210 



7. The Sierra Club opposes the "flags of convenience" principle. This is a 

 technique for avoiding environmental controls by permitting regulation only by 

 the state in which the vessel is registered. The Sierra Club favors stronger inter- 

 national methods of enforcing environmental standards. 



8. The Sierra Club favors creating international marine parks, preserves and 

 sanctuaries in oceanic areas of international significance. 



Additional Background Papers for Conservation Agenda Item 2. 



Law of the Sea 



This is the report of the Task Force on the Oceans of the International Environ- 

 ment Committee. 



I. — BACKGROUND ON CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE LAW OF THE SEA 



The law of the sea is a part of international law governing the oceans which 

 has developed through cu.stom and treaties. The law of the sea was first formu- 

 lated during the 16th and 17th centuries during tlte age of exploration. It con- 

 tinues today ; but due to many economic, political, and technological developments, 

 the law of the sea today is undergoing rapid change and reformulation. 



The changes in the law of the sea gained significant momentum in 1D45 with 

 President Truman's Declaration of the Doctrine on the Continental Shelf. Other 

 subjects, such as the breadth of the territorial sea and fishing rights, were the 

 subject of intense and controversial debates during the U. N. general confer- 

 ences on the law of the sea at Geneva in 1958 and 1960. Some of those questions, 

 as the breadth of the territorial sea, were never resolved in 1958 and 1960 ; and 

 as a result, the breadth of the ocean over which a coastal state can exercise con- 

 trol is still disputed. The Latin American claims to 200-mile limits, the Canadian 

 legislation to protect the Arctic environment within 100 miles of its Arctic shores, 

 and the recent Icelandic legislation to protect fisheries within 50 miles of its coast 

 are evidence of this contintiing conflict. However, the breadth of the territorial 

 sea is only one highly visible issue of the many questions concerning the change 

 in the law of the sea. At stake also are proposals concerning the right of a coastal 

 state to control pollution, fisheries regulation and conservation, the rights of 

 scientific research, and others. In addition to revising old law, entirely new rules 

 are being created such as the proposed international regimes to govern the 

 exploitation of deep sea mineral resources, which, representing immense potential 

 wealth, have been inaccessible until recent technological advances. Thus because 

 of economic, political and technological changes, the law of the sea has been 

 subject to intense pressures for reformulation since 1945. 



In 1968 it was apparent that many of these issues were in need of resolution. 

 In that year the United Nations appointed an ad hoc committee to study the 

 peaceful uses of the seabed, which became the General Assembly Committee on 

 the Peaceful uses of the Seabed and Ocean Floor Beyond the Limits of National 

 Jurisdiction. The U. N. began to plan for its third general conference on the law 

 of the sea. This conference is scheduled to begin in November, 1973 in New York, 

 where procediiral matters will be first discussed, and will then be continued in 

 early 1974 in Santiago, Chile. It is expected that this conference may last several 

 years. 



Many of the suggestions for changing the law of the sea, and creating new ocean 

 regimes, will have profound consequences for the marine environment. It is gen- 

 erally known that the oceans are acutely afflicted with pollution because they 

 have been used as the ultimate receptacle and cesspool for disposing of materials. 

 However, few groups, other than oceanographers and some citizens groups, are 

 concerned about the environmental consequences of the developing law of the 

 sea. To date most of the emphasis has been on the economic consequences of 

 changing the law of the sea. There has been some discussion of marine pollution, 

 but in general it has not received the attention that it deserves. 



In view of the deteriorating quality of the oceans at a time when the law is 

 changing, the Sierra Club lias a unique opix>rtunity to review the proposed changes 

 in the law of the sea in order to assess their impact upon the oceans' environ- 

 mentnl quality. This opportunity is unique because the Sierra Club, through its 

 International Office of Environmental Affairs in New York, can seek to influence 

 the formulation of policies of the United States, other countries, and interna- 

 tional organizations so that marine environmental problems can be averted in 

 advance through rational planning. By contributing to the development of en- 

 vironmentally sound legal regimes, the Sierra Club can avoid the disadvantages 



