lNTERNATlONALORGANlZATlONSIN
MARINEAFFAIRS
The author provides a guide to the roles
and competences of international orga-
nizations in the field of marine pollu-
tion. After detailing the relevant UN
programmes and agencies, he de-
scribes other inter-governmental orga-
nizations and outlines briefly the prim-
ary non-governmental organizations
active in the protection of the marine
environment.
Keywords: International organizations;
Marine pollution; United Nations
The author is Assistant Secretary-General
and Director of Legal Affairs and External
Relations Division, International Maritime
Organization, 4 Albert Embankment, Lon-
don SE1 7SR, UK.
The views expressed in this article are
those of the author alone and are not to be
attributed in any way to IMO or its Secre-
tariat.
‘See Oscar Schachter and Daniel Serwer,
‘Marine pollution problems and remedies’,
American Journal of International Law, Vol
65, 1971.
‘George Kennan, ‘To prevent a world
wasteland: a proposal’, foreign Affairs,
Vol 48, 1970, p 401.
%I. Thant, Human Environment and World
Order, address to the University of Texas,
14 May 1970.
0308-597X&l/020095-1 lSO3.00 0 1984 Butterworth
Environmental protection
International approaches
Thomas A. Mensah
One of the epoch-making decisions of the General Assembly of the
United Nations was the adoption of Resolution 2398 (XXII), convening
a Conference on the Human Environment. The purpose of the
Conference was ‘to provide a framework for comprehensive considera-
tion within the United Nations of problems of the human environment
in order to focus the attention of Governments and public opinion on
the importance and urgency of this question and also to identify the
aspects of it that can only or best be solved through international
cooperation’.
The decision to convene the Conference was a significant reflection of
the importance which the issue of the environment had assumed during
the last years of the 1960s and an indication of the recognition by the
international community that action to protect the human environment
could not be feasibly planned and implemented except on a well
coordinated global scale.’
The convening of the United Nations Conference on the Human
Environment was preceded by extensive and widespread international
discussions on the nature of the ‘environmental problem’ and the best
ways of dealing with what was seen as a critical threat to the continued
viability of the global ecosystem. The many suggestions made for
dealing with the problem included, on the one hand, the establishment
of a new organization, established outside the UN, by the major
industrial and polluting states of the northern hemisphere,* and on the
other hand, the creation of a global authority within the framework of
the UN, ‘with the authority to ensure that the agreed measures are the
right ones and that they are actually carried out’. Such an authority
would be able, if necessary, to police and enforce its decisions.3
In spite of their apparent attractions, neither of these ‘radical
approaches’ was considered as feasible politically, or indeed capable of
& Co (Publishers) Ltd 95
Environmental protection: international upproaches

