Marine Pollution Prevention
The northern seas, encompassing the North Sea, Irish Sea, and
the Arctic Ocean, are being damaged and threatened by pollution
from the land and from shipping and oil and gas developments;
by the destruction of habitats; by overuse of fish and mineral
resources; and by a general lack of management.
The North Sea is the centre of a highly industrialized region
of the world. It is also heavily used by shipping and exploited
for its mineral reserves. It is relatively shallow and semi-enclosed.
All this makes it particularly vulnerable to pollution, which
is then borne outwards into more open seas.
Warm Gulf Stream currents and colder Arctic waters support a huge
array of different species and diverse habitats. This biodiversity
is seriously at risk from pollution, but attempts to preserve
it are at present inadequate. Protected areas and measures aimed
at conserving species are urgently needed. North Sea governments
are aware of the problems, but are not acting fast or far enough.
When we see birds covered in crude oil on television and read
about fishing wars in the papers, we may be inclined to dismiss
these incidents as "accidents" or "politics".
But those oil spills which are accidents are the tip of the iceberg,
and the politics of fisheries has serious repercussions for the
environment. Overfishing has brought many fishstocks to the verge
of extinction. And many thousands of tonnes of waste oil in excess
of the legal limits are dumped by shipping deliberately, every
year, as a matter of routine.
In 1990, a meeting of North Sea state ministers issued the Hague
Declaration, in which it was agreed to make discharge requirements
for oily waste and residues more stringent globally. As yet, however,
not all vessels are covered and stricter measures for the discharge
of chemicals have still not been formulated. The Hague Declaration
also identified sixteen groups of pesticides particularly hazardous
to marine health and recommended their elimination by 1995. To
date, only three groups have been completely phased out. Norway,
Sweden, and Denmark have phased out ten, but other countries are
failing to keep in step.
WWF-Germany and WWF-UK are leading the lobbying effort to have
the North Sea accorded Special Area status, protected by law against
pollution.
Without this, by the start of the new millennium, its waters could
become even more of a health hazard to both humans and wildlife,
and one of the world's most valuable fisheries could be lost.
The Hague Declaration recognized the need for concerted action.
Yet some governments, mainly concerned with economic development
and their own territorial waters, continue to drag their feet.
Meanwhile the public responds vigorously to issues like sewage
and oil slicks on the beaches, but may not be aware of less
visible and longer-term dangers.
In 1995, the UNEP Global Plan
of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based
Activities was formulated. WWF participated in order to ensure
that governments recognize the importance of marine and coastal
biodiversity, and to encourage the use of integrated coastal zone
management and pollution prevention tools, such as pesticide reduction
and PRTRs.
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