Marine Pollution Control Research Articles

Persistent Pollution in the Bay of Bengal: An Emerging Issue for Regional Ocean Governance

The Bay of Bengal is an area of 2.2 million square kilometres of the northern eastern part of Indian Ocean and underneath a part of the great Indo-Australian Plate. It is one of the world's 64 largest marine ecosystems with varied biological diversity consisting of inter alia – coral reefs, estuaries, fish spawning and nursery areas. It produces 6 million tons of fish corresponding to nearly 4% of the total global catch. More than 20% of the world’s population live in South Asia and it is the most densely populated region in the world. Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are five coastal states which are dependent on the Bay of Bengal for their livelihood. The Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna River system is one of the most dynamic river systems in the world, which carries lots of sediments and pollutants from the upper catchments. These are ultimately deposited in the Bay of Bengal and mixed with water and soil. Due to climate change, salinity intrusion, rapid population growth and urbanisation in recent decades, there has been a dramatic change in water pollution levels in the runoff of river systems leading to the Bay of Bengal. Accusing economic development, South Asian nations are inert to implement national and international legal instruments to prevent, reduce and control of marine pollution. According to SDG 14.1, countries must prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, including marine debris and litter by 2025. Therefore, national capacity building and regional binding and non-binding legal framework are essential to reduce trans-boundary marine pollution of the Bay of Bengal.

Nautical Institute of the Great Britain

The article is devoted to the research of the protection features of the Black Sea from pollution as a special area of the sea. There are determined pollution categories during the operation of ships (during the implementation of maritime activities on the seabed; caused by port activities, shipbuilding and ship’s repairing activities; the ingress of alien species or genetically modified organisms into the marine environment; the release of garbage, food, household and operational wastes into the sea; as a result of emergency circumstances – during accidents; and, pollution resulting from the burial of ships at sea). The international legal framework for the protection of the Black Sea marine environment from pollution during the operation of ships was analyzed. The universal and regional levels of legal regulation of the prevention of marine pollution from ships during their operation are highlighted. Particular attention is paid to the status of the Black Sea as a special area and a particularly vulnerable sea area. The Black Sea was defined as a “special area” of the sea, which is considered so vulnerable to oil pollution that discharges within it were completely prohibited with a few and clearly defined exceptions. To do this, we should refer to the provisions of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which shares the powers of states in the protection of the marine environment from pollution from ships to the adoption of laws and regulations aimed at protecting the marine environment from pollution from ships, and regarding the enforcement of national laws and regulations, as well as international norms and standards for the prevention of marine pollution from ships. The scope of these powers of states is differentiated depending on the rules for which the marine zone is established, and also on the basis of who takes measures to ensure compliance with the rules and regulations. It is emphasized that in their inland waters and the waters of ports, states have full sovereignty and can establish special requirements related to the reduction, control and prevention of marine pollution, which foreign vessels must satisfy in order to enter and stay in these waters. It is noted that in order to increase the effectiveness of all measures to protect the marine environment from pollution from ships, it is necessary to clearly define the binding standards, that is, those that are international, the observance of which states under whose flag the vessels fly, as well as coastal countries, may require vessels located in their territorial waters or exclusive economic zone.

Assessment and Comparison of Commonly Used Eutrophication Indexes

Eutrophication is a phenomenon that causes the degradation of the water quality which results in negative impacts on living and non-living environment of the water body. Therefore, monitoring, evaluation and classification of water quality is the utmost importance for policy makers and regional institutions/organizations in order to be able to assess the quality and sustainability of water bodies and take timely and relevant measures for its rehabilitation when and where required. Regional conventions such as the Helsinki Convention, Oslo-Paris Convention, Barcelona Convention – Programme for the Assessment and Control of Marine Pollution in the Mediterranean, Strategic Action Programme and Integrated Coastal Zone Management as well as legislative instruments such as the Water Framework Directive, Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive and Nitrate Directive in Europe; the Clean Water Act, Water Quality Act, National Environmental Policy and Coastal Zone Management Act issued by the United State Environmental Protection Agency in the United States, addressed the importance of eutrophication monitoring. The eutrophication indexes have been developed in line with regional requirements by using specific data sets of state variables and parameters, representative of a location. In this study, we reviewed the commonly used eutrophication indexes worldwide within the areas applied, parameters, methods and classification scales and presented trophic level equivalence between the indexes. We expected to provide the researchers with comprehensive approaches related to eutrophication indexes while evaluating the trophic status of a water body.