responding to the problem in realistic terms. In the first place, it was

clear that neither an arrangement which bypassed the UN nor a new
authority which ‘departed radically from the hitherto sacred paths of
national sovereignty’ stood any chance of being accepted or operating
effectively. In the second place, both approaches were based on the
view that the environmental issue consisted primarily of ‘a discrete set of
problems each with a finite technical/legal solution’. This view was not
accepted as either tenable or helpful. In the view of many academic
commentators and political activists, what was needed was a mechanism
for ensuring that ‘environmental considerations were systematically and
explicitly taken into account across the whole spectrum of legislative
and administrative action’.4 It was felt that the best way to achieve this
was an imaginative adaptation of existing decision-making institutions in
the environmental field in order to make them able to analyse trends,
evaluate risks, develop remedies and methods and, where necessary,
police implementation of regulations. In short what was required was a
coordinated institutional framework for the planning and management
of environmental resources.’
It was this conception of the environmental problem which inspired
the Human Environment Conference and guided the planning and
organization of its work. The ‘action objectives’ of the Conference were
described as ‘decisions which would set forth the elements of the basic
work programme in the international field for the post-conference
period’.” The discussions of the conference revealed general acceptance
of the view that international environmental problems did not always
require global solutions to be applied uniformly throughout the world;
but that some of the problems could better be understood or more
successfully dealt with through national or regional actions and
% short we need a many-sided institu- initiatives.’ Accordingly, the global machinery which came out of the
tional approach to achieve the right ba- Conference consisted essentially of a system of global institutions and
lance. Pollution problems will not be solved
programmes designed to accommodate and, in many cases, stimulate
by a single discipline, a single institution or
a single wave of enthusiasm’, Schachter national, subregional and regional activity by states or by industrial,
and Serwer, op tit, Ref 1, p 111. professional and other specialized concerns whose activities and
5Abram Chayes, ‘International institutions
interests have an impact on the environment.
for the environment’, in John Lawrence
Hengrove, ed, Law, /nsfifuti~ns and the The Conference on the Human Environment was convened to deal
Global Environment, Oceana Publications, with problems of the global environment as a whole, and the
1972, pp 3-4.
recommendations and action programmes of the Conference related to
‘Report of the Preparatory Committee for
the United Nations Conference on the the identified threats to all sectors of the Earth’s ecosystem. Neverthe-
Human Environment, UN Document A/ less, the marine environment occupied pride of place in the delibera-
G3;f.4WP.C9, p 7. tions of the Conference and the many programmes and projects which
the contribution of regional
approaches to environmental protection were initiated or suggested after it. There are many reasons for this, but
generally, see Robert E. Stein, ‘The poten- perhaps two of them are particularly significant. First, marine pollution
tial of regional organizations in managing
is the one form of environmental hazard most generally recognized as
man’s environment’, in Hengrove, op tit
Ref 5. See also Schachter and Serwer, op being international in character and impact. Second, incidents involving
tit, Ref 1. or posing a threat of marine pollution are usually spectacular and
%ee Critical Environmental Issues on the
headline-catching, and they accordingly create the impression that the
Law of the Sea, a report of the Internation-
al Institute for Environment and Develop- seas and oceans are in more critical danger than any other sectors of the
ment, 1975. ‘The immediate effects of environment .*
marine pollution are not as severe as. For these and other reasons preservation of the marine environment
the immediate effect of pollution of air and
inland waters . though the potential has constituted perhaps the single largest component of the environ-
catastrophe may be greater, due to the mental programmes of the international community. This interest in
global character of marine environment marine affairs has since 1970 been mainly focussed in the work of the
and the fact that it is the ultimate recepta-
cle for so many pollutants, Schachter and Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III)
Serwer, op tit, Ref 1, p 110. which has served to draw attention to the broad international aspects of

96 MARINE POLICY April 1984

 Environmentalprotection: international approaches
ocean affairs. It is agreed that the Conference on the Law of the Sea has
provided a convenient and much-needed opportunity to reflect on what
will be required of the international community, and of nations and
international organizations, in meeting the challenges and responding to
the opportunities offered by the new legal regime of the seas. For that
reason, the new Convention will have a major significance for
international cooperation and call for a comprehensive review of the
institutional machinery to promote such cooperation.’ The need for
such a review is perhaps greatest in the field of the preservation and
protection of the marine environment; for the necessity, indeed
indispensability, of international cooperation in this field has never been
more keenly felt nor more widely recognized.

