Marine noise pollution in International Criminal Law

2024-07-02 22:40:50

Research team from Universities of Castellón and Alicante recommends in an article in the journal Kriminologie that the impacts of underwater noise pollution be integrated into International Criminal and Administrative Law and suggests that “it would be interesting to have international judicial bodies specialized in environmental matters”be criminally protected, even for environmental damage.

Anthropogenic noise

Scientific evidence has shown that there is a cause-effect relationship between underwater noise pollution and the development of some species.

Noise does not only mean anthropogenic a serious public health problembut also a significant stressor for the sea ​​and land life. Scientific evidence has shown that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between underwater noise pollution and the development of several species and, despite being recognized by the World Health Organization as one of the most important pollutants in the world, so far in the last decade , comprehensive strategies have not been developed to address its impact on the marine environment, as the Universitat Jaume I reported in a statement.

After analyzing the legislation on this matter at the international level, the team believes that it is This type of pollution has to be dealt with in a unique waybut with an integrated approach”, because, even if the activities are authorized, “Its effects can be difficult to reverse”. from your side”The law must comprehensively address environmental protection and design a protection model that includes administrative sanctions, but also criminal sanctions in very serious cases.“.

“The law must comprehensively address environmental protection and design a protection model that includes administrative sanctions, but also criminal sanctions in very serious cases”

Article Underwater noise pollution as an ecological crime: a global problem in the Anthropocenesigned by Esteban Morelle-Hungría of the UJI’s Center for Research in Criminal Law, Criminology and Intelligence, Eva S. Fonfría, John Y. Dobson and Cesar Bordehore of the The Multidisciplinary Institute for Environmental Studies Ramon Margaleffrom the Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Bromatology and the Department of Enology, respectively, of the University of Alicantewhich analyzes the legislation on the subject, which has been chosen by a jury of scientists as the best article of 2023 in the scientific journal Criminology – The online journal (1).

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1982 he already explicitly included underwater noise and described it as introducing substances or energy that cause adverse effects on living resources and marine life. And the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic (OSPAR) of 1992 classified adverse effects into three categories: masking, behavioral changes and physiological changes – including hearing loss, injuries and death.

And the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic (OSPAR) of 1992 classified adverse effects into three categories: masking, behavioral changes and physiological changes – including hearing loss, injuries and death.

Green and blue criminology

Over the past twenty years, various conventions and resolutions have emerged regarding their protection, until resolution 8.17 of 2022 of ACCOBAMS –Agreement on the conservation of cetaceans in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the adjacent Atlantic area– in which it was agreed to promote the reduction of the speed of maritime traffic or to reinforce the measures already implemented and to take noise control into account. However, this type of pollution was not included in one of the most important conventions where it could be most effective, the Convention on Biological Diversity ratified by 196 nations, which has been in force since 1993..

Green and blue criminology has emerged as a perspective within criminology that emphasizes environmental harm, by facilitating a comprehensive analysis of the impact of human activities on nature. The European Union is working to improve legal certainty and, therefore, the effectiveness of environmental prevention in the field of environmental crime with the new wording of the Directive on ecological/environmental crimes (ECD).

The research is included in the UJI B2021-41 project Sanction-type legal responses to climate change as a threat to national security from the Universitat Jaume I de Castellón directed by professor UJI, Antonio Fernández-Hernández.

Research team

Esteban Morelle-Hungary (UJI) He is a permanent professor in the Department of Public Law and a specialist in the fields of environmental criminal law and green crime and one of the forerunners of the so-called ‘ecocrime’, a perspective within criminology focused on ecological damage.

Eva S. Fonfría (UA) She is a senior researcher at the Multidisciplinary Institute for Environmental Studies ‘Ramon Margalef’ and an expert on marine pollution and the effects of human activities on their ecosystems.

John Y. Dobson (UA) He is a Junior researcher in the Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Bromatology, expert in dynamic modeling of marine systems.

Cesar Bordehore (UA) He is an assistant professor in the Department of Ecology I and specializes in system modeling, management, conservation and restoration of marine ecosystems, and coordinates the UA-Dénia Marine Laboratory (marlab.ua.denia).

References

• (1) Underwater noise pollution as an ecological crime: a global problem in the Anthropocene. Criminology – The online journal.