First International Congress onbiosphere reserves

Envitonmer.~al Policy and Law, 12 (1984)

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lind muer manellem~tt. Where retable. ~ e m l d b ~ , ~ t of uew ~ r ~ complexes, pewer planu, mt~mive livemock farming, d~ d,-"~Jcqpmat of new seu]ements end tl~' e~tmnsinn or urban areas slandd be compatible with the a*alkbility of satiable water at r,'.~mnable distance.s. Education • m d d be punued visorously in re'tier to make the public underttarul the importance of rational water u~. Rellnladous and ord~ast~s, together with economic and Iksanelal Immnnents, are contidered an kaporta~t tool for pro.mLINI ~ a ~ po,cy and for deter~ , t g the rti~u and obligations of vatl~ o~rs. As far as pm~blc, the ~,aft contirades, the dhect or ~nd~.:~t ensts sttrlbutab~e to pollution ~'~xmldbe berne by the poUuter. W=e~ users, who shotdd be encourated to ~se water of a quafity no higher than

necasr,my, should pay the costs of absttlCtian, L~'earmentand distributim,. Effective measures should be applied in order to save watec in the domestic and municipal sectors and to reduce lusses in water distribution Yystems. The Declaration also deals with such questJons as regular collection and dissemination of data on water absrraetinn, use and discharge; prorooting the rapid development and sound application to technologies for more efficient use of water; adoption of measures to combat wasting water during irrigation; the integrated manaf~.-qnent of river basins; and the need for enhanced international scientific co-operation and training programmes for people dealing with aspects or water management. The Committee adopted its programme of work for 1984-1988 and agreed on the tentative scliednle or"

mecEngs for 1984. It reviewed preparatiom for the Seminar on CO-Ol~'afion in the Field of Tram,boundar3" Wates'~, scheduled to b¢ held m D~meldoff, Federal Republic of Germany. from 15 to 19 October 1984. The delegation of France stated that its Government was prepared to host a Seminar 011 the Rational Use of Water in Industrial Processes in Paris in 1985. []

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UNESCO

First International Congress on Biosphere Reserves Tbe Firsl Intcrnatinnai Biosphere Conlpress. orsenized by UNESCO and UNEP in co-operatinn with FAn and IUCN at the invitation of the USSR, v:es held in Minsk/ USSR from the 26 September - - 2 October 1983. UNESCO's Man "~d the Biosphere (MAB) Programme is now tO years old. The 8oat of the progr~,mme is to t~omote a balanced relationship be*wean people and their environIr~lt and thus tO serve human needs by promoting sUstained, ecologically sound development. The- Conference was organized in three workshops, workshop " A " being of most interest to our leaders. In his r e ~ r t on this workshop, H.K. Eidsvik, o.q behalf of Kenton Miller, Director General

of IUCN, stated that in the case of biosphere reserves, the criteria and objectives are still evolving mid will certainly continue to do so. It was seen that three ,:laysdiscussion were not sufficient to solve aI~ issues so it was decided to concenIrate in this workshop on the recommendations to the Draft Action Plan, hoping that the ensuing actions will help to clarify matters. Discussion took ptace on three main areas. Under the general title of hiogengraphic systems, the glc ~al distribution of biosphere reserves and other protec~'d areas were exan~,ned and it was noted that only 16 biogeo~rapldc provinces do not have pro[ect~ areas. Although this looks impreSsive on the surface, it was felt that a comprehensive examination was needed to review

how these areas are acbieviag the objectives of the biosphere reserve programme. The second major focus was the draft vapor "The Biosphere Reserve in Relation to other Protooted Areas" by Craig MacFarland. Through the use of case studies, the experts examine how existing biosphere reserves were operatinB and how this rehted to the objectives and crRcna for biosphere reserves. The "biosphere reserve" concept was strongly endorsed as one of the management categories for conservation ~ . Their special role in social and economic development as expressed in the World Couservatinn Strategy was underlined. The need was stressed for at least one demonstration biosphem

0378-777XJ84/S3.00 © 1984 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland)

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EnvironmentalPolicy and Law, 12(1984) r e s t ' r e in each biom¢ or region and this is reflected io the A c m m Plan. H.K. ~ c h a i n m m of I U C N ' s Comml~fiou on National P a r k s and Protected Areas, amphasized that the Biosphere Reserves pt-~,r~,.me does not yet rest on a ~ foundation and quoted Michel Bafisse o f U N E S C O who stated that " f e w people know what it really means and m a n y have confused and even conflicting ideas about what it i s " . H e agreed with Kenton Miller's r e m m k that 82 per cent o f all Biosphcxe Reserves are labels for other forms o f protected areas and ,:,My 1.6 per cent o f the muff area represents a n e w f o r m of protected area,. H e suggested that there was a serious need to review the criteria