Global approaches and institutions

‘On the comprehensive issues dealt with
in the new Law of the Sea Convention, see
Marine Policy, Vol 5, No 3, July 1981.
“L ..6 Sohn 7 ‘The Stockholm declaraction
on the human environment’, Harvard Inter-
national Law Journal, Vol 14, Summer
1973, pp 423-515.
“Maurice Strong, ‘The concept of UNEP separate but related organizations with their individual mandates and
as leader and catalyst’, UN Chronicle, Vol
12, May 1975, p 34.
‘*See Cross-Organizational Programme
Analysis of the Activitiesof the united examination often reveals that they are merely different facets of what is
Nations System in Marine Affairs, Report
of the Secretary-General, UN Document
E/AC.51/1983/2, 15 March 1983.
As expected, the major outcome of the United Nations Conference on
the Human Environment was the recognition that the spearhead for the
required international action to prevent and control marine pollution
would continue to be in the UN system. Although it was recognized that
the environmental activities of the UN were badly fragmented and
inadequately coordinated, the suggestion that the environmental
programmes of the various agencies and bodies should be taken away
and vested in a new single agency was agreed to be both unacceptable
and impractical. What was felt to be necessary and desirable was a
system of more effective coordination of the work of the various
sections and agencies of the UN system, in order not only to eliminate
unnecessary duplication and overlapping of responsibilities but also to
harmonize better the activities of the respective agencies and thus make
them more effective - individually and collectively. For this purpose the
Conference recommended, and the international community accepted,
the creation of a high-level policy planning and review unit within the
UN with the responsibility to ensure that environmental considerations
are systematically taken into account in the work of the system as a
whole and that the results achieved by the agencies would be evaluated
in relation both to their individual objectives and to the common
objectives of the system as a whole.”
Thus the Stockholm Conference left the environmental activities of
the UN largely in the ambit of the bodies and specialized agencies which
had been responsible for those activities before 1972. It was, however,
expected that the United Nations Environment Programme, which was
established on the recommendations of the Conference, would help to
articulate better the ‘environmental conscience’ of the UN and succeed
in infusing this conscience and its requirements into the activities of
the organizations and agencies with substantive operational
responsibilities.”
The UN system, as the single most important institutional mechanism
for environmental matters, undertakes its work in a large number of
programmes. Although these programmes sometimes appear to be
unrelated to each other (and even in conflict with each other) a closer
essentially one and the same activity.‘*
The organizations, agencies and programmes of the UN system which

MARINE POLICY April 1984

Environmental protection: international
13The World Health Organization (WHO),
the international Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (The World Bank), the
lnternationai Civil .Aviation Organiiation
(ICAO), the International Telecommunica-
tion Union (ITU), the United Nations De-
velopment Programme (UNDP) and the
United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD). See Document
E/AC.51/1983/2, op tit, Ref 12, p 4.
‘%ee General Assembly Resolution
275O(XXV) of 17 December 1970 conven-
ing the Third United Nations Conference
on the Law of the Sea.
15The Economic Commission for Africa
(ECA) with its Headquarters in Addis Ada-
ba, Ethiopia, the Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(ESCAP) with its Headquarters in Bang-
kok, Thailand, the Economic Commission
for Latin America (CEPAL) with its Head-
quarters in Santiago, Chile and the Econo-
mic Commission for West Asia (ECWA)
with its Headquarters in Amman, Jordan.
160p tit, Ref 12, para 9.
98
approaches
have major substantive involvement in the problem of the marine
environment include the following:
The United Nations including the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP).
The International Maritime Organization (IMO).
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organiza-
tion (UNESCO) and the Inter-Governmental Oceanographic Com-
mission (IOC).
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
(FAO).
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
The International Labour Organization (ILO).
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The World Health Organization (WHO).
In addition to these, at least six organizations and programmes in the
system undertake marine affairs activities of one kind or another,t3
although not all have substantive operational programmes of their own.
The United Nations
The UN is the principal forum for global discussions on matters relating
to economic and social development; and it has naturally reflected in its
programmes the increased importance of the seas as one of the major
sources for the satisfaction of mankind’s increasing need for resources
and the search for new methods for exploiting the resources and
facilities of ocean space for development.14 Accordingly, the UN has
become more and more involved and more and more of its bodies and
agencies have developed general and specific programmes of action
related to the seas. In addition to UNEP, whose concern is exclusively
environmental, the UN offices and bodies concerned with marine affairs
include:
(1) The Secretariat Office for the Law of the Sea Affairs which is
responsible both for monitoring the entry into force and imple-
mentation of the new UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as well
as servicing the work of the Preparatory Commission which is
developing the ground rules for the operation of the new Interna-
tional Seabed Authority.
The Department of International Economic and Social Affairs.
i:i The United Nations Centre for Human Settlements.
(4) The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD).
(5) The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UN-
ITAR).
(6) The United Nations University.
(7) The regional economic commissions. l5
Put together, the activities of the United Nations bodies, units and
programmes in the marine field constitute the largest number of
activities in the system.“j However, with the exception of UNEP and
UNCTAD, none of these offices and departments can be said to have
specific substantive programmes. It is nevertheless important to know
that the work of bodies such as the United Nations Development
MARINE POLICY April 1984

