Protection of Marine Environment under International Laws The Laws of the Sea and Protection and Preservation of Marine

Environment

The laws regarding the marine environment are in their juvenile stage compared to laws governing terrestrial environment. Previous knowledge on marine environment was shallow compared to the wealth of knowledge on other forms of environment. Regimes that govern marine environments were weak before the UN intervened in 1972. The organization held a convention in Stockholm this year, where various recommendations were made with regard to the protection of the marine environment (Howard, 2009).

The convention led to the formation of environmental laws like the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III). The law touches on several matters related to marine environment. Before this law came into effect, existing legislations only touched on the reduction and prevention of marine pollution. The legislation was followed by the Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC) in 1983. In LOSC, however, the marine environment is not clearly defined (Howard, 2009).

Different laws define marine pollution variously. With the development of international laws like UNCED, the concept of pollution was used to denote environmental degradation. Under international laws, degradation was used to define sedimentation. It was also used to highlight erosion, destruction of marine habitat, and the use of inappropriate technology when engaging in fishing practices (Frank, 2007).