The Capabilities for Prevention and Control of Marine Pollution by Ships: China’s Construction Experiences and Future Perspectives

The transportation of crude oil will still mainly based on tanker in the next few decades. Although the number of largescale marine oil spill has decreased significantly over the last half a century, but our world will continuous confront many challenges about PCMPS (prevention and control of marine pollution by ships) inevitably. China has made great achievements of the capabilities for prevention and control of marine pollution by ships in the past decade, which mainly includes top-level design of framework, laws and regulations, industrial policies, technical specifications, spill emergency response team, contingency plan, etc. Moreover, with actively integrated of the emergency materials invested by governments, ship pollution removal enterprises and port enterprises, an emergency response system for PCMPS has been initially formed. Meanwhile, China needs continuous improvement in many aspects for marine environmental challenges in the future, such as the soft power of warehouses, coordination mechanism of all emergency forces, technical standard system, daily management and maintenance fund, waste receiving capacity, monitoring of oil spill site, etc.

The Impact of Marine Pollution Control on the Output Value of Marine Fisheries Based on the Spatial Econometric Model

Li, X.; Tian, Y.; Xu, C., and Cheng, B., 2019. The impact of marine pollution control on the output value of marine fisheries based on the spatial econometric model. In: Li, L.; Wan, X., and Huang, X. (eds.), Recent Developments in Practices and Research on Coastal Regions: Transportation, Environment and Economy. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 98, pp. 381–384. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.This study proposes that the input of marine environmental pollution control affects the output value of the marine fishery. Based on panel data from Marine Fisheries for China's coastal areas, model setting and data testing were performed. Through the spatial econometric model, the model results were estimated and analyzed and showed that the marine fishery economy in China is greatly affected by the total investment in environmental pollution control. Proper total investment in environmental pollution control will promote an increase in marine fishery output value, but with the change in the regional environment, excessive control of environmental pollution will also have a negative effect on the marine fishery output value. In addition, the number of people employed in the fishery labor force, the local per capita gross domestic product (GDP), and marine fishing productivity will have a significant positive effect on the fishery output in China.

해양오염방제 관리ㆍ운영의 법체계와 입법방향에 관한 고찰

해양오염방제 관리ㆍ운영의 법체계와 입법방향에 관한 고찰

Current Developments of Legal Instruments to Prevent and Control of Pollution In The Straits of Malacca

The Strait of Malacca is one of the busiest straits in the world, with more than 60,000 vessels through the strait per year. This strait is located in a strategic location to connect the west part and east part of the world. However, the number of vessels transit and pass through the strait affects marine environmental issues. Pollution, especially vessel-based sources, may affect marine life. To settle the issues along with the boundary issue, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore have entered into some agreements to cooperate to manage the Strait of Malacca since the 1970s. Recently, the concept of Cooperative Mechanism has been developed. Several meetings amongst these states have been done with some positive deals. With this concept, the littoral states believe that it can prevent, reduce, and control of marine pollution in the Strait of Malacca. However, more progress is still needed to enhance from the implementation of the Cooperative Mechanism. Keywords: Strait of Malacca, Pollution, Marine, Environment, Cooperative Mechanism.