170n UNEP and its work, see L.G.
Engfeldt, ‘The United Nations and the
human environment - some experiences’,
International Organization, Vol27, 1973, b
406. See also Michael M’Goniale and
Mark Zacher, Pollution, Politics aid Inter-
national Law - Tankers at Sea, University
of California Press, 1979, pp 6S70.
MARINE POLICY April 1984
Environmentalprotection: international approaches
Programme (UNDP) and the Department of Technical Co-operation
for Development provide essential and indeed indispensable support for
the substantive work undertaken in the other bodies and agencies of the
system. The same is true of the work undertaken by the regional
economic commissions. In their regions these commissions provide a
much-needed political and administrative liaison between the work of
the specialized agencies and the national, subregional and regional
programmes to put the results of such work into practical application.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
UNEP was established by the General Assembly of the United Nations
on the recommendations of the Stockholm Conference on the Human
Environment. l7 The objectives and institutional framework of UNEP
were set out in Resolution 2997 (XXVII) by which the General
Assembly established a Governing Council for Environmental Program-
mes with the following mandate:
(1) To promote international cooperation in the environment field and
to recommend policies to this end.
(2) To provide general policy guidance for the direction and coordina-
tion of environmental programmes within the UN system.
(3) To receive and review the periodic reports of the executive director
on the implementation of environmental programmes within the
UN system.
(4) To keep under review the world environmental situation in order to
ensure that emerging environmental problems of wide international
significance receive appropriate and adequate consideration by
governments.
(5) To promote the contribution of the relevant international scientific
and other professional communities to the acquisition, assessment,
and exchange of knowledge and information about the environment
and, as appropriate, to the technical aspects of the formulation and
implementation of environmental programmes within the UN
system.
(6) To maintain under continuing review the impact of national and
international environmental policies and measures on developing
countries, as well as the problem of additional costs that may be
incurred by developing countries in the implementation of environ-
mental programmes and projects, and to ensure that such program-
mes and projects shall be compatible with the development plans
and priorities of those countries.
(7) To review and approve annually the programme of utilization of
resources of the Environment Fund.
The Governing Council reports annually to the General Assembly
through the Economic and Social Council, which transmits to the
Assembly such comments on the report as it deems necessary,
particularly regarding questions of coordination and the relationship of
environment policies and programmes within the UN system to overall
economic and social policies and priorities.
The resolution also established a Secretariat for UNEP to serve as a
focal point for environmental action and coordination within the UN
system. The General Assembly also established a voluntary fund to
provide additional funding for environmental programmes and global
99
Environmental protection: international
“One of the most successful of these is
the Mediterranean Action Programme, see
Louis J. Saliba, ‘Protecting the Mediterra-
nean - coordinating regional action’,
Marine Policv. Vol 2. No 3. 1978, D 171.
190n the work of IMO generally, see ‘The
activities of the Inter-Governmental Mari-
time Consultative Organization’, in De-
velopment and international Economic Co-
operation - Environment - Marine Pollu-
tion, UN Document A/36/237, June 1961.
