Regulations on Ballast Water & Invasive Species - a Comparative Approach
(2010) JURM01 20101Department of Law
- Abstract
- Harmful aquatic species are today invading foreign habitats at an unprecedented pace. They have had a large negative impact on many fragile ecosystems of the world and ballast water has been identified as one the major culprits behind their fast spread. Today, the most common remedy used to combat the problem is exchanging ballast water in the open ocean to get rid of any organisms with the potential to survive in the coastal areas of ports. This method is now proving to be much less efficient than what was first thought and scientists are forced to find new solutions. The new solution is the installment of onboard ballast water treatment systems and most of the regulations on ballast water seem to be moving in the same direction by... (More)
- Harmful aquatic species are today invading foreign habitats at an unprecedented pace. They have had a large negative impact on many fragile ecosystems of the world and ballast water has been identified as one the major culprits behind their fast spread. Today, the most common remedy used to combat the problem is exchanging ballast water in the open ocean to get rid of any organisms with the potential to survive in the coastal areas of ports. This method is now proving to be much less efficient than what was first thought and scientists are forced to find new solutions. The new solution is the installment of onboard ballast water treatment systems and most of the regulations on ballast water seem to be moving in the same direction by establishing performance standards for such systems, which dictate the amounts of viable organisms allowed in ballast water discharges.
The contents of most regulations on ballast water have shown to be very similar. The general requirement is that vessels exchange their ballast water at least 200 nautical miles from shore before entering into the exclusive economic zones of states. Alternatively, discharges may be but only if accepted onboard treatment systems have been used or if discharges can be made to land-based reception facilities. Discharging untreated ballast water can only be accepted in emergency situations when the vessel, its crew or passengers are threatened.
Internationally, there are several legally binding regulations which concern invasive species such as the Convention on biological diversity, but up until today any ballast water regulations have been voluntary. The tables are about to turn since the International maritime organization has developed its Ballast water convention. However, the convention requires the signing of 30 states, representing at least 35 % of the gross tonnage of the world's shipping to enter into force and there is no saying when it finally will become ratified.
In the mean time, multinational and national measures have been taken to reduce introductions. In the United States, President Clinton's executive order has been important in setting the target for regulations on invasive species. Mandated by important federal legislations such as the National invasive species act, legally binding provisions which are enforced by the U.S. coast guard are in place and several individual states have established regulations on their own.
Europe has several directives affecting ballast water management such as the Marine strategy framework directive, the Biocides directive and the Habitats directive but to date there is no directive specifically targeting ballast water. EU member states are recommended to sign the Ballast water management convention and in the meantime, regional cooperations with voluntary guidelines have been and are currently being developed. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Skadliga marina arter invaderar idag främmande habitat och ekosystem med en extrem hastighet. Dessa arter har haft en mycket stor negativ inverkan på många sårbara ekosystem runt om i världen och barlastvatten har identifierats som en av de största faktorerna bakom den snabba spridningen. Idag är den vanligaste åtgärden för att lösa problemet att byta barlastvatten ute till havs för att göra sig av med organismer som skulle kunna överleva i hamnars kustområden. Denna metod har nu visat sig mycket mindre effektiv än vad man först trott och forskare tvingas hitta nya lösningar. En ny sådan lösning består i att installera behandlingssystem för barlastvatten ombord och de flesta lagar och regleringar verkar röra sig i samma riktning genom att... (More)
- Skadliga marina arter invaderar idag främmande habitat och ekosystem med en extrem hastighet. Dessa arter har haft en mycket stor negativ inverkan på många sårbara ekosystem runt om i världen och barlastvatten har identifierats som en av de största faktorerna bakom den snabba spridningen. Idag är den vanligaste åtgärden för att lösa problemet att byta barlastvatten ute till havs för att göra sig av med organismer som skulle kunna överleva i hamnars kustområden. Denna metod har nu visat sig mycket mindre effektiv än vad man först trott och forskare tvingas hitta nya lösningar. En ny sådan lösning består i att installera behandlingssystem för barlastvatten ombord och de flesta lagar och regleringar verkar röra sig i samma riktning genom att etablera prestanda standarder för sådana system som anger högsta tillåtna antal levande organismer i utsläpp av barlastvatten.