Progress and Prospects of China in Implementing the Goal 14 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Following the entry into force of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, China has rapidly established key areas and priorities for its implementation, and Goal 14 focusing on sustainable marine development (hereinafter referred to as “SDG 14”) has been attached with great importance. This paper illustrates China’s implementation of SDG14 from four aspects: marine pollution control, conservation of marine environment, sustainable utilization of marine resources and international cooperation in global governance, and concludes that SDG14 has been implemented well on the whole in China. On this basis, the paper looks to the future sustainable development of ocean in China, and suggests improving the legal system, strengthening marine environmental monitoring, and advancing international cooperation for ocean sustainable development.

Taiwan's legal framework for marine pollution control and responses to marine oil spills and its implementation on T.S. Taipei cargo shipwreck salvage

Many shipwreck events occur in the neighboring areas of Taiwan due to the volume of maritime traffic and geographical conditions around Taiwan. The oil spills from such events can be devastating for the surrounding sea and coastal areas. The government realized the importance of marine pollution prevention and enforced the Marine Pollution Control Act and the Major Marine Oil Pollution Emergency Response Plan to mitigate the impact of oil spill pollution. The T.S. Taipei shipwreck highlighted the effectiveness of the national marine pollution prevention system. Inter-departmental cooperation and collaboration with private sectors are the keys for effective response. This article is the first detailed documentation of an oil spill response for a maritime incident from the beginning to the final termination of shipwreck removal. It shows the people in Taiwan intend to collaborate with other states to make a significant contribution to marine environment conservation and sustainability.

Marine Pollution Prevention in Bangladesh: A Way Forward for Implement Comprehensive National Legal Framework

After the permanent demarcation of maritime boundary with Myanmar and India, the Bangladesh government has emphasized on development of marine resources for enhancing its economy. However, Bangladesh faces several challenges in achieving blue growth, of which protecting marine environment from coastal and marine pollution is important. Without appropriate control measures, coastal and marine ecosystem are largely unprotected due to land-based and sea-based pollution sources that includes sewage pollution, industrial pollution, coastal development, habitat destruction etc. which collectively create microbial pollution. The oceanic parts of this country are rich in marine resources including diversity of fishes but pollution has devastating impacts on marine biota including human health. At present, Bangladesh has no ocean governance or policy to protect the resources from pollution. In this context, this paper provides a comprehensive policy framework for marine pollution control in Bangladesh with analysis of national and international legislation. A case study also illustrated to understand the present status of shipbreaking pollution in this region.

Framework for Management and Control of Marine Pollution in Nigeria Seaports

Existing studies show that effort made so far in curtailing marine pollution in ports of developing economies is marred by lack of administrative controls and inadequate provision of waste reception facilities at the ports. In this paper, sources of marine pollution and effects of particularly ship-based pollutants on marine environment were examined. The institutional arrangement for addressing marine pollution from ships visiting Nigeria ports is evaluated within the context of Marine Pollution (MARPOL) convention provisions and the obligations of coastal, flag states and port state control in ensuring compliance. It was found that in Nigeria ports, ship-generated waste control services and provision of waste reception facilities are outsourced to a private company with no requirement for activity audit. Apart from the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA), other government agencies are also involved in pollution monitoring and control. Given this scenario, it is envisaged that functions could be duplicated and monitoring/control efforts potentially weakened by conflicts of interests. An integrated administrative framework model is therefore proposed to address these managerial issues. Policy implications of the model developed are discussed.

An Analysis of Ship-Source Marine Pollution in Nigeria Seaports

Existing studies indicate that marine pollution control in the ports of developing economies is marred by a lack of administrative control and inadequate provision of waste reception facilities. In Nigeria ports, ship generated waste control services and provision of waste reception facilities are outsourced to private companies with no requirement for an activity audit. Apart from the port authority, other government agencies are also involved in pollution monitoring and control. Hence, functions are duplicated and effective regulation is arguably weakened by conflicts of interest. A scientific based integrated model is therefore proposed to address the managerial problem posed in the control of marine pollution in Nigerian ports. In this paper, we conduct a physico-chemical and microbiological analysis of samples of ships’ wastewater to determine the status of marine pollution in the port environment. The samples were collected from randomly selected ships at berths in seaport locations. The outputs from the analysis are then integrated as inputs into an administrative framework model. The integrated model developed is proposed as an alternative administrative tool for monitoring and controlling pollution in seaports. The policy implications of the developed model are discussed.

