Global aspects of marine pollution policy : The need for a new international convention

The source and fate of marine pollutants are discussed in overview and exemplified with the case of radioactive wastes dumped at sea. Only 10% of marine pollutants originate with deliberate dumping; the other 90% come from land-based sources. Remarkably, there is no international convention regulating pollution from all sources, including land-based. The London Dumping Convention (LDC) is the chief international treaty for regulating and limiting dumping at sea. The LDC is moving away from regulation, however, and toward prohibition of most forms of dumping at sea. A new international 'Convention for the Protection of the Oceans from Pollution' (CPOP) is now needed, incorporating new waste management principles and having jurisdiction over all sources of marine pollution, including those from land-based sources. Such a convention could foster international cooperation in the prevention of marine pollution by serving as a clearing house for the exchange of technologies in the area of toxic waste source reduction and abatement. Possible hurdles to the formation of such an international instrument are discussed along with possible solutions.