Chapter 3
International Organizations
and the Protection of the Marine
Environment
Pradeep A. Singh
Abstract One response to the numerous governance challenges faced with respect
to the oceans, a shared space, is the creation of international organizations. Typically
comprising of representations from member States and with pre-defined mandates,
international organizations strive to resolve specific issues. This chapter will provide
a categorical overview of these organizations and examine how they operate in
isolation, as well as interact with each other, in striving to protect the marine
environment. Given the institutional complexity surrounding the individual regimes
that create them, the outcomes arrived at by most international organizations occasionally do not represent the collective interests of all member States. Nevertheless,
the existence of a common avenue in which marine environmental problems can be
raised and discussed as a whole has indeed resulted in the adoption of notable
measures to address those problems. Such outcomes would not have been possible
without the mechanics that are peculiar to international organizations. Ultimately,
this analysis demonstrates the extent to which international organizations formulate
the law of the sea and discern some patterns on how their efforts has advanced the
protection of the marine environment in recent years.
1 Introduction
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is the starting
point for all discourse on the law of the sea, including the protection of the marine
environment. The adoption of UNCLOS in 1982 marked a significant phase in the
development of a foundational framework for managing and governing the oceans
and placed substantial emphasis on the protection of the marine environment.
1 While
there are many institutions involved in the law of the sea and maritime affairs, this
P. A. Singh (*)
Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), Potsdam, Germany
e-mail: pradeep.singh@iass-potsdam.de
1 Rothwell and Stephens (2016), p. 517; Redgwell (2006), pp. 180–182.
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
M. C. Ribeiro et al. (eds.), Global Challenges and the Law of the Sea,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42671-2_3
37
International Organizations
and the Protection of the Marine
Environment
Pradeep A. Singh
Abstract One response to the numerous governance challenges faced with respect
to the oceans, a shared space, is the creation of international organizations. Typically
comprising of representations from member States and with pre-defined mandates,
international organizations strive to resolve specific issues. This chapter will provide
a categorical overview of these organizations and examine how they operate in
isolation, as well as interact with each other, in striving to protect the marine
environment. Given the institutional complexity surrounding the individual regimes
that create them, the outcomes arrived at by most international organizations occasionally do not represent the collective interests of all member States. Nevertheless,
the existence of a common avenue in which marine environmental problems can be
raised and discussed as a whole has indeed resulted in the adoption of notable
measures to address those problems. Such outcomes would not have been possible
without the mechanics that are peculiar to international organizations. Ultimately,
this analysis demonstrates the extent to which international organizations formulate
the law of the sea and discern some patterns on how their efforts has advanced the
protection of the marine environment in recent years.
1 Introduction
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is the starting
point for all discourse on the law of the sea, including the protection of the marine
environment. The adoption of UNCLOS in 1982 marked a significant phase in the
development of a foundational framework for managing and governing the oceans
and placed substantial emphasis on the protection of the marine environment.
1 While
there are many institutions involved in the law of the sea and maritime affairs, this
P. A. Singh (*)
Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), Potsdam, Germany
e-mail: pradeep.singh@iass-potsdam.de
1 Rothwell and Stephens (2016), p. 517; Redgwell (2006), pp. 180–182.
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
M. C. Ribeiro et al. (eds.), Global Challenges and the Law of the Sea,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42671-2_3
37