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International Marine Issues
Number 3
Environment Australia, December 2002
Environment Australia (EA) has prepared this newsletter to provide the Association of Australian Ports and Marine Authorities (AAPMA) members and industry generally, with information about Australia's participation at London Convention meetings. A short background to the London Convention and the 1996 Protocol can be found in Newsletter Number 1 — the first in this series.
The 24th Consultative Meeting (CM) of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, 1972 (the London Convention (LC)), was held in London from 11 – 15 November 2002 under the chairmanship of John Karau (Canada).
The meeting was attended by delegations from 32 contracting parties (Argentina; Australia; Belgium; Bolivia, Brazil; Canada; Chile; China; Cyprus; Denmark; Egypt; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Iran; Italy; Japan; Malta; Netherlands; Norway; Panama; Philippines; Poland; Republic of Korea; Russian Federation; South Africa; Spain; Sweden; United Kingdom; United States and Vanuatu) one associate member of the International Maritime Organization (Hong Kong, China) nine non-contracting parties (Bangladesh; Colombia; Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea; Liberia; Marshal Islands; Singapore Trinidad and Tobago; Venezuela), government and non-government organisations (International Atomic Energy Agency; International Association of Ports and Harbours; Greenpeace International; Permanent International Association of Navigation Congress; Advisory Committee on Protection of the Sea and World Organization of Dredging Associations) and an intergovernmental organisation (Environmental Crime Prevention Programme).
Below is an overview of outcomes that may be of interest to industry or other interested people.
The Meeting agreed to start the development of "compliance procedures and mechanisms" under article 11 of the 1996 Protocol and to convene an intersessional Correspondence Group led by Canada to analyse responses from Contracting Parties to a questionnaire aimed at setting the stage for discussion and drafting of compliance mechanisms and procedures at the 25th CM. It was also agreed to request the Secretariat to prepare a submission on compliance information relating to other Multilateral Environmental Agreements.
The meeting also agreed to the Scientific Group recommendation to streamline and reduce the reporting requirements relating to permits.
The Meeting endorsed three core recommendations of the Report of the IMO–LC Working Group. The Working group was set up to streamline administrative and financial arrangements between IMO and LC. It was agreed that current organisational arrangements and the provision of secretariat services to the LC should be maintained and that, pending forthcoming discussions of the Long-term Strategy for the LC, it was premature to make any recommendations on the integration of the Technical Co–operation and Assistance Programme (TCAP) under the LC with IMO's Integrated Technical Co–operation Programme (ITCP). Exploiting linkages and partnering would pursue further cooperation between the two programmes.
The Meeting also agreed to seek core services from the IMO for:
Following a lengthy discussion on the operation of the Lihir Gold Mine (in Papua New Guinea, PNG) it was decided that the Secretariat would write to the PNG Government seeking clarification on operations and dumping issues. The Secretariat was also requested to review environmental guidelines relating to the dumping of wastes in to the sea set down by World Bank and other agencies operating in the same sector.
The continued dumping of bauxite residue off the coast of Japan was also reviewed. This activity is viewed by a large number of delegations as dumping of industrial wastes, which is not permitted under the 1996 Protocol. Japan is working with a number of countries to find a land–based solution and is also studying the environmental impacts of the residue on the marine environment.
Following a presentation by the IMO–legal Division, it was noted that the IMO is currently developing a draft Convention on Wreck Removal (DCWR) at the initiative of the US, Germany and The Netherlands. Under the DCWR, coastal States at risk would be entitled to require the registered owner of a wreck to remove or pay for the removal of the wreck where it poses a danger to navigation or is a hazard to the marine environment. Any wreck in question must be the result of a recent a maritime incident (casualty).
The Meeting reviewed the Plan of Implementation and the Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development. Reference was also made to the UN Informal Consultative Process on Oceans, UNEP Regional Seas Programmes, UNEP/GPA, the US Type 2 initiatives (White Water to Blue Water Initiative) and the EU Marine Strategy (in preparation) as possible avenues to promote the ratification and accession to the 1996 Protocol including implementation of its technical co–operation activities.
Commitments to Type 2 "partnerships" were made at the WSSD and are aimed at achieving on-the-ground and practical outcomes.
Australia provided the meeting with information on its Type 2 initiatives and in particular, on the High Seas Biodiversity Workshop scheduled to take place in Cairns from 17 to 20 June 2003. There was much interest in these initiatives.
It was agreed that the LC would play an important role in the regular global reporting process (by 2004), the UNEP/GPA conference in 2006 and the upcoming UNEP General Council meeting (2003).
The Meeting considered three policy options on future strategic objectives: status quo, status quo plus a moderate extension to a more holistic framework for marine environmental protection, and, extending the framework ambitiously to address all land–based sources of marine pollution.
The Meeting agreed that the immediate priority of the Long–term Work Programme was the implementation of the LC and the promotion of the 1996 Protocol. Australia favours a closer working relationship with the UNEP/GPA and Regional Seas Programmes and supported moves to explore greater collaboration with other UN Agencies and international and regional organizations/programmes. The Meeting agreed that this should be strengthened for better implementation of the Long–term Work Programme in order to build on the provisions of the WSSD Plan of Implementation.
Mr. J. H. Karau (Canada), Mr. V. Escobar Paredes (Spain) and Mr Hosseini Emami (Islamic Republic of Iran) were unanimously elected as chairman, and first and second vice–chairman, respectively, for the intersessional period and the 25th Consultative Meeting.
The next Consultative Meeting will be held in London in November 2003.
For further details, including any papers presented at the Consultative Meeting can be obtained from Mr Edward Kleverlaan, Marine and International Section, Department of the Environment and Heritage (email: edward.kleverlaan@deh.gov.au) telephone: (02) 6274 1750, fax: (02) 6274 1006.