Marine: Cleaner Seas report
Organising to protect the seas
International co-operation
In 1997 the UK acceded to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). UNCLOS establishes a comprehensive legal regime for the seas and includes important provisions on the protection of the marine environ-ment and management of fish stocks.The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is the lead department on UNCLOS and, in consultation with other Whitehall Departments, has an interest in all the United Kingdom's international treaty obligations. In addition, our Embassies and High Commissions monitor and report on environmental matters overseas.
The UK has a leading role within the International Maritime Organi-sation (IMO), based in London. The IMO is the UN agency with responsibility for maritime safety and the prevention of pollution from ships. As shipping is an international business, the UK's preferred approach is for shipping to be regulated by IMO measures.
The UK is not just concerned with the health of its own coastal waters. NERC undertakes a major programme of research in the world's oceans.
Global aspects of the marine envi-ronment are also considered through the work of UN sponsored organ-isations such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the London Convention (1972), which covers waste dumping and incineration at sea. Moreover, the UK played a prominent role in achieving agreement on the 1996 London Convention Protocol which will further strengthen global controls on the dumping of waste at sea.
In addition, the UK has a strong record in working for the conservation of whales through the International Whaling Commission, and for the conservation of small cetaceans through the Agreement on Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas (ASCOBANS).
Page last modified:
01 March 2005
Page published: 21 September 1988