The international law of marine environment protection and preservation: An analysis with application to Ghana.

摘要

States exploit the sea for its resources, and use the marine area for a variety of purposes. Both activities carry pollution consequences for the marine environment.;This attitude shows in environmental policy and law in Africa. In particular, it is evidenced in the lax manner in which West and Central African States are observing their obligations under the Abidjan Convention, 1981, and in implementing the pollution control measures that are set out in the Action Plan designed under that Convention.;Nationally, Ghana's legal regime on marine pollution control typifies, as regarding developing States especially, the general absence of standards and criteria for marine pollution control in those countries. As such, like Ghana, their laws need upgrading in many respects to match the requirements of the international law on marine pollution prevention and control.;Notwithstanding their different attitudes to marine pollution control, both developed and developing States are less committed to preserving the marine environment than they indicate in the Conventions they sign for that purpose.