See also M’Gonigle and Zacher, op tit, Ref
17, and Wilhelm H. Lampe, ‘The new
International Maritime Organization and its
place in development of international mari-
time law’, Journal of Maritime Law and
Commerce, Vol 14, No 3, July 1983. Also
T.A. Mensah, ‘The IMCO experience’, in
Law, institutions and the Global Environ-
ment, op tit, Ref 5, pp 237-251.
*‘lMO also performs secretarial functions
in respect of the Convention on the Pre-
vention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of
Wastes and Other Matter, 1972. The prin-
cipal duty in this regard is the servicing of
the Consultative Meetings of the states
parties to the Convention.
*‘See M’Gonigle and Zacher, op tit, Ref
17, pp 564-568. Also T.A. Mensah, op tit,
Ref 19, pp 240-243.
100
approaches
environment monitoring assessment and data-collecting systems, en-
vironmental research, information exchange and dissemination, studies
to develop forms of economic growth compatible with sound environ-
mental management and such other programmes as the Governing
Council may decide.
In pursuance of these objectives, UNEP undertakes or promotes a
variety of activities aimed at the protection and preservation of the
marine environment. It also seeks to improve coordination of existing
programmes. Among the major programmes of UNEP may be
mentioned the Global Environmental Monitoring System (GEMS) and
the International Referral System (IRS). UNEP has also established a
comprehensive Regional Seas Programme under which, in close
association with agencies such as IMO, it encourages cooperative
arrangements for programmes to protect and preserve the seas in
particular regions by the establishment of regional or subregional
arrangements for responding to emergencies.”
Specialized agencies of the United Nations
The International Maritime Organization (IMO)
This specialized agency of the UN was established by a Convention
adopted in March 1948 and commenced operation in January 1959 as
the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO).
The principal objective of IMO is to provide for cooperation among
governments for the adoption of standards concerning maritime safety,
efficiency of navigation and prevention and control of marine pollution
from ships, and to deal with administrative and legal matters related
thereto. l9
IMO considers and prepares international conventions and other
instruments containing agreed international technical standards and
regulations and related procedures for the construction, equipment and
operation of ships and cargoes for the avoidance of accidents at sea, and
the prevention and control of pollution of the sea from accidents. It also
establishes agreed procedures for dealing with technical and legal
problems which arise as a result of incidents involving shipping. A major
function of IMO is to take appropriate measures for the implementation
of the standards and regulations adopted by it, including advice and
assistance required by developing countries. In particular, it encourages
the establishment and improvement of facilities for the training of
seafarers and maritime personnel of all grades and arrangements for
global, regional and subregional cooperation for dealing with pollution
emergencies. 2o The International Maritime Organization works in close
cooperation with international associations of the shipping and oil and
insurance industries and a number of global and regional inter-
governmental organizations.*l
UNESCO and IOC
The major part of the work of the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in the marine field is
undertaken through the Inter-governmental Oceanographic Commis-
sion (IOC). This is an autonomous body established within UNESCO in
1960 to promote scientific investigations with a view to learning more
about the nature and resources of the oceans through concerted action
MARINE POLICY April 1984

