214 



only to pollution from ships and not to oil pollution arising from offshore drill- 

 ing operations. 



In addition, the Ocean Dumping Convention has recently been opened for sig- 

 nature. Since this convention has already been drafted, no comments will be 

 made on it and the Sierra Club's position will largely be determined by subse- 

 quent analysis. However, it should be noted that this convention is generally 

 regarded to be very weak ; and it is not of widespread application since it only 

 applies to dumping from ships and aircraft. 



V. PROPOSALS, CHANGES AND TRENDS IN THE LAW OF THE SEA 



A. Preliminary Considerations 



Although the law of the sea involves many questions, current interest in the 

 developing law centers around the extent of the coastal state to the control broad 

 areas over the oceans and secondly the extraction and development of valuable 

 mineral resources both on the continental shelf and on the abyssal ocean floor 

 beyond the continental shelf. 



Petroleum and natural gas are already being develoi)ed offshore on the con- 

 tinental shelf. Hydrocarbons are valued at 4 billion dollars, representing the 

 most valuable ocean mineral resources and second only to the 8 billion dollar 

 annual value of fisheries resources. As offshore production doubles to 30% of 

 all petroleum extracted, there will be substantial increased dangers of offshore 

 oil spills. 



However, the principal interest is in mineral resources of the continental .shelf 

 and the deep ocean other than oil and gas. These include the mineral rich brines 

 and muds of the Red Sea and manganese nodules which are found off the coast 

 of Florida and at great depths of the Pacific Ocean. These hard marine minerals 

 have been inaccessible because they either lie on top of the ocean floor or beneath 

 them at great depths and are not easily recoverable. However, accelerating tech- 

 nology is perfecting sophisticated hydraulic and other dredging and mining 

 techniques to extract these resources. These minerals are not insignificant, for 

 they represent immense potential wealth. It is estimated that the development 

 of manganese nodules could supply a large part of the world's needs for cobalt, 

 manganese, copper and other valuable hard minerals. 



The developed nations with advanced marine technology are interested in 

 exploiting these resources ; and in the United States several companies, such as 

 Tenneco and Hughes Tool, Inc., have already begun building deep sea recovery 

 vehicles. However, these resources have not yet been developed for several 

 reasons. First, the technology has only recently been perfected. Secondly, the 

 high cost of initial development and recovery has precluded commercially prof- 

 itable operations. Thirdly, because of the ambiguities of the article 1(a) of the 

 continental shelf, it is unclear who owns these resources or who has authority 

 to issue permits to develop them. In many cases these resources do not lie within 

 the confines of the narrow continental shelf. Rather, they exist on the deep ocean 

 floor or in areas which are subject to claims by several states. It is because of 

 this accelerating technology and these amltiguities in the law that the United 

 Nations first became interested in the problem in 1968 at the suggestion of Arvid 

 Pardo, the INIaltese ambassador to the U.N. 



In addition to the developing countries, the less developed countries are vitally 

 interested in this question. Tliey believe that if these resources are managed 

 for the development of all mankind, not merely the developed nations, the less 

 developed countries should share in any revenues derived from licensing this 

 development in order to assist their economic development. 



In 1070 the U.N., by Resolution 2750, called for a general conference on the law 

 of the sea. The U.N. resolutions at that time and subsequently have declared 

 that the resources of the ocean "beyond the limits of national jurisdiction" are 

 "the common heritage of all mankind." The phrase "the national limits of juris- 

 diction" is vague, and the precise demarcation of the boundaries is left for 

 determination by the conference. The "common heritage of mankind" doctrine 

 imi)lies a number of things. First, the U.N. resolutions declare that since the 

 oceans are the "common heritage of all mankind," they are not subject to appro- 

 priation by any individual state. Secondly, the resolutions suggest that the oceans 

 beyond tlie limits of national jurisdiction are to be governed by an international 

 body. Tliirdly, the resolutions declare that a portion of the revenues from this 

 resource development shall be used for the economic development of the less 

 developed countries. Many nations, including the United States, have submitted 



