Lecture Marine environmental studies Topic Ocean dumping

Ocean dumping


Class Test

•

•
•

6 mins

start work

State 3 reasons why ships use anti fouling paint.
Mention 2 metals that can be found in antifouling paint.


Ocean dumping

•

Dumping of waste at sea is a deliberate activity.


London Dumping Convention of 1972


London Dumping Convention of 1972

•

The London Convention 1972 (LC) is one of the first global conventions to protect the marine
environment from human activities and has been in force since 1975. 85 States are parties to
it.

•

The London Protocol 1996 (LP), which will eventually replace LC, is in force since 24 March
2006. 37 States are parties to it 31 of which are also parties to LC.


London Dumping Convention of 1972

•

The international convention on dumping is the “Convention on the Prevention of Marine
Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter” (London Dumping Convention of
1972).

•

Under this convention, there is a list of substances that are NOT ALLOWED TO BE DUMPED
AT ALL and a list of substances that are ALLOWED TO BE DUMPED ONLY IN TRACE
QUANTITIES, and also if it can be proved that they can rapidly be rendered harmless at sea.



WHAT IS DUMPING?

•

DUMPING IS THE DELIBERATE DISPOSAL AT SEA OF
WASTES LOADED ON BOARD A VESSEL

•

DUMPING IS NOT:

•
•

Pipeline discharges from land
Operational discharges from vessels or offshore
installations


“ORIENTATION”

•

The objective of LP is to:

•

…..protect and preserve the marine environment from ALL SOURCES
of pollution, and

•

take effective measures,…….. to prevent, reduce and where

practicable eliminate pollution caused by dumping or incineration at
sea of wastes.

•

So LC + LP govern dumping activities world-wide, but always from the
perspective of protection from all sources of pollution.


Dumping…

•

Many countries dump lots of waste at sea but this is normally done under a permit system and in
accordance with international instrument.

•

The list of substances that are allowed to be dumped are only done so with the permission of the
sea authorities.

• In issuing a permit, the authorities will need to consider:
1. The nature of the dumping site
2. The quantity of the material to be dumped
3. The toxicity of the material to be dumped


“ORIENTATION”
All dumping is prohibited except for possibly acceptable wastes in annex 1 to LP:
 

•
•
•
•
•
•
•

dredged material
sewage sludge
fish wastes, or material resulting from industrial fish processing operations
vessels and platforms or other man-made structures at sea
inert, inorganic geological material (e.g., mining wastes)
organic material of natural origin
bulky items primarily comprising iron, steel and concrete for which the concern is
physical impact (conditions apply)

•

CO2 capture and storage in sub-seabed geological formations (2006)


“ORIENTATION”

•

6 of these 8 waste streams are
generated on land

•

Sediments are dredged from
harbours and estuaries, but its
quality as a potential resource is
often determined by up stream
sources: Hence the need for
watershed (catchment areas)
management


LONDON PROTOCOL
BASIC RULES (1)

•

Protection of the sea and the sea-bed (“Sea” means all marine waters other than
internal waters of States….)

•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Internal waters are excluded, unless a party “opts-in” (Art. 7.2)
No incineration at sea (Art. 5)
No export of wastes to other countries for dumping or incineration (Art.6)

Designation of a national authority to implement the Protocol
Dumping allowed only on the basis of a permit
Reporting (Art. 9) and compliance (Art. 11) enhanced
Technical co-operation (Art.13) and “Transitional period” option for new Parties till 24
March 2011 (Art. 26)


LONDON PROTOCOL
BASIC RULES (2)

•

Precautionary approach:

•

“…..Parties shall apply a precautionary approach to environmental
protection from dumping whereby appropriate preventative measures
are taken when there is reason to believe that waste etc. introduced in
the marine environment are likely to cause harm even when there is no
conclusive evidence to prove a causal relation between inputs and their
effects” (Art. 3.1)

•

Meaning for dredged materials:

•
•

Sometimes more restrictions to dumping
Strong emphasis on control of contaminants at source


LONDON PROTOCOL
BASIC RULES (3)

•

Reference to "polluter-pays principle"

•

"….Parties shall endeavour to promote practices whereby those it has
authorized to engage in dumping or incineration at sea bear the cost of
meeting the pollution prevention and control requirements for the
authorized activities, having due regard to the public interest.” (Art 3.2)

•

Meaning for dredged materials:

•
•
•

Incentive for proper allocation of environmental costs
In practice: costs of monitoring can be charged to the applicant
Also recognition that contamination of sediments is often caused elsewhere

CURRENT TRENDS IN DUMPING

•

Annually 200 to 400 million tonnes of dredged material are dumped in Convention
waters, 10% of which is contaminated from shipping, industrial and municipal
discharges, land run-off

•

Dredged material constitutes ~ 80 to 90% of all materials dumped

•

Other materials dumped include: 

•
•
•
•
•

sewage sludge (Republic of Korea till 2011)
decommissioned vessels
organic materials, e.g. food and beverage processing wastes, spoilt cargoes
fish wastes
mining wastes

ACHIEVEMENTS (1)
•

Parties have stopped unregulated dumping and incineration activities of the 1960s and 1970s (1

st

phase)

•

All dumping is subject to licensing and controlled by regulatory programmes to assess the need for
and potential impact of dumping

•

Prohibitions extended since mid-1990s for dumping of industrial and radioactive wastes and
incineration at sea (2

nd

phase)

In other words, the “core business” under LC and LP is under control and the main politically
sensitive issues of the past have been resolved.


