negotiations for a comprehensive regime led in 1982
to the adoption of the UN Convention on the Law of
the Sea (UNCLOS). This provided a framework for
the protection and management of marine resources.
In the ensuing years, concepts such as sustainable
development and the precautionary approach came to
the fore and were endorsed in the Declaration of the
Rio Summit, while proposals for Integrated Coastal
Zone Management (ICZM) are being widely explored nationally and advanced through the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.
Early ideas of pollution were focused on chemical
inputs, but following the Group of Experts on the
Scientific Aspects of Marine Pollution (GESAMP)
definition pollution is now seen in a much wider
context, encompassing any human activity that damages habitats and amenities and interferes with legitimate users of the sea. Thus, manipulation of
terrestrial hydrological cycles, and other hinterland
activities including alterations in agriculture, or afforestation, can profoundly influence estuarine regimes,
and are seen in the context of pollution. In particular,
it is now recognized that excessive fishing can do more
widespread damage to marine ecosystems than most
chemical pollution, and the need for ecosystem-based
fisheries management is widely recognized.
Over the years, assessments of pollution effects
have altered the priority of concerns, which today
are very different from those of the 1950s. Thanks to
the rigorous control of radioactivity and metals,
these are not now major worries. Also, decades of
experience with oil spills have shown that, after the
initial damage, oil degrades and the resilience of
natural communities leads to their recovery. Today,
while the effects of sewage, eutrophication, and
harmful algal blooms top the list of pollution concerns, along with the physical destruction of habitats
by coastal construction, another item has been
added: aquatic invasive species. The particular focus
is on the transfer of harmful organisms in ships’
ballast water and sediments, which can cause disruption of fisheries, fouling of coastal industry, and
reduction of human amenity. In conclusion, most of
the impacts referred to above are on the shallow
waters and the shelf, associated with continental inputs and activities. The open ocean, although subject
to contamination from the atmosphere and from
vessels in shipping lanes, is relatively less polluted
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
See also
Anthropogenic Trace Elements in the Ocean.
Atmospheric Input of Pollutants. Chlorinated
Hydrocarbons. Metal Pollution. Radioactive Wastes.
Further Reading
Brackley P (ed.) (1990) World Guide to Environmental
Issues and Organisations. Harlow: Longman.
Brune D, Chapman DV, and Gwynne DW (1997) Eutrophication. In: The Global Environment, ch. 30. Weinheim: VCH.
Coe JM and Rogers DB (1997) Marine Debris. Berlin:
Springer.
de Mora SJ (ed.) (1996) Tributyltin Case Study of an Environmental Contaminant. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press.
GESAMP (1982) Reports and Studies No. 15: The Review
of the Health of the Oceans. Paris: UNESCO.
Grubb M, Koch M, and Thomson K (1993) The ‘Earth
Summit’ Agreements: A Guide and Assessment. London:
Earth Scan Publications.
HMSO (1981) Eighth Report of the Royal Commission on
Environmental Pollution, Oil Pollution of the Sea,
Cmnd 8358. London: HMSO.
Hollingworth C (2000) Ecosystem effects of fishing. ICES
Journal of Marine Science 57(3): 465--465(1).
International Maritime Organization (1991) IMO MARPOL
73/78 Consolidated Edition MARPOL 73/78. London:
International Maritime Organization.
International Oceanographic Commission (1998) Annual
Report of the International Oceanographic Commission. Paris: UNESCO.
Kutsuna M (ed.) (1986) Minamata Disease. Kunamoto:
Kunammoyo University.
Matheickal J and Raaymakers S (eds.) (2004) Second
International Ballast Water Treatment R & D Symposium,
21–23 July 2003: Proceedings. GloBallast Monograph
Series No. 15. London: International Maritime Organization.
National Research Council (1985) Oil in the Sea. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Park PK, Kester DR, and Duedall IW (eds.) (1983) Radioactive Wastes and the Ocean. New York: Wiley.
Pravdic V (1981) GESAMP the First Dozen Years. Nairobi: UNEP.
Pritchard SZ (1987) Oil Pollution Control. Wolfeboro,
NH: Croom Helm.
Sinclair M and Valdimarsson G (eds.) (2003) Responsible
Fisheries in the Marine Ecosystem. Oxford, UK: CABI.
Tolba MK, El-Kholy OA, and El-Hinnawi E (1992) The
World Environment 1972–1992: Two Decades of
Challenge. London: Chapman and Hall.
UNEP (1990) The State of the Marine Environment.
UNEP Regional Seas Reports and Studies No. 115.
Nairobi: UNEP.
UNO (1983) The Law of the Sea: Official Text of UNCLOS.
New York: United Nations.
World Commission on Environment and Development
(1987) Our Common Future. Oxford, UK: Oxford
University Press.