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for b i m l ~ e r e r ~ t ~ es th,~ have evolved and need to be revise0. Secondly, that the 226 biosphere reserves which have been e~Jibli.~ed must be rev/ewcd. H e cmphasized that to have a long list (,f areas that do not meet criteria ]cads m confusion a n d resalr~ un the downgrading o f the enti,:e ~ystem. Thirdly, there was a ne "d lor improved criteria for the rroorting on research. T h e current sy~te.m ;,~ not prodm.~ng the data ret:~ired for comistency in review or ~ e h m t i o n o f the investment o f scarce dollars and manpower. Fourthly, a sound financ~M base was neoessary for the progr~,nme, and in many cases the Biosphere ~.eserve Programme does not have this commitment. Freaky, it was clear t o the speaker that

U N E S C O ' s c o m m ~ m e a t to the pros ~ m m e is " ~ /ude~a~': " ' I n this respect w~ m i n i d i r ~ l our national delegatiom to ~ O ' s General Coaferuace Io m ' e n l f , ~ the commitment to Bioslxbme Reserves. O r m o r e dra~icatly, the prOgr:unme ~ tO ~ ! a home w b e ~ nature is not tinnily dom/nuted by cultmal concerns". In his statement, Kenton Millet also recommended most stron~y

~ , t m e U N E S C O Gem'ral Ctmference should be urged t o increm~ fur'~ing and staffing of the preg r - , m r ~ so fbat lhe expanding role of I'ios,pbere reserves will be mccessfelly executed. T h e recommendatioas o f Work-

shop " A " 54.

ate printed oe page ~'~

The International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund by ILH. Ganeen*

The International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund ( I O P C Fund or, in French, F I P O L ) is the eniy international inter-govern.mutal o r p n i s a f i o n that provides compensation for damage caused by poilution incidents. It is the only worl~wid,-" intergoveenmental agency, the sole purpose o f which is to mitigate the economic consequences of damage caused to the environracer. Rendcr~ o f E P L may therefore be interested in learning about this O r p n i s a t i o n , how it was created, on what Iqtal basis it stands and how it operates. T h e I O P C Fund is based on the International Convention on the Establishment o f an International Fund for C o m p e n s a t i o n for Oil = ~. ~., ~ ~ Qr~ t=11=udaml~ Peammo Fud- Fom~y or the M~tvy oF Jm~.. F~-nd Itcpubtk0E(3o~a~wbo'ehemui~lcwaed.~ ~ . *~h Ib= dsbontlionmd ~ld~ons~on ur t~ .=rod Onla~sm.

Pollution Dar,~lle o f Ill D-~cembez 1971 (Fund Convention). "rite adoption of this Convention ,esuhen from the T O R R E Y C A N Y O N incident in March 196]. When the Libelmn tanker T O R R E Y CAN Y O N grounded o f f the English coast in March 1967, broke and z~eased aJI her cargo o f m o r e than tO0 000 tonnes o f crude oil, people became ~ware o f the fact that the then fast t~, ""~ ng bulk transport o[ crude oil on ,'. : o~as o f the world

posed pollutiml risks for which there way, no adequate liability cover. Claims for poliution damage had to be made ur~der general maritime law, which allowed a claim only on the b~sis of negfigence and gave the ~h;,'mwner the light tO limit his ~i;t~st~?" ~o amounts which already at th. ,-ae were not considered to L¢ sufficientL

Therefore , it was generah'y accepted by shipowners, the oil industry and by governmeots thin a new international concept of liability for this enormous and very special risk o f pollution damage had to be established.

Negotiations were held in |be Legal Committee of the Inlerew fional Maritime OTganLut tion ( I M O ) ~ and these negmiatiom resulted in the adolxion o f two in. temational conventin~% i.e,, the Fund Convention and, prior to Oils, the International Convention Civil Li'zbility for Oil Pollmion Damage o f 29 November 1969 (Civil Liability Convention, CLC).

The C i v i l L i a b i l ~ C e a ~ a l k m The Civil Liability Convgation creates a liability f o r the Rgistered owner o f the tanker; thls liability

0378-777X/84/$3.00 © 1984 Elsevier Science Publlshens B.V. 0qorth-Holland)