The Marine Environment Protection Committee: The Conjunction of the Law of the Sea and International Environmental Law

Abstract

AbstractThis article outlines the work of the Marine Environment Protection Committee of the International Maritime Organization in implementing measures to protect the marine environment and to conserve natural resources called for in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and international environmental law, in particular as set forth in Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration, both products of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. In so doing, the paper examines IMO's collaboration with other intergovernmental organisations and UN bodies, such as the FAO, UNEP, the Commission on Sustainable Development and the United Nations, as well as with the secretariats of multilateral environmental agreements, such as the Basel Convention and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Although the work of IMO is frequently overlooked because it is an older organisation, the treaties, codes and guidelines developed by the MEPC have made an essential and valuable contribution to the progressive development of international environmental law, as well as to the law of the sea.