De flesta regleringar angående barlastvatten är väldigt lika i sina krav. Det generella kravet är vanligtvis att fartyg skall byta sin ballast åtminstone 200 nautiska mil från land innan de går in i staters exklusiva ekonomiska zoner. Alternativt kan behandlingssystem användas eller tömning utföras på speciella inrättningar i hamnar som är avsedda för att ta emot denna typ av substanser. Utsläpp av obehandlat barlastvatten kan endast tillåtas i nödfall då fartygets, besättningens eller passagerares säkerhet är hotad.
Internationellt sett finns det flera juridiskt bindande regleringar som rör invaderande arter, varav ett exempel är FN:s konvention om biologisk mångfald. Hittills har dock regleringar angående barlastvatten tillämpats på frivillig basis men efter att the International maritime organization har presenterat sin Barlastvattenkonvention verkar läget vara på väg att ändras. Emellertid krävs det att 30 stater som tillsammans representerar åtminstone 35 % av den globala marina speditionens totala tonnage undertecknar för att konventionen skall träda i kraft och det är i nuläget svårt att säga när så kommer att ske.
I väntan på ett juridiskt bindande instrument har många multinationella och nationella åtgärder vidtagits. I USA har President Clintons exekutiva order varit mycket viktig för att sätta mål för regleringar angående invaderande arter. Genom mandat från viktiga federala lagstiftningar som the National invasive species act har juridiskt bindande föreskrifter som upprätthålls av kustbevakningen införts. Dessutom har flera delstater infört egna bindande regleringar angående barlastvatten.
I Europa har EU infört ett flertal direktiv som påverkar barlastvatten varav några exempel är Ramdirektivet om en marin strategi, Biociddirektivet och Habitatdirektivet, men hittills finns inget direktiv som riktar sig specifikt mot barlastvatten och dess hantering. EU:s medlemsstater rekommenderas att underteckna Barlastvattenkonventionen och under tiden har och håller regionala samarbeten med frivilliga riktlinjer på att utvecklas. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/1670578
- author
- Folkunger, Jennie LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- JURM01 20101
- year
- 2010
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- Ballast water, invasive species, BWM Convention, Regional seas conventions, NANPCA
- language
- English
- id
- 1670578
- date added to LUP
- 2010-09-24 09:38:04
- date last changed
- 2010-09-24 09:38:04
@misc{1670578,
abstract = {{Harmful aquatic species are today invading foreign habitats at an unprecedented pace. They have had a large negative impact on many fragile ecosystems of the world and ballast water has been identified as one the major culprits behind their fast spread. Today, the most common remedy used to combat the problem is exchanging ballast water in the open ocean to get rid of any organisms with the potential to survive in the coastal areas of ports. This method is now proving to be much less efficient than what was first thought and scientists are forced to find new solutions. The new solution is the installment of onboard ballast water treatment systems and most of the regulations on ballast water seem to be moving in the same direction by establishing performance standards for such systems, which dictate the amounts of viable organisms allowed in ballast water discharges.
The contents of most regulations on ballast water have shown to be very similar. The general requirement is that vessels exchange their ballast water at least 200 nautical miles from shore before entering into the exclusive economic zones of states. Alternatively, discharges may be but only if accepted onboard treatment systems have been used or if discharges can be made to land-based reception facilities. Discharging untreated ballast water can only be accepted in emergency situations when the vessel, its crew or passengers are threatened.
Internationally, there are several legally binding regulations which concern invasive species such as the Convention on biological diversity, but up until today any ballast water regulations have been voluntary. The tables are about to turn since the International maritime organization has developed its Ballast water convention. However, the convention requires the signing of 30 states, representing at least 35 % of the gross tonnage of the world's shipping to enter into force and there is no saying when it finally will become ratified.
In the mean time, multinational and national measures have been taken to reduce introductions. In the United States, President Clinton's executive order has been important in setting the target for regulations on invasive species. Mandated by important federal legislations such as the National invasive species act, legally binding provisions which are enforced by the U.S. coast guard are in place and several individual states have established regulations on their own.
Europe has several directives affecting ballast water management such as the Marine strategy framework directive, the Biocides directive and the Habitats directive but to date there is no directive specifically targeting ballast water. EU member states are recommended to sign the Ballast water management convention and in the meantime, regional cooperations with voluntary guidelines have been and are currently being developed.}},
author = {{Folkunger, Jennie}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Regulations on Ballast Water & Invasive Species - a Comparative Approach}},
year = {{2010}},
}