“M’Gonigle and Zacher, op tit, Ref 17,
p 73.
“For example, in 1970 FAO organized a
Technical Conference on Marine Pollution
and its Effects on Living Resources and
Fishing. See also FAO Report No 6, 1977,
Impact of Oil on the Marine Environment,
(GESAMP Report).
“‘See Repot-I of the Director General of
IL0 to the 62nd (Maritime) Session of the
InternationalLabour Conference, 1976, pp
67-69.
MARINE POLICY April 1984
Environmentalprotection: international approaches
by its member states. IOC is basically a scientific research organization
which promotes and coordinates scientific investigation and monitoring
of the oceans, international exchange of oceanographic data, and
education in ocean research. Among its major projects is the Long-
Term Expended Programme of Ocean Research (LEPOR). Associated
with this is the Inter-Secretariat Committee on Scientific Programmes
Relating to Oceanography (ICSPRO) in which several other UN
agencies participate. Other IOC undertakings are the Global Investiga-
tion of Pollution in the Marine Environment (GIPME) and the
Integrated Global Ocean Station System (IGOSS).22
The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)
As a UN agency concerned with agriculture and human nutrition,
FAO’s interest in marine affairs is mainly in ocean fisheries and the
development of marine resources for food. This manifests itself
essentially in research and other activities in relation to ocean fisheries,
including research into the effects of various pollutants on fish and other
living resources of the sea. FAO itself does not have specific
programmes or activities for the prevention or control of marine
pollution, but the results of its research constitute useful inputs into the
substantive work of other organizations in the field of marine pollution
prevention.23
The International Labour Organization (ILO)
The basic objective of ILO, set out in the preamble of its constitution
and in the ‘Philadelphia Declaration’ adopted by the General Confer-
ence of the Organization in 1944, is to improve working conditions
through the adoption of conventions and recommendations setting
minimum standards. In the maritime field, ILO’s programme is
primarily concerned with the conditions of work of personnel on board
ships and the standards of training and proficiency of crews. These
concerns of IL0 are of considerable relevance to ships’ safety and
pollution prevention, a fact which was recognized in the establishment,
by IL0 and IMO, of a Joint Committee on Maritime Training. This
Committee has adopted guidelines on crew training and standards which
have latterly been largely embodied in the International Convention on
Training, Certification and Watchkeeping of Seafarers which was
adopted under the auspices of IMO in 1978. IL0 has its own
independent programme on the question of substandard ships and
crews.24
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
One of the objectivesof WMO is to further the application of
meteorology to aviation, shipping, agriculture and other human
activities. In pursuance of this objective, WMO has developed
continuing programmes in hydrology and marine meteorology. In
environmental matters, WMO is involved in monitoring the atmos-
phere, assessing the level and effects of atmospheric pollution on the
oceans and examining the effects of weather on the oceans. One of the
main marine programmes of WMO is undertaken in the Executive
Committee Panel on Meteorological Aspects of Ocean Affairs whose
101
Environmental protection: international approaches
function is to monitor marine pollution, particularly oil pollution from
ships. It has been explained that the relevance of WMO’s marine
activities ‘arises from the relationship between movement and disper-
sion of oil slicks and current weather conditions’.25 WMO participates in
most of the joint UN marine affairs and environmental activities.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Although not strictly a ‘specialized agency’, the IAEA is related to the
UN in much the same way as the specialized agencies, ie it is an
independent intergovernmental organization associated with the UN by
a cooperation agreement. As part of its mandate to establish safety
standards in the use of atomic energy, the IAEA establishes standards,
procedures and regulations to prevent and control pollution of the seas
from marine radioactivity, including regulation of the types and levels of
radioactive substances or wastes which may be disposed of into the
sea.26

