An international regime for managing land-based activities that degrade marine and coastal environments

This article reviews the events that led up to the 1995 UNEP Conference on Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities, hosted by the united States in Washington, D.C. from 23 October to 3 November 1995. It identifies the key elements of the Programme of Action designed to support and advance on-the-ground implementation at national and regional levels, in particular the international institutional arrangements. Four critical functions emerge: (1) periodic scientific assessment of the health of the marine and coastal environment, at regional and global levels; (2) means to organize and expedite the exchange of information, practical experience, and expertise to help national and regional decision-makers diagnose problems and identify appropriate solutions, drawing on worldwide sources; (3) means to coordinate the efforts of the many international institutions and convention processes whose activities address land-based activities, at regional and global levels; and (4) an inter-governmental review mechanism to consider progress in implementing the Programme — juxtaposed with the results of the assessments — and to give direction to new responses and ensure that existing initiatives are coherent and performing effectively. The author asserts that institutional follow-up for land-based activities should be explicitly linked with the institutional arrangements for implementing the comprehensive framework convention on all ocean uses, the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea; and that effective implementation of the Programme is a make-or-break opportunity for the regional seas arrangements.