International Agreements

The Ninth Consultative Meeting of Contracting Parties to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter in 1985 issued Resolution LDC.22(9) on environmental hazards caused by the disposal at sea of persistent plastics and other persistent synthetic materials (including fishing nets). The resolution aims to enhance collaboration among contracting parties, the Marine Environment Protection Committee, the United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organisation, and other competent international bodies in action reporting, technical assistance, related activities, and measures for collecting and disseminating information on the hazards to living resources and marine life (IMO, 1985).

The Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (London Protocol) was agreed upon in 1996 to further update, and eventually replace, the Convention (IMO, 2019b). Under the Protocol, all types of dumping are prohibited, except acceptable waste. Article 4 Number 1.2 of the Protocol states: ‘The dumping of wastes or other matter listed in Annex 1 shall require a permit. Contracting Parties shall adopt administrative or legislative measures to ensure that issuance of permits and permit conditions comply with provisions of Annex 2. Particular attention shall be paid to opportunities to avoid dumping in favour of environmentally preferable alternatives’.

Annex 2 of the Protocol describes the assessment of waste or other matter which may be considered for dumping, including a waste prevention audit; consideration of waste management options; chemical, physical, and biological properties; action lists; dump-site selection; assessment of potential effects; monitoring; and permit and permit conditions. The Protocol has strict procedures to be completed before certain waste (including from vessels and platforms or other man-made structures at sea) is permitted for dumping.

Article 6 of the Protocol also states that contracting parties shall not allow the export of waste or other matter to other countries for dumping or incineration at sea. In short, the Protocol carries out a broader interpretation by considering the potential of sea-based litter generated from vessels and platforms or other man-made structures at sea. Table 2 shows the adoption status of the Protocol by ASEAN+3 countries.

Japan, China, the Republic of Korea, and the Philippines have followed up the ratification of the Convention and Protocol in legal frameworks and implementations.

Japan promulgated the Basic Act of Ocean Policy on 20 July 2007. Article 18 states: ‘The State shall take necessary measures to conserve the marine environment including…reduction of the pollution load caused by water flow into the oceans, prevention of the discharge of waste materials to the oceans…’

The Law Relating to the Prevention of Marine Pollution and Maritime Disasters is a related regulation which includes control of waste from and on ships. The law requires companies to find specific places of discharge within the sea discharge area designated by the national government, perform an environmental impact assessment prior to dumping, and conduct monitoring after dumping (Zou and Zhang, 2017). Ship owners also have to register their ships with the Commandant of the Japan Coast Guard, to ensure compliance with the technical standards for securing the proper discharge of waste.

Another relevant regulation is the Waste Disposal and Public Cleaning Law to preserve the environment and improve public health through the restriction of waste discharge, appropriate sorting, storage, collection, transport, recycling, disposal, and conservation of a clean living environment (Zou and Zhang, 2017).

China's State Oceanic Administration is implementing the Marine Environmental Protection Law (MEPL). The MEPL was amended in 1999 with the addition of principles of sustainable development such as control mechanisms for quantity of pollution, environmental impact assessment requirements for coastal and marine construction projects, and the polluter pays principle (Zou and Zhang, 2017). China adopted the Regulations Concerning Dumping of Wastes at Sea in 1985 after its accession to the London Convention, and the Measures for Implementation of the Regulations Concerning the Dumping of Wastes at Sea in 1990.

China also began implementing the Provisional Measures on the Management of Dumping Sites in 2003. Under these measures, any person or entity who intends to dump waste must secure a permit from the State Oceanic Administration, indicating the waste-dumping entity; terms of validity, quantity, and category of waste; and the method of dumping (Zou and Zhang, 2017). 

Any person or entity with a permit should dump waste according to the permit's requirements. Article 11 of the MEPL regulates the dumping fees, which are considered so low that polluters would rather pollute than reduce or eliminate pollutants from their origin (Xu, 2006). China Marine Surveillance, a law enforcement agency, is mandated to inspect China’s jurisdictional waters (Zou and Zhang, 2017). Waste dumping without a permit is subject to a fine of no less than RMB 30,000 but no more than RMB 200,000.

The Republic of Korea adheres to the Convention, having adopted the Marine Environmental Management Act (MEMA) in 2007, which replaced the Marine Pollution Preservation Act which had been in force since 1997.

The MEMA provides for the prevention of marine pollution from: marine vessels, offshore facilities, etc; ocean dumping in the territorial sea under the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone Act, the sea area as designated by a presidential decree, and the exclusive economic zone under the Exclusive Economic Zone Act; environment management sea areas designated by the minister of land, transport and maritime affairs; and in sea-bed mining areas designated under the Submarine Mineral Resource Development Act.

The Philippines is implementing the Convention and Protocol through the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004. The Act prohibits dumping in water bodies or along the margins of any surface water, which could result in water pollution or block the natural flow of water. The Philippine Coast Guard implements the Act through the Philippine Coast Guard Law of 2009.