Inter-agency or organizational bodies of the UN system

As previously noted, the environmental programmes of the UN system
are located in many largely independent agencies and departments.27
However, these seemingly independent programmes have a real and
close relationship with each other, first because they are largely funded
by the same member governments, and second because the successful
prevention and control of marine pollution requires close interorganiza-
tional and interdisciplinary collaboration. For these reasons the
organizations of the UN system have developed a continuing mechan-
ism of cooperation and coordination. A recent study by the UN
Secretary-General concluded that ‘the activities of the United Nations
system generally constitute a well-organized response to the current
needs of Member States and that there is a high level of co-operation
among organizations’.28 Apart from the usual arrangements for con-
sultation among the organizations and the overall coordination provided
by such bodies as the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and its
25D A . Davis, ‘The role of the WMO in Committee on Programme and Co-ordination (CPC), there have been
environmental issues’, international Orga- established a number of specific joint programmes and machineries for
nization, Vol 26, 1972, pp 327-336.
%ee, for example, S.A. Boehmer-
promoting joint action by agencies in fields of common interest. Perhaps
Christiansen, ‘Dumping of nuclear waste the most important of these is the Joint Group of Experts on Scientific
into the sea - international control and the Aspects of Marine Pollution (GESAMP).29 GESAMP was established
role of science and law’, Marine Policy, Vol
7, No 1, 1983, p 25.
in 1969 under the joint sponsorship of the UN, FAO, UNESCO, IOC,
“For an analysis of the UN bodies in the IMO and WMO. It considers and advises on the scientific aspects of
field of marine pollution, see Nancy D. and pollution, including in particular the effects of various substances on the
Christopher Joyner, ‘Prescriptive adminis-
trative proposal: an international machin-
marine environment and the long-term implications of procedures and
ery for control of the high seas’, lnterna- practices adopted for pollution control. GESAMP works through a
tional Lawyer, Vol8, 1974, pp 57-73. Also number of working groups, two of which are charged respectively with
Robert A. Schinn, The international Poli-
tics of Marine Pollution, Praeger, New
the evaluation of environmental hazards of harmful substances carried
York, 1974. For a comprehensive descrip- out by ships and the review of scientific criteria for the selection of sites
tion of the organizations engaged in ocean for the disposal of wastes at sea. Other joint programmes of the UN
affairs generally, see Annotated Direcrory
of Infer-Governmental Organizations Con-
system in the field of marine pollution prevention are the Inter-
cerned with Ocean Affairs, UN Document Secretariat Committee on Scientific Programmes Relating to
A/CONF.62/L.14, August 1976. Oceanography (ICSPRO), the Global Investigations of Pollution in the
280p cif, Ref 12, Summary.
“On GESAMP, see M’Gonigle and
Marine Environment (GIPME) and the programmes of UNEP men-
Zacher, op tit, Ref 17, pp 75-76. tioned above.

102 MARINE POLICY April 1984

 Environmental protection: international approaches

Other intergovernmental organizations

Outside the UN system, there are a number of global intergovernmental
organizations concerned directly or indirectly with the protection of the
marine environment from pollution. Like the agencies of the UN system
these organizations are usually concerned with specific aspects of
marine pollution and their activities are intended to complement the
work being undertaken in the UN system. The most noteworthy of these
organizations are described below.

The International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (IOPC Fund)

This organization was established by the Convention on the Establish-
ment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution
Damage, 3o adopted in 1971 under the auspices of IMO. The organiza-
tion administers an international fund, which is made up of contribu-
tions levied on oil receipts in the states parties to the Convention. The
principal function of the Fund is to provide compensation to victims of
oil pollution damage (including governments which incur costs for
clean-up operations) where such victims are unable to obtain adequate
or any compensation under the applicable international legislation in
this regard which is contained in the 1969 Civil Liability Convention.
The 1971 Fund Convention is, in fact, supplementary to the 1969
Convention.
The Fund organization is closely associated with IMO, but it is an
independent legal entity with its own governing bodies, secretariat and
budget.

The International Maritime Satellite Organization (INMARSAT)

INMARSAT was established by the Convention on the International
Maritime Organization adopted in 1976 under the auspices of IM0.31
The Organization commenced operation in February 1982. The purpose
of INMARSAT is to provide satellites and ground support facilities
necessary for improving maritime communications for distress and
safety services, efficient ship management, public correspondence and
position fixing. By facilitating safety and assisting search and rescue
operations at sea, INMARSAT can play a significant role both in the
prevention of accidents and in handling maritime incidents which pose
hazards of marine pollution.
Although established by an IMO Convention, INMARSAT is a
completely independent organization which, nevertheless, cooperates
closely with IMO in the development and use of marine telecommunica-
tions for maritime safety and pollution prevention.

