209 



Memorandum Concerning Resolutions and Report of International Committee 



on the Oceans. 

 From : Lawrence R. Lanctot, Chairman, Task Force on the Oceans of the 

 International Committee. 



The International Committee's resolution, on the oceans, presently before the 

 Board of Directors, are imix)rtant for a number of reasons. 



If the Sierra Club passes this resolution, it will he the first environmental 

 organization in the United States to adopt a position on the issues concerning 

 the law of the sea. While oceanographers and others have directed public atten- 

 tion to the problems of the oceans and marine pollution, there has been little 

 response from environmental groups. The Sierra Club's support will contribute 

 to the development of international law and institutions dealing with major 

 problems of the global environment. This will continue the commitment and 

 work just begun at the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. 



The oceans stand at a critical juncture in world history. They are seriously 

 afflicted with pollution which is distributed througliout the entire marine envi- 

 ronment. At the same time, there are additional pressures to develop the mineral 

 resources of the deep ocean, which may further impair the oceans' environmental 

 quality. Marine pollution and other law of the sea issues have been studied 

 by the United Nations for several years. The culmination of these studies will 

 be a U.N. Conference on the Law of the Sea involving all nations which will 

 begin in November 1973 and continue through 1974. At this conference, various 

 proposals for changing international law will be adopted ; and these proposals 

 will have a significant impact on the oceans' environmental quality. To date the 

 environmental issues have not been seriously explored. If the U.N. Conference 

 does not adopt environmentally sound measures, it may be a long time before 

 those measures, which become law, can be modified. 



The timing of the Board's adoption of the resolutions is essential. There will 

 be one last preparatory meeting in Geneva in July 1973 before the U. N. Con- 

 ference begins in November. The Geneva meeting in July will be the last time 

 that the Sierra Club can effectively present its views on the environmental impact 

 of propo.sals and submit its own draft articles on the marine environment. If 

 this opportunity is missed, the ability to influence the conference will be sub- 

 stantially diminished. Further, if the conference adopts environmentally unsound 

 provisions which become part of international law, it may be many years before 

 tlie slow moving processes of the international system can be prompted to 

 change those provisions. 



Tlie resolution of the International Committee can be summarized as containing 

 the following general principles : 



1. The Sierra Club favors an international approach to control marine pollu- 

 tion and to preserve the marine environment provided the international controls 

 do not weaken valid higher U. S. environmental laws and regulations. 



2. The Sierra Club generally opposes unilateral claims over the oceans for en- 

 vironmental jurisdiction except in limited circumstances. Such claims may not 

 be valid, and they may lead to a multitude of controls by different nations rather 

 than a uniform universal standard. Although some countries may make unilateral 

 claims for valid environmental reasons, such a right could easily be abused by 

 other countries as a means of setting weak environmental controls or encouraging 

 ■"pollution havens." 



3. If the coastal state is given pollution control jurisdiction in certain areas of 

 the ocean, it should be required to meet minimum established international en- 

 vironmental standards. However, the coastal state could set higher standards, a 

 concept similar to federal-state water quality regulations. 



4. The Law of the Sea Conference should clearly define marine pollution, state 

 a general o])ligation of all countries not to pollute the oceans, and establish 

 liability for damage from it. These provisions should set forth a comprehensive 

 approach to marine pollution. 



5. The Sierra Club is opposed to any new international institution to license 

 the development of oceans mineral resources unless the treaty creating the in- 

 stitution contains stringent environment provisions to prevent pollution from 

 that development. The U. S. Government should be required to analyze the 

 environmental impact of its proposed seabed treaty. 



6. The Sierra Club takes no position on the breadth of the territorial sea, con- 

 tiguous zone, or economic resource zone. This is highly a controversial political 

 issue in which the Club should not become involved, for from an environmental 

 viewpoint the width of these zones can be considered arbitrary. 



