The Norwegian Barents Sea Management Plan and the EC marine strategy directive: Some political and legal challenges with an ecosystem-based approach to the protection of the European Marine Environment

Review of European Community and International Environmental Law

Volumn 16, Issue 1, 2007, Pages 24-35

  Kroepelien, Knut F ^a,b  

^a Norway s International Climate and Forest Initiative   (Norway)

^b LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT; ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING; ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION; EUROPEAN UNION; INTERNATIONAL LAW; LAW OF THE SEA;

ARCTIC OCEAN; BARENTS SEA; EURASIA; EUROPE; NORTHERN EUROPE; NORWAY; SCANDINAVIA;

EID: 34147149136     PISSN: 09628797     EISSN: 14679388     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9388.2007.00539.x     Document Type: Article

References (84)

1. Issues like over-fishing, damages to habitats and chemical pollution are described in many contexts, for example the Commission Communication to the Council and the European Parliament of 2 October 2002 Towards a Strategy to Protect and Conserve the Marine Environment, COM (2002) 539 with further references.
2. Commission Communication to the Council and the European Parliament of 24 October 2005 on a Thematic Strategy on the Protection and Conservation of the Marine Environment, COM (2005) 504, Annex: Impact Assessment SEC (2005) 1290; and Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 2005 establishing a Framework for Community Action in the Field of Marine Environmental Policy (Marine Strategy Directive), COM (2005) 505; Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Framework for Community Action in the field of Marine Environment Policy (Marine Strategy Directive - Political Agreement 2005/0211 (COD). All references to the proposed directive are made to the Commission's original proposal since the directive had not been adopted when this article was finalized.
3. European Parliament and Council Decision 1600/2002/EC of 10 September 2002 laying down the Sixth Community Environment Action Programme, [2002] OJ L242/1.
4. Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping from Ships and Aircraft (Oslo, 15 February 1972); and the Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution from Land-Bsed Sources (Paris, 4 June 1974).
5. Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (Paris, 22 September 1992).
6. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Montego Bay, 10 December 1982).
7. Agenda 21, found in Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992, vol. I (A/CONF.151/26, 14 June 1992), available at http://www.un.org/esa/ sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21toc.htm.
8. See also T. Treves, 'The Protection of the Oceans in Agenda 21 and International Environmental Law', in L. Campiglio et al., The Environment after Rio, International Law and Economics (Graham and Trotman/Martinus Nijhoff, 1992), 161.
9. Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area (Helsinki, 9 April 1992).
10. Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution (Bucharest, 21 April 1992).
11. The Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (Barcelona, 10 June 1995).
12. Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (A/CONF.199/20, 4 September 2002), Resolution 2, Annex, available at http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/.
13. Council Directive 96/61/EC of 24 September 1996 on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control, [1996] OJ L257/26.
14. Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EC) No 1907/ 2006/EC of 18 December 2006 on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), [2006] OJ L396/1 and Directive 2006/121/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 amending Council Directive 67/548/EEC, [2006] OJ L396/ 850.
15. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (New York, 9 May 1992) and the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Kyoto, 11 December 1997), available at http://unfccc.int/essential_background/items/2877.php.
16. See D. Freestone, 'The Conservation of Marine Ecosystems under International Law', in M. Bowman and C. Redgewell, International Law and the Conservation of Biological Diversity (Kluwer Law International, 1996), 91.
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18. For further reading see, for example, S. Prechal, Directives in European Community Law: A Study on EC Directives and their Enforcement by National Courts (Oxford University Press, 1995).
19. Commission Communication of 7 June 2006 Towards a Future Maritime Policy for the Union: A European Vision for the Oceans and Seas, COM (2006) 275 final.
20. Ibid., at para. 1.
21. Integrated Management of the Marine Environment of the Barents Sea and the Sea Areas off the Lofoten Islands (Management Plan) Report No 8 (2005-2006) of 31 March 2006 to the Norwegian Storting (Parliament) ('Barents Plan'), available at http://odin.dep.no/md/norsk/dok/ regpubl/stmeld/022001-040027/dok-bn.html.
