ANTHROPOGENIC IMPACTS ON THE DEEP SEA
459
UNCLOS articles 145 in Part XI and 209 in Part XII
provide the necessary measures related to all activities
in the Area to give effective protection from harmful
effects (145) and to develop interrelationships between
international and national laws (209). Article 145
further provides that . . . the [International Seabed]
Authority shall adopt appropriate rules, regulations and
procedures for the prevention, reduction and control of
pollution and other hazards to the marine environment, and
the protection and conservation of the natural resources of
the Area. . . . the Convention does not impose measures
which would prohibit deep-seabed mining activities. It does,
however, recognize that deep-seabed mining cannot be
carried out without due regard to its impact on the marine
environment.
Nandan (1999)
In addition to the UNCLOS provisions, the Preparatory Committee for the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and the International Tribunal for the Law of
the Sea (PrepCom) dealt with a Draft Mining Code,
which contained a paragraph on the protection of the
environment from activities in the Area (cf. document
LOS/PCN/SCN.3/WP.6/Add.5 of 8th February 1990).
The draft describes “serious harm to the marine
environment” as
effects from activities in the Area on the living and nonliving components of the marine environment and associated
ecosystems beyond that which is negligible or which has
been assessed and judged to be acceptable by the Authority
pursuant to these regulations and the relevant rules and
regulations adopted by the Authority and which represent:
a) significant adverse changes in the living or non-living
components of the marine and atmospheric environment;
b) significant adverse changes in the ecosystem diversity,
productivity and stability of the biological communities
within the environment; or
c) loss of scientific or economic values which is
unreasonable in relation to the benefit derived from the
activity in question.
Although this definition is broader in scope than the
phrase “serious harm”, it remains rather unspecific.
Nevertheless, the provisions under the UNCLOS
and the draft of the Mining Code are encouraging.
The marine environment is broadly considered under
the aspects of “study, protection and preservation
of the marine environment” and “. . . sustainable
development. . . ”
However, the relevant statements, particularly in the
Mining Code, are weak and do not constitute objective
measures for the protection of the deep sea. Phrases like
“serious harm” are not sufficiently precise to ensure
environmentally sustainable mining, or more generally
for the sustainable use of the deep sea.
Before UNCLOS entered into force in 1994, at
which time the PrepCom was automatically dissolved,
the commission transmitted the Draft Mining Code
together with its final report to the International
Seabed Authority (ISA). The ISA Secretariat then
had to review the draft in order to adjust it to the
provisions of the 1994 Agreement. The new draft,
which became restricted only to the preparatory phases
of mining, prospecting and exploration, was presented
to the Legal and Technical Commission of the ISA
in March 1997. With regard to the protection of the
marine environment it contains only general principles
and no concrete standards. This is because insufficient
knowledge is currently available for the deep sea
and its environment. However, in 1998/1999 the ISA
developed environmental and monitoring guidelines for
mining contractors engaged in exploration of the deep
seabed for polymetallic nodules (International Seabed
Authority, 1999). The principles for the sustainable development of deep-sea mining will have to be amplified
at a later stage, but well before deep seabed mining
starts. As exploitation of polymetallic nodules is still
many years away, some time remains to acquire the
necessary knowledge on the deep sea and the potential
impacts of deep seabed mining on the environment.
This period should be used by deep-sea scientists to
undertake relevant research and to provide the results
to the ISA, in order to enable it to elaborate and adopt
sufficiently concrete provisions for effective protection
of the marine environment against serious harm from
activities in the Area. Without this information the
ISA will not be in a position to discharge its relevant
functions effectively, and to fill in the gaps in the LC,
its 1996 Protocol and MARPOL as they relate to deepsea mining. It is the responsibility of scientists and of
industrial and governmental funding agencies that these
obligations are met in due time. Various workshops
related to the environmental problems of deep-sea
mining were organized by the ISA during the last
years. Scientists developed research programmes and
are conducting investigations to learn about the impact
of polymetallic nodule mining on seafloor species
diversity (International Seabed Authority, 2002).
