. The Convention contains six annexes that
concentrate on controlling and preventing oil, noxious liquid substances
carried in bulk, and harmful substances in packaged form from being spilled
into the sea. The Convention also aims at controlling contamination by solid
waste and sewage, as well as air pollution caused by ships.
The adoption of the UNCLOS was a signifi cant accomplishment because it
created general overarching principles in relation to all activities that pollute
the sea. The regulation of no other part of the biosphere has matched it,
although a law of the atmosphere was discussed without result in the mid-
1980s (it was to have included regulation on ozone depletion, climate change
and the prevention of airborne pollutants). 13
Global development has impacted on other areas of nature protection as well.
The 1971 Ramsar Convention 14 created the basis for protecting wetlands
important for waterfowl, whereas the 1972 World Heritage Convention 15
protects natural heritage sites. The Bonn and Bern Conventions of 1979 aim at
protecting migratory wild animals 16 and European wildlife. 17 CITES 18 from
1975 and its annexes aim to protect species of fl ora and fauna by limiting their
international trade: the idea is that if organisms or parts of organisms cannot be
traded commercially, the economic motivation to collect or hunt endangered
species will be eliminated: in essence, eliminating demand will eliminate supply.
The fi rst real phase of international environmental regulation was tentative;
the initial objective was to protect the environment from great threats such as
oil tankers, nuclear power plants and intentional waste dumping. At the same
time, however, hybrid organizations such as the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN ) 19 began to create a separate discipline of
international environmental law soon after the Stockholm Conference with a
single clear objective: to prevent and eventually eliminate international envi-
ronmental problems. The establishment of the UNEP institutionally helped
establish international environmental protection as a separate discipline of
international politics and law.
Phases in the development of international
environmental law
Global awakening to environmental problems and the change
in the economic system
During the 1980s, the international community came to acknowledge that
humankind was responsible for causing serious, global, long-term environmental