22. The Seventh Meeting of the United Nations Open-Ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (the 'Consultative Process') met from 12 to16 June 2006 and, pursuant to 'Oceans and the Law of the Sea' (General Assembly Resolution 60/30, 29 November 2005), organized its discussions around ecosystemapproaches and oceans. For documents, see the website available at http://www.un.org/Depts/los/ consultative_process/consultative_process.htm.
23. See Barents Plan, n. 20 above, at chapter 2.6.
24. See JPOI, n. 11 above.
25. See, for example, Report for the World Bank by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), Ecosystem Management: Lessons from around the World: A Guide for Development and Conservation Practitioners (IUCN, February 1998), available at; http://www.iucn.org/themes/wetlands/ ecosystemmanagement.html
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27. See P. Sands, Principles of Environmental Law: Frameworks, Standards and Implementation (Manchester University Press, 1995), at 183ff.
28. See P.W. Birnie and A.E. Boyle, n. 16 above, at 144ff.
29. See D. Freestone, n. 15 above, at 107.
30. See H.C. Bugge, 'General Principles of International Law and Environmental Protection - an Overview', in E. Basse, Environmental Law (Gadjura, 1997), 53, at 68.
31. See JPOI, n. 11 above, at para. 30(d).
32. See P.W. Birnie and A.E. Boyle, n. 16 above, at 647.
33. See Commission's Communication, n. 2 above, at 6.
34. Convention on Biological Diversity (Rio de Janeiro, 5 June 1992).
35. Submission by the Governments of the Netherlands and Malawi, Report of the Workshop on the Ecosystem Approach (UNEP/CBD/COP/4/Inf.9, 28 January 1998), at 7, available at http://www.biodiv.org/doc/meetings/cop/ cop-04/information/cop-04-inf-09-en.pdf.
36. See further on this, for example, G. Teubner et al., Environmental Law and Ecological Responsibility: The Concept and Practice of Ecological Self-Organization (Wiley and Sons, 1994), at 70.
37. Declaration of the Joint Ministerial Meeting of the Helsinki and OSPAR Commissions (Bremen, 26 June 2003) (JMM), para. 18, available at http://www.ospar.org/eng/html/welcome.html.
38. See also North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) Recommendation for the Protection of Vulnerable Deep-Water Habitats by Denmark (in respect of the Faroe Islands and Greenland, Estonia, the European Community, Iceland, Norway and Poland), decided at the Twenty-Third Annual Meeting (London, 12 November 2004), available at http://www.neafc.org/measures/deep-water_05_06.htm. The Recommendation is effective from 1 January 2005 until 31 December 2007.
39. See also K. Hoydal, Regional Fishery Closures in Europe as a Management Tool, Conference on Marine Nature Conservation in Europe 2006 (Stralsund, 8-12 May 2006) (unpublished), available at http://www.habitatmare.de/de/aktuelles-termine-t.php.
40. D. Hunter et al., International Environmental Law and Policy (Foundation Press, 2002), 432.
41. A.H. Hoel, 'The Performance of Exclusive Economic Zones: The Case of Norway', in S.A. Ebbin et al., Sea at Change: The Exclusive Economic Zone and Governance Institutions for Living Marine Resources (Springer, 1995), at 33.
42. A.H. Hoel et al., 'Norway's Marine Policy: Towards Comprehensive Oceans Management' (not yet published), available from the author at the University of Tromsø, Norway.
43. Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission, [1999] OJ L184/23.
44. Ministerial Declaration of the Fifth International Conference on the Protection of the North Sea (Bergen, 21 March 2002), at 8, available at http://odin.dep.no/archive/mdvedlegg/01/11/Engel069.pdf.
45. Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2003 establishing a framework for the Community action in the field of water policy, [2000] OJ L327/1.
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47. Directive 2003/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 providing for public participation in respect of the drawing up of certain plans and programmes relating to the environment and amending with regard to public participation and access to justice Council Directives 85/337/EEC and 96/61/EC, [2003] OJ L156/17.
48. For further information on stakeholder participation, see M. Vierros et al., Implementing the Ecosystem Approach in Open Ocean and the Deep Sea Environment: An Analysis of Stakeholders, their Interests and Existing Approaches (United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies, 2006), available at http://www.ias.unu.edu/binaries2/ DeepSea_Stakeholders.pdf.
49. See, for example, Ramsar Resolution VIII.4, Principles and Guidelines for Incorporating Wetland Issues into Integrated Coastal Zone Management, Eighth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (Valencia, 26 November 2002).
50. A. Kiss and D. Shelton, International Environmental Law (Transnational Publishers, 2004), at 653.
51. See n. 41 above.
52. Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 on urban wastewater treatment, [1991] OJ L135/40.
53. Council Directive 91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991 on the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources, [1991] OJ L375/1.
54. Council Decision 2002/358/EC of 25 April 2002 on the approval, on behalf of the European Community, of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the joint fulfilment of commitments thereunder, [2002] OJ L130/1.
55. Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, [1992] OJ L206/7.
56. Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds, [1979] OJ L103/1.
57. See, for example, A. Underdal, 'Integrated Marine Policy: What? Why? How?', 4:8 Marine Policy (1980), 159
58. W. Østreng, 'Norway's Law of the Sea Policy in the 1970s', 11:4 Ocean Development and International Law (1983), 66.
59. Report No 12 (2001-2002) to the Norwegian Storting (Parliament), Protecting the Riches of the Seas, available at http://odin.dep.no/ md/english/doc/white_paper/022001-040016/dok-bn.html.
60. Stakeholder Conference held in Køge, Denmark, 4-6 December 2002, documents available on the Commission Marine Strategy CIRCA website, available at http://forum.europa.eu.int/Public/irc/env/marine/ library.
61. Stakeholder Conference held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 10-12 November 2004, documents available on the Commission Marine Strategy CIRCA website, available at http://forum.europa.eu.int/Public/irc/ env/marine/library.
62. See, for example, Progress Report under the OSPAR Convention, for the Meeting of the Heads of Delegation (HOD) London (Secretariat) OSPAR Document HOD(1) 06/2/1-E (London, 18-19 May 2006), available at http://www.ospar.org/documents/05-06/hod(1)06/docs-e/ 0201_progress%20report.doc.
63. A. Epiney, Umweltrecht der Europäischen Union, Primärrechtliche Grundlagen, Gemeinschaftliches Sekundärrecht (Carl Heymans Verlag, 1997), at 80.
64. ECJ 31 March 1971, Case 22/70, Commission of the European Communities v. Council of the European Communities; European Agreement on Road Transport (ERTA) [1971] ECR 263.
65. ECJ 26 April 1977, Opinion 1/76, Opinion given pursuant to Article 228 (1) of the EEC Treaty; Draft Agreement establishing a European Laying-Up Fund for Inland Waterway Vessels (Inland Waterways) [1977] ECR 759ff.
66. ECJ 15 November 1994, Opinion 1/94, Competence of the Community to Conclude International Agreements concerning Services and the Protection of Intellectual Property - Article 228(6) of the EC Treaty (WTO) [1994] ECR I-05267.
67. ECJ 19 March 1993, Opinion 2/91, Opinion delivered pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 228(1) of the EEC Treaty; Convention No 170 of the International Labour Organization Concerning Safety in the Use of Chemicals at Work (ILO) [1993] ECR I-1061.
68. See, for example, Commission Background Document on the Definition and Exercise of External Powers, SEC (1996) 168
69. See extensive literature including D. McGoldrick, International Relations Law of the European Union (Longman, 1997).
70. D. Chalmers and E. Szyszcak, European Union Law: Towards a European Polity? (Dartmouth, 1998), at 186.
71. For further reading see, for example, I. MacLeod et al., The External Relations of the European Community (Oxford, 1996).
72. Case C-103/04, Action brought on 1 March 2004 by the Kingdom of the Netherlands against the Commission of the European Communities, [2004] OJ C94/30.
73. Commission Decision 2004/1 of 16 December 2003 concerning national provisions on the use of short-chain chlorinated paraffins notified by the Kingdom of the Netherlands under Article 95(4) of the EC Treaty, [2004] OJ L1/20.
74. Directive 2002/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 June 2002 amending for the twentieth time Council Directive 76/769/EEC relating to restrictions on the marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and preparations (short-chain chlorinated paraffins), [2002] OJ L177/21.
75. PARCOM Decision 95/1 of June 1995 on the Phasing Out of Short Chained Chlorinated Paraffins, available at http://www.ospar.org/eng/html/ welcome.html.
76. ECJ 1 March 2004, Case C-103/04, Kingdom of the Netherlands v. Commission of the European Communities [2004] OJ C94/30
77. OSPAR Document 05/0713-E(L), 'Compatibility of an EC Proposal for a Mining Waste Directive and Annex II to the OSPAR Convention', for the Meeting of the OSPAR Commission, Malahide, Ireland, 27 June-1 July 2005, available at http://www.ospar.org/documents/04-05/ospar05/docs-e/ 0713_mining%20and%20tailing%20waste.doc.
78. Commission Communication of October 2000 on Safe Operation of Mining Activities: A Follow-Up to Recent Mining Accidents, COM (2000) 664 final.
79. Directive 2006/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the management of waste from the extractive industries, [2006] OJ L102/15.
80. See n. 12 above.
81. European Commission, European Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Bureau, Reference Document on Best Available Techniques for Management of Tailings and Waste-Rock in Mining Activities (BREF) of July 2004, available at http://eippcb.jrc.es/pages/ FActivities.htm.
82. See, for example, WTO Panel Report 29 May 2002, European Communities - Trade Descriptions of Sardines, WT/DS231/R (AB 02/2894), at para. 7.139. See also WTO AB 12 October 1998, United States - Import Prohibition of Certain Shrimp and Shrimp Products, WT/DS58/AB/R (AB-1998-4), at para. 173.
83. See also WTO AB 12 October 1998, United States - Import Prohibition of Certain Shrimp and Shrimp Products, WT/DS58/AB/R (AB-1998-4), at para. 173.
84. See the non-adopted Panel Report circulated 3 September 1991, United States - Restrictions on Imports of Tuna, WT/DS21/R-39S/155, at para. 5.28, available at http://www.intfish.net/cases/other/gatt1991/ report.pdf.