Implementing International Environmental Agreements: The Case of the Wadden Sea

Abstract

It has been a feature of the past 30 years or so that individual sovereign states have been increasingly willing to partially set aside their own interests in favour of international treaties on pollution control and wildlife protection. It is the political will of the government signatories to such agreements that is the key to successful implementation as that political will provides the legitimate enforceable authority that is necessary to ensure compliance. This paper examines a trilateral agreement made by the Governments of Denmark, Germany and Holland for the protection and management of the Wadden Sea—one of Europe's most important wildlife sites. The examination of that agreement explores the key mechanisms used for its implementation and, in the case of the Wadden Sea, those mechanisms include the operation of key European Union environmental Directives. The paper finds major differences in approach and application of the Birds, Habitats and Environmental Impact Assessment Directives across the Wadden Sea region and argues that these differences undermine the trilateral agreements made by the three governments.

Notes

1. See Impacts Assessment Unit (2003) and Impacts Assessment Unit (2004).

2. The large number of German authorities reflects the division of responsibilites within the German system and different tiers of government and agencies.

3. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has a sea area designation scheme for the protection of sensitive areas that are vulnerable to damage. These PSSA's are areas that are considered to be in need of special protection through action by the IMO. There are currently only five designated PSSAs in the world, one of which is the Wadden Sea. A PSSA can be protected from marine pollution by ships routing measures—such as an area to be avoided. The Wadden Sea PSSA was designated in October 2002 and is largely defined by its single ecosystem characteristics.

4. Ramsar sites are designated under the “Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat” (commonly known as the Ramsar Convention). In becoming parties to the convention the three countries of the Wadden Sea it accepted a commitment to designate suitable wetlands within their territory for inclusion in a List of Wetlands of International Importance, which is maintained by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources bureau (IUCN). This convention ensures the conservation of wetlands and their flora and fauna by combining far-sighted national policies with coordinated international action. For the purpose of this convention wetlands are areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed 6 m. Many wetland fauna are migratory species whose conservation and management require international cooperation. The convention takes into account the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands as regulators of water regimes and as habitats supporting a characteristic flora and fauna, especially waterfowl that are ecologically dependent on wetlands.

5. The OSPAR Convention is a long-term strategy for the protection of ecosystems and biological diversity, and for the promotion of the establishment and management of a system of marine protected areas (OSPAR MPA Programme). A marine protected area (MPA), as per the definition developed by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) is “any area of the intertidal or subtidal terrain, together with its overlying water and associated flora, fauna, historical and cultural features, which has been reserved by law or other effective means to protect part or all of the enclosed environment”. MPAs are used as management tools to protect, maintain, or restore, natural and cultural resources in coastal and marine waters. The establishment and management of a system of MPAs, is an aim of the OSPAR MPA programme. MPAs provide a range of benefits to coastal communities and the public by enhancing fisheries, safeguarding marine habitats and increasing economic opportunities.

6. This is based upon screening determinations made by the Secretary of State for the Environment between October 1988 and October 1997—see Weston (2000).