264 GLOBAL MARINE POLLUTION
to the adoption of the UN Convention on the Law of
the Sea (UNCLOS). This provided a framework for
the protection and management of marine resources.
In the ensuing years, concepts such as sustainable
development and the precautionary approach came to
the fore and were endorsed in the Declaration of the
Rio Summit, while proposals for Integrated Coastal
Zone Management (ICZM) are being widely explored nationally and advanced through the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.
Early ideas of pollution were focused on chemical
inputs, but following the Group of Experts on the
Scientific Aspects of Marine Pollution (GESAMP)
definition pollution is now seen in a much wider
context, encompassing any human activity that damages habitats and amenities and interferes with legitimate users of the sea. Thus, manipulation of
terrestrial hydrological cycles, and other hinterland
activities including alterations in agriculture, or afforestation, can profoundly influence estuarine regimes,
and are seen in the context of pollution. In particular,
it is now recognized that excessive fishing can do more
widespread damage to marine ecosystems than most
chemical pollution, and the need for ecosystem-based
fisheries management is widely recognized.
Over the years, assessments of pollution effects
have altered the priority of concerns, which today
are very different from those of the 1950s. Thanks to
the rigorous control of radioactivity and metals,
these are not now major worries. Also, decades of
experience with oil spills have shown that, after the
initial damage, oil degrades and the resilience of
natural communities leads to their recovery. Today,
while the effects of sewage, eutrophication, and
harmful algal blooms top the list of pollution concerns, along with the physical destruction of habitats
by coastal construction, another item has been
added: aquatic invasive species. The particular focus
is on the transfer of harmful organisms in ships’
ballast water and sediments, which can cause disruption of fisheries, fouling of coastal industry, and
reduction of human amenity. In conclusion, most of
the impacts referred to above are on the shallow
waters and the shelf, associated with continental inputs and activities. The open ocean, although subject
to contamination from the atmosphere and from
vessels in shipping lanes, is relatively less polluted
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
See also
Anthropogenic Trace Elements in the Ocean.
Atmospheric Input of Pollutants. Chlorinated
Hydrocarbons. Metal Pollution. Radioactive Wastes.
Further Reading
Brackley P (ed.) (1990) World Guide to Environmental
Issues and Organisations. Harlow: Longman.
Brune D, Chapman DV, and Gwynne DW (1997) Eutrophication. In: The Global Environment, ch. 30. Weinheim: VCH.
Coe JM and Rogers DB (1997) Marine Debris. Berlin:
Springer.
de Mora SJ (ed.) (1996) Tributyltin Case Study of an Environmental Contaminant. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press.
GESAMP (1982) Reports and Studies No. 15: The Review
of the Health of the Oceans. Paris: UNESCO.
Grubb M, Koch M, and Thomson K (1993) The ‘Earth
Summit’ Agreements: A Guide and Assessment. London:
Earth Scan Publications.
HMSO (1981) Eighth Report of the Royal Commission on
Environmental Pollution, Oil Pollution of the Sea,
Cmnd 8358. London: HMSO.
Hollingworth C (2000) Ecosystem effects of fishing. ICES
Journal of Marine Science 57(3): 465--465(1).
International Maritime Organization (1991) IMO MARPOL
73/78 Consolidated Edition MARPOL 73/78. London:
International Maritime Organization.
International Oceanographic Commission (1998) Annual
Report of the International Oceanographic Commission. Paris: UNESCO.
Kutsuna M (ed.) (1986) Minamata Disease. Kunamoto:
Kunammoyo University.
Matheickal J and Raaymakers S (eds.) (2004) Second
International Ballast Water Treatment R & D Symposium,
21–23 July 2003: Proceedings. GloBallast Monograph
Series No. 15. London: International Maritime Organization.
National Research Council (1985) Oil in the Sea. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Park PK, Kester DR, and Duedall IW (eds.) (1983) Radioactive Wastes and the Ocean. New York: Wiley.
Pravdic V (1981) GESAMP the First Dozen Years. Nairobi: UNEP.
Pritchard SZ (1987) Oil Pollution Control. Wolfeboro,
NH: Croom Helm.
Sinclair M and Valdimarsson G (eds.) (2003) Responsible
Fisheries in the Marine Ecosystem. Oxford, UK: CABI.
Tolba MK, El-Kholy OA, and El-Hinnawi E (1992) The
World Environment 1972–1992: Two Decades of
Challenge. London: Chapman and Hall.
UNEP (1990) The State of the Marine Environment.
UNEP Regional Seas Reports and Studies No. 115.
Nairobi: UNEP.
UNO (1983) The Law of the Sea: Official Text of UNCLOS.
New York: United Nations.
World Commission on Environment and Development
(1987) Our Common Future. Oxford, UK: Oxford
University Press.
264 GLOBAL MARINE POLLUTION