F. Caribbean Region

CARICOM, in partnership with the government of Japan and the United Nations Development Programme, announced the launch of a US $15 million Japan–Caribbean Climate Change Partnership during the first Japan–CARICOM Summit, which was held in Bridgetown, Barbados, on 28 January. The partnership will help Caribbean states in their mitigation and adaptation strategies by putting policies in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; assist nations in adapting to climate change; establish an information clearing house on climate change policies; and promote the transfer of adaptation, mitigation, and capacity-building technologies. The Caribbean Environment Programme and the United States announced a partnership in late 2015 to adopt a collaborative approach to reduce marine litter in the Caribbean. Jamaica and Panama will serve as the pilot nations in 2016, when the approach and its benefits will be gauged for wider implementation. Jamaica announced the ratification of the Protocol Concerning Pollution from Land-Based Sources and Activities on 23 September. With the accession of Jamaica, a total of twelve states have ratified the protocol, which serves to provide an integrated to the prevention and control of marine pollution in the Caribbean region.

Managing Marine Plastic Pollution: Policy Initiatives to Address Wayward Waste

A few times a year, volunteers fan out along the causeway that links the South Carolina mainland with the seashore community of Folly Beach to clean up plastic bottles, straws, bags, and other debris from along the road and the salt marsh. Some of this debris has come from cities miles away. On windy days, litter is often blown off city streets into waterways. During rainstorms, debris floats into drains that empty into rivers. Other trash probably came from places closer to home. “I see bags and other plastic flying off the beds of pickup trucks going down the causeway,” says Marty Morganello, who organizes the cleanups for the Charleston-area chapter of the nonprofit Surfrider Foundation. “I see them coming out the open windows of cars and out the backs of garbage trucks and even recycling trucks. This material is lightweight, and if you don’t secure it, it will fly away.” By one estimate, the volume of plastic debris going into the world’s oceans could more than double by 2025, assuming current trends in coastal development and plastics use. Some countries have begun identifying ways to improve management of plastic ... Beach cleanups yield enormous amounts of trash, with plastic items a major constituent.1 Although the human health impacts of this marine plastic pollution remain poorly characterized, it is widely seen as an emerging problem that deserves much more research attention.2 Likewise, there is a growing urgency among industry, government, nongovernmental organizations, and environmental groups to develop tools and policies to track, capture, and recycle plastic waste before it reaches the ocean.

Role of Marine Pollutants in Impairment of DNA Integrity

In this article, we present an overview on the role of marine pollutants in impairment of DNA integrity in marine gastropods exposed to xenobiotics released from various sources into the coastal ecosystem. We provide an insight into the impact of various types of genotoxic compounds on the physiologic status of marine organisms, with specific focus on DNA integrity. DNA damage in marine gastropods was found to be highly correlated to the level of contaminants prevalent in the marine environment. DNA integrity in marine organisms was significantly affected upon exposure to genotoxicants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), persistent organic pollutants, cadmium, lead, manganese, chromium, copper, etc. The prevalence of persistent xenobiotic contaminants in the marine environment coupled to their deleterious impact on marine organisms, exemplifies the measurement of DNA integrity as a prognostic tool for marine pollution assessment, control and policy-making.