PROTECTED AREAS FOR THE HIGH SEA
The increasing use of the deep sea and the necessity
(for economic reasons) of large interventions in this
459
UNCLOS articles 145 in Part XI and 209 in Part XII
provide the necessary measures related to all activities
in the Area to give effective protection from harmful
effects (145) and to develop interrelationships between
international and national laws (209). Article 145
further provides that . . . the [International Seabed]
Authority shall adopt appropriate rules, regulations and
procedures for the prevention, reduction and control of
pollution and other hazards to the marine environment, and
the protection and conservation of the natural resources of
the Area. . . . the Convention does not impose measures
which would prohibit deep-seabed mining activities. It does,
however, recognize that deep-seabed mining cannot be
carried out without due regard to its impact on the marine
environment.
Nandan (1999)
In addition to the UNCLOS provisions, the Preparatory Committee for the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and the International Tribunal for the Law of
the Sea (PrepCom) dealt with a Draft Mining Code,
which contained a paragraph on the protection of the
environment from activities in the Area (cf. document
LOS/PCN/SCN.3/WP.6/Add.5 of 8th February 1990).
The draft describes “serious harm to the marine
environment” as
effects from activities in the Area on the living and nonliving components of the marine environment and associated
ecosystems beyond that which is negligible or which has
been assessed and judged to be acceptable by the Authority
pursuant to these regulations and the relevant rules and
regulations adopted by the Authority and which represent:
a) significant adverse changes in the living or non-living
components of the marine and atmospheric environment;
b) significant adverse changes in the ecosystem diversity,
productivity and stability of the biological communities
within the environment; or
c) loss of scientific or economic values which is
unreasonable in relation to the benefit derived from the
activity in question.
Although this definition is broader in scope than the
phrase “serious harm”, it remains rather unspecific.
Nevertheless, the provisions under the UNCLOS
and the draft of the Mining Code are encouraging.
The marine environment is broadly considered under
the aspects of “study, protection and preservation
of the marine environment” and “. . . sustainable
development. . . ”
However, the relevant statements, particularly in the
Mining Code, are weak and do not constitute objective
measures for the protection of the deep sea. Phrases like
“serious harm” are not sufficiently precise to ensure
environmentally sustainable mining, or more generally
for the sustainable use of the deep sea.
Before UNCLOS entered into force in 1994, at
which time the PrepCom was automatically dissolved,
the commission transmitted the Draft Mining Code
together with its final report to the International
Seabed Authority (ISA). The ISA Secretariat then
had to review the draft in order to adjust it to the
provisions of the 1994 Agreement. The new draft,
which became restricted only to the preparatory phases
of mining, prospecting and exploration, was presented
to the Legal and Technical Commission of the ISA
in March 1997. With regard to the protection of the
marine environment it contains only general principles
and no concrete standards. This is because insufficient
knowledge is currently available for the deep sea
and its environment. However, in 1998/1999 the ISA
developed environmental and monitoring guidelines for
mining contractors engaged in exploration of the deep
seabed for polymetallic nodules (International Seabed
Authority, 1999). The principles for the sustainable development of deep-sea mining will have to be amplified
at a later stage, but well before deep seabed mining
starts. As exploitation of polymetallic nodules is still
many years away, some time remains to acquire the
necessary knowledge on the deep sea and the potential
impacts of deep seabed mining on the environment.
This period should be used by deep-sea scientists to
undertake relevant research and to provide the results
to the ISA, in order to enable it to elaborate and adopt
sufficiently concrete provisions for effective protection
of the marine environment against serious harm from
activities in the Area. Without this information the
ISA will not be in a position to discharge its relevant
functions effectively, and to fill in the gaps in the LC,
its 1996 Protocol and MARPOL as they relate to deepsea mining. It is the responsibility of scientists and of
industrial and governmental funding agencies that these
obligations are met in due time. Various workshops
related to the environmental problems of deep-sea
mining were organized by the ISA during the last
years. Scientists developed research programmes and
are conducting investigations to learn about the impact
of polymetallic nodule mining on seafloor species
diversity (International Seabed Authority, 2002).
PROTECTED AREAS FOR THE HIGH SEA
The increasing use of the deep sea and the necessity
(for economic reasons) of large interventions in this