International Marine Environment Law: a Case Study in the Wider Caribbean Region

Georgetown International Environmental Law Review, Spring 2004 by Sheehy, Benedict

I. INTRODUCTION: UNEP, REGIONAL SEAS AND CARTAGENA CONVENTION

In June 1972, the United Nations (UN) Conference on the Human Environment, in Stockholm, Sweden created the UN Environment Programme. Its task was to oversee all matters dealing with the environment addressed by the UN.1 Among its responsibilities and successes is the Regional Seas Programme (hereinafter RSP).2 The RSP has thirteen agreements covering over 140 countries.3

The RSP's mandate is to coordinate nations bordering on common seas on matters related to the prevention of environmental degradation of coastal regions, including inland waters, coastal waters, and the open sea.4 It operates through a series of periodic meetings of high-level officials who develop an Action Plan.5 Simply put, "When the same problem crops up in every country, even if only on a local scale, then it becomes a common problem. All the countries of the region benefit by looking for a common solution."6 Essentially, a RSP tries to coordinate and convert those concerns into regional action plans.7

The two most successful8 conventions of the total thirteen conventions are the Barcelona Convention, dealing with the Mediterranean Sea, and the Cartagena Convention, dealing with the Caribbean.9 The later convention was finalized at the RSP meeting in Cartagena de Indias, Columbia in 1983. Although its proper title is Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region, it is commonly known as the Cartagena Convention.10

This article has four main parts guiding the reader through the convention, examining the situation and leading to some conclusions regarding international environmental law as it is manifested in the Caribbean. The first deals with the Cartagena Convention and provides a detailed review of the terms of the convention. This part is followed by a review of other potentially applicable international legal agreements and in particular, a detailed review of the terms of MARPOL 73/78, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto." The discussion then moves to a comparison between the two conventions and examines the evidence for claims that these conventions are successful in achieving their ends. The study reveals that environmental problems continue to plague the marine environment. To develop a better understanding of these problems, the study examines the case of Mexico. The basic problems of under-funded programs, lack of political will and general neglect by the developed world are examined and commented upon. The article concludes with some recommendations for future developments both in the Wider Caribbean Region and in international environmental treaties in general.

II. Cartagena Convention: an Analysis

The Cartagena Convention, along with its three protocols, dealing with oil spills,12 protected areas,13 and land-based pollution,14 is one of the most comprehensive RSPs. In addition, as of February 2, 2002, the Cartagena Convention was also coordinated with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission for the Caribbean of UNESCO by way of a Memorandum of Cooperation.15 The Cartagena Convention is not a stand alone agreement or designed to supersede extant agreements. Partly it is designed to supplement other multilateral treaties in place such as MARPOL 73/78 (International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto), and the Convention on Biological Diversity and to complement the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The article will now turn to an analysis of the Cartagena Convention. By way of introduction, the main duties created by the Convention with respect to pollution are: pollution from ships (Article 5); dumping (Article 6); land-based pollution of the marine environment (Article 7); sea-bed exploitation (Article 8); and air-borne pollution (Article 9). In addition, the Convention creates obligations concerning the development of specially protected areas (Article 10), the development of contingency plans (Article 11), the development of technical standards and a consultative process for major developments (Article 12), sharing of scientific information (Article 13), development of appropriate laws and the coordination of law (Article 14), and institutional development (Article 15).16

The Cartagena Convention's main text is made up of thirty articles. They deal with the general objectives and responsibilities of the signatories. Cartagena has an Annex of ten articles that deal with dispute resolution, of which I will analyze each of the articles in numerical order. The preamble indicates the parties' recognition of their responsibilities for the region's important and valuable marine environment, and their need to coordinate their efforts in order to preserve the environment in the development process. The parties specifically identify the need to secure wider acceptance of environmental agreements already in place and note that there are gaps in those agreements that need to be addressed.17