Pollution Prevention  


Water for Life

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Table of Contents


        
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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