BALANCING THE PROTECTION OF MARINE ECOSYSTEMS WITH ECONOMIC-BENEFITS FROM LAND-BASED ACTIVITIES - THE QUEST FOR INTERNATIONAL LEGAL BARRIERS

The major threats to the health, productivity, and biodiversity of the marine environment result from human activities on land. National law s have failed to provide an adequate response. In conformity with the obligations contained in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention, in recent years states have launched new legislative attempts that have as thei r stated objective to give more priority to protection of the marine e cosystem from land-based activities. The 1995 Global Programme of Acti on as well as regional treaties and programs provide for a wide variet y of alternative strategies including monitoring, economic instruments , raising of awareness, and capability-building that all as a matter o r urgency need to be pursued. This article discusses what has become t he dominant substantive strategy: development and imple-mentation of b est available techniques and best management practices. The article de scribes the rationale underlying the application of these approaches i n international law and examines how recent treaties and action progra ms have incorporated them. The article concludes that in several respe cts the law is inadequate, but that the main problem is the lack of co mmitment of states to accept obligations to apply technology-based sta ndards or practices that are sufficiently responsive to the need for p rotection of the marine ecosystem.