The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO)

The function of this organization is the worldwide coordination of
3@rhe text of the Convention is in American hydrographic survey work. As part of its mandate, IHO produces and
Journal of International Law, Vol 66, No 3,
July 1972, p 712, and lntemational Legal
publishes nautical charts and information on navigational warnings and
Materials, Vol XI, No 2, March 1972, p 284. related services. These activities have direct relevance to the safety of
For a view on the workand significanceof shipping and the prevention of pollution. IHO maintains a close
the Fund, see T. Loftas, ‘New compensa-
tion fund - closing the stable door’, Marine
working association with both IMO and UNEP.32
Policy, Vol 2, No 4, October 1978, p 254.
31The Convention on INMARSAT entered
into force on 16 July 1979. The text of the
Non-governmental organizations
Convention is in lniernational Legal Mat-
erials, Vol XV, No 2, p 219.
Apart from the organizations composed of governments and gov-
32See Lampe, op tit, Ref 19, p 325. ernmental authorities, a large number of non-governmental internation-

MARINE POLICY April 1984 103

Environmentalprotection: international
%ee M’Gonigle and Zacher, op tit, Ref
17, pp 64-66. For a helpful listing and
analysis of the work of governmental and
non-governmental organizations in the
field of oil pollution, see Action Against Oil
Pollution: A Guide to the Main Inter-
Governmental and Industry Organizations
Concerned with Oil Pollution in the Marine
Environment, Sterling Public Relations Ltd,
London, 1981.
104
approaches
al bodies and associations with interests in the marine environment
undertake programmes relating to the prevention of marine pollution.
Most of these are organized groups representing industrial, commercial
or professional interests, especially in the field of shipping, and in the oil
and marine insurance industries. There are also organizations whose
interests are purely environmental with no connections with particular
industries or professional concerns.33
The most prominent and active of these organizations are:
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS).
i:; The Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF).
(3) The International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI).
(4) The International Association of Classification Societies (IACS).
(5) The International Association of Independent Tanker Owners
(INTERTANKO).
(6) The International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation
Association (IPIECA).
(7) The Oil Industry International Exploration and Production Forum
(OIIEPF).
(8) International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF).
These industry and professional groupings are generally formed to
ensure that the decisions taken by the intergovernmental organizations
take due account of the collective experience, expertise and desires of
their members. They therefore seek to contribute to (and influence) the
regulatory activities and programmes of the intergovernmental orga-
nizations. For example, the International Chamber of Shipping plays an
active role in IMO, UNCTAD and ILO; INTERTANKO and OCIMF
are very active in IMO, while the IPIECA acts as a focal point for
communication and consultation between the petroleum industry and
UNEP and other governmental bodies regarding the impact of
petroleum operations on the marine environment.
A few organizations, such as the Friends of the Earth International
and the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources play an activist role in the environmental field, mainly by
drawing the attention of governments and public opinion to events or
trends which threaten the environment or by urging governments and
organizations concerned to take appropriate action. While they do not
themselves undertake substantive programmes, they often act as useful
and necessary catalysts for action by states, governments and industries
or commercial concerns.
Concluding remarks
The current institutional machinery for dealing with problems of the
environment leaves the promulgation and execution of environmental
policy primarily to national governments, individually or in association
with each other in international organizations. These organizations vary
both in their geographical scope and the subject areas in which they are
principally concerned. This is perhaps inevitable in a system in which
the significance and appeal of the sovereign state remain as potent as
ever.
However, the machinery also involves, and indeed requires, a variety
of other participants and takes into account initiatives other than those
dictated by national political considerations. The essentially internation-
MARINE POLICY April 1984
 Environmental protection: international approaches

al character of many environmental problems and the interdisciplinary

nature of the solutions which are needed to deal with most of them
make it imperative that governments cooperate not only with each
other but also with many different bodies and interests. Without such
cooperation, there is little chance that the plans produced will be
adequate and feasible or that their implementation will be effective and
successful. This was not always clearly or fully appreciated, but it would
appear that there is now more recognition of the need for such an
approach. A successful international policy for the protection of the
environment requires a machinery which is consciously adapted to be
able to accommodate non-governmental initiatives, without in any way
denying to governments the ultimate responsibility and final authority
to decide on policy and to determine the methods for its execution.

MARINE POLICY April 1984 105