ACHIEVEMENTS (2)

9 guidelines have been developed for a logical, step-by-step assessment of

each waste category addressing:

•
•
•
•
•
•
•

waste prevention audit
assessment of alternatives
waste characterization
“Action List”
assessment of potential effects of sea and land disposal options
disposal site selection
monitoring and licensing procedures


ACHIEVEMENTS (3)

•

These 9 guidelines draw on generally accepted approaches for
integrated waste management and pollution prevention and are
therefore also useful for other fora!! (Reviews are regularly made)

•

Guidelines for the Sampling and Analysis of Dredged Material

Intended for Disposal at Sea (2004)

•
•

Guidelines for placement of artificial reefs (2008)
Training materials are being expanded and adapted (low-tech
extension: 2009)

•

Guidance how to develop an “Action list” (2008)


LESSONS LEARNED

•

Parties gained a wealth of practical experience on marine pollution prevention issues, interpretation, licensing, compliance
and field monitoring activities.

•

Full compliance still remains a substantial problem for many Parties, due to technical, legal and administrative issues.
Improvement of compliance is regularly discussed since 1999.

A “Compliance Group” has been established (first session in

2008). A “Barriers to compliance” project is currently being implemented (2008-2011).

•

Continuous outreach activities to new Parties are a necessity.

•

Not all Parties and potential Parties can afford coming to meetings in London. Hence promotion of LP since 1996 in Regional
and National Workshops such as this Workshop in Muscat.

•

Collaborative agreements with other organizations (UNEP, IOI, IOC? FAO?) to move from “ad hoc” to more programmatic
co-operation.


CURRENT AND FUTURE ISSUES

•

Core issues under control, so more attention for new, “boundary” issues, which invariably demand co-operation:

•

Spoilt cargo management 2008 (LP>>IMO)

•

LP amendments in 2006 permitting CO2 capture and storage in sub-seabed geological formations to limit ocean
acidification (LP>>UNFCCC and IPCC)

•

Regulation of ocean fertilization (2008–2009)(LP>>IOC, UNEP, CBD, GESAMP)

•

Ship-recycling convention in 2009 (IMO>>LP)

•

Advice on Best Management Practices to remove TBT Paints from ships (IMO’s prohibition of TBT antifoulants in
2008) (LP>> IMO and GPA)

•

Placement of artificial reefs in the oceans (2008)


OCEAN FERTILIZATION:
ACTIVITIES UNDER LC/LP

•

What is it?: Stimulation of natural photosynthesis in the oceans, i.e., by “seeding” with iron particles, to
draw down part of the surplus of CO2 from the atmosphere

•

Concerns: (1) effectiveness of the method, does it work? (2) potential impacts on the marine environment
and human health

•

Action in 2007: Parties issued “Statement of Concern” and agreed to work towards regulation of ocean
fertilization

•

Action in 2008: “Policy” resolution adopted allowing only “legitimate scientific research” (no commercial
activities!)

•

Action in 2009??: Possibly: legally binding resolution or amendment of LP to regulate this activity


POTENTIAL BENEFITS FOR STATES WHEN JOINING LONDON PROTOCOL

•
•

A better capability to prevent marine pollution from dumping activities
Access to the annual meetings of Parties (policy and regulatory aspects of dumping and protection of the
marine environment), and the annual meetings of the Scientific Groups (scientific and technical aspects
of dumping)

•

Joining an agreement for control of ALL SOURCES of marine pollution which promotes finding the best
overall environmental solution to specific problems and sustainable use of the oceans

•
•

Additional tool to protect the coastal zone and marine environment
Access to technical assistance and experience of other Parties to aid marine environmental protection
and capacity building


POTENTIAL COSTS FOR STATES WHEN JOINING

LONDON PROTOCOL

There are no membership fees. The potential costs vary and depend on the dumping activities but funding
would be required for:

•

Preparing enabling national legislation

•

Administering a licensing system and procedures

•

Conducting field and compliance monitoring activities and preparing reports thereon

•

Attending annual meetings of the Parties and the Scientific Groups


Anti-fouling Paints

•

Anti fouling paints are used to paint the hull of vessels to prevent growth
of algae and other marine sediments on it.

•

These paints have been found to cause harm to marine organisms
especially because they usually contain tin.