UNDER WATER ACOUSTIC (UW-A) COMMUNICATION ARCHITECTURE AND THE KEY NOTIONS OF UW-A PROPAGATION

The study of the communication architecture for the underwater is very important due the wide applications based on these sensing devices. The more observed examples of applications are climate change monitoring, study of marine life, pollution control, and military purposes. It is observed the radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic waves [1], Optical electromagnetic waves, underwater Optical communication [2] waves all have been used for the underwater sensor networking. But these have shown with its slight disadvantages for the underwater related works. So this can be overcome by the usage of the acoustic communication as a means of transmission technology for the underwater networked system. It is also observed that the underwater acoustic signals are suffering from the some transmission loss, high propagation delay, limited bandwidth. So to eliminate these observed factors with respect to the underwater sensor networks the communication architecture has been developed to provide the point to point, having low data rate and high bandwidth signal and delay tolerant applications. Therefore this article has been written to give the details of how the communication architecture can be designed and for the underwater network and the key factors which relates to the propagation of underwater acoustic signals.

해양오염예방을 위한 자율점검제도 개선방안

해양경찰은 2007년부터 해양오염예방관리가 우수한 사업장을 대상으로 “자율점검제도”를 도입하여 관리하여 왔으며, 사업장의 많은 관심과 참여로 효과를 거두었다. 그러나 수년이 지나면서 변화된 사회 환경과 해양종사자들의 의식 변화 그리고 내부조직의 변화 등이 적기에 반영되지 않아 정체되어 있는 실정이다. 이러한 내외부의 환경변화를 수용하기 위하여 자율점검제도에 참여하는 사업장의 해양종사자를 대상으로 설문조사를 실시하였으며, 제도를 재조명하고 효과적인 개선방안을 마련하는데 중점을 두었다. 제도의 실효성을 높이기 위해서는 홍보를 강화하고 5톤 이상 선박의 해양오염관리를 위한 제도개선이 필요하며, 해양오염관리가 우수한 사업장은 사업 활동과 점검에 대한 부담을 줄일 수 있도록 해양환경관리법에 “자율점검제도”를 반영해야 한다.

Who will give effect to the ILO's Maritime Labour Convention, 2006?

Abstract.The Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, which takes effect on 20 August 2013, consolidates dozens of ILO standards adopted since the 1920s. It has been described as the “fourth pillar” of the international maritime regulatory regime, alongside three major IMO Conventions on safety at sea and marine pollution control. The challenge, the authors argue, will be to enforce it within the existing inspection frameworks of flag State implementation and “port State control”. Technically, the responsibility rests on the former, but the proliferation of flags of convenience suggests that the latter will have a crucial part to play too, as will, in either case, inspector training.

Analisis Kualitas Perairan Muara Sungai Way Belau Bandar Lampung

Estuary Way Belau is a residential area with high population. Utilization of Way Belau River diverse enough so that water river estuary Way Belau has decreased the quality of the water environment as reflected in the black color tends to muddy the water and the high sedimentation rate. The purpose of this research was to determine the water quality (water and sediment) in terms of physical and chemical parameters Estuary Way Belau Bandar Lampung. The research in the Estuary Way Belau of Bandar Lampung had been held in June 2010 to August 2010. The results showed that the measurement of physical and chemical conditions generally still in quality standard (Kepmen No. 51/MENLH/2004) and marine water quality management and pollution control (PP No. 82 Tahun 2001). Characteristics of the fraction of sediment in the estuary Way Belau fraction is dominated by sand with organic matter content of the total average in research stations ranged from 0.68 to 5.41%, the average nitrate content ranged from 2.4 to 14.4 ppm and the sediment pH ranged from 6.58 to 7.47.

Prevention of Vessel-Source Marine Pollution: A Note on the Challenges and Prospects for Chinese Practice Under International Law

This article examines China's domestic legal regime for the prevention of vessel source pollution. It pays special attention to the recently adopted Regulation on Prevention and Control of Marine Pollution from Vessels. Potential challenges and emerging issues that China has to confront are addressed, including: application of the legislation to disputed sea areas between China and its neighbors, freedom of navigation in the exclusive economic zone, reduction of emission from ships, and prevention of invasive species from ballast water.