- Email: [email protected]
Cost barrier to Severn barrage?
Volume 7/Number 4/April 1976
lines to be followed by states in the conservation and exploitation of natural resources, which are shared by two or more of them. It was agreed at the beginning of the discussions that these principles and guidelines would not create any legally binding obligations. Such principles and guidelines, could however, be incorporated into bilateral or multilateral treaties concluded by states. It was also generally agreed that the working group was to deal with natural resources shared by a limited number of states as opposed to the international commons. Examples of such natural resources are: the river Rhine that is shared by Switzerland, France, The Federal Republic of Germany and the Netherlands; Lake Victoria which is bordered by Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania; and wildlife which criss-cross the boundaries of states. The first principle states that nations have a duty to cooperate in the field of the environment concerning the conservation and utilization of natural resources shared by two or more states. According to this principle, they "should cooperate with a view to controlling, preventing, reducing and eliminating adverse environmental effects, which may result from such exploitation". The second principle suggests that states should "endeavour to conclude agreements between themselves in a legally binding manner or should enter into other agreements. Such agreements should take into account the present principles and guidelines". The third principle says that states have a sovereign right to exploit their own resources according to their various environmental policies, but it is their responsibility to ensure that these activities do not cause damage to the environment of other states. The guidelines dealt with the exchange of information notification; consultation; scientific studies and environmental assessment. The working group meeting, which was attended by representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, India, Iraq, Kenya, Mexico, the Netherlands, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Sweden, the USA and the USSR, and by observers from Turkey, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, was chaired by Professor Dr W. Riphagen, Chief of the Legal Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. The report of the Group will be presented to the Governing Council of UNEP later this year.
Cost Barrier to Severn Barrage? Interest in a barrage across the Severn estuary to generate electricity using the large tidal movement has risen and fallen almost as much as the tides in the area. And just as industry and the public were going through one of their bouts of enthusiasm, Professor Anthony Goss, of the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology, advised the Gwent County Council to forget about the barrage, at least for the moment. He said that
the scheme would cost too much, and that the county need not make any provision for the scheme in their county structure plan. The land which would be reclaimed was not needed, and unless there were significant cost savings, so far as energy production was concerned (and the Central Electricity Generating Board do not think there is) there was no reason for the barrage. At current prices the scheme would be likely to cost £1500-2000m, and would provide about 10070of the national energy requirements. And as the Central Electricity Generating Board have spare electricity capacity, as a result of the oil price rise and industrial recession, the barrage seems to be receding into the distance again.
Lyme Bay Oil Pollution Lyme Bay, off the Devon/Dorset coast, has been polluted with oil on a number of occasions in recent years, as a result of the oil industry's use of the bay for transferring the oil from large supertankers to smaller vessels. The local inhabitants have protested most vigorously about the oil spills, which do nothing to encourage the local tourist industry, a maj or employer of labour in the two counties. Now Shell International Marine have provided a converted fishing boat, the Penlee, to guard the 100 miles of beaches at risk. The boat, which has a crew of three, and has been fitted with several thousand pounds worth of equipment, is to be based at Brixham.
European Environmental Impact Analysis? Several European countries are considering the adoption of environmental impact statements, which have played such a key role in the United States' efforts to control pollution and protect the environment. A recent meeting in Louvain, sponsored by the European Council for Environmental Law and the European Environmental Bureau, discussed the American experience and its relevance to European problems. It seemed likely that the four countries presently considering its adoption, the UK, France, West Germany and the Netherlands, would only use it for a narrow range ofsubj ects, e.g. for land use development in the case of the UK. The EEC is also considering the use of impact statements, but again this would be on a much narrower basis than in the US.
Mediterranean Monitoring Scientists and experts from 15 countries: Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey and Yugoslavia, meeting in Geneva inDecember, agreed on a coordinated programme of measfiring pollution levels on beaches and in coastal waters used for swimming and growing shellfish. 61
lines to be followed by states in the conservation and exploitation of natural resources, which are shared by two or more of them. It was agreed at the beginning of the discussions that these principles and guidelines would not create any legally binding obligations. Such principles and guidelines, could however, be incorporated into bilateral or multilateral treaties concluded by states. It was also generally agreed that the working group was to deal with natural resources shared by a limited number of states as opposed to the international commons. Examples of such natural resources are: the river Rhine that is shared by Switzerland, France, The Federal Republic of Germany and the Netherlands; Lake Victoria which is bordered by Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania; and wildlife which criss-cross the boundaries of states. The first principle states that nations have a duty to cooperate in the field of the environment concerning the conservation and utilization of natural resources shared by two or more states. According to this principle, they "should cooperate with a view to controlling, preventing, reducing and eliminating adverse environmental effects, which may result from such exploitation". The second principle suggests that states should "endeavour to conclude agreements between themselves in a legally binding manner or should enter into other agreements. Such agreements should take into account the present principles and guidelines". The third principle says that states have a sovereign right to exploit their own resources according to their various environmental policies, but it is their responsibility to ensure that these activities do not cause damage to the environment of other states. The guidelines dealt with the exchange of information notification; consultation; scientific studies and environmental assessment. The working group meeting, which was attended by representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, India, Iraq, Kenya, Mexico, the Netherlands, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Sweden, the USA and the USSR, and by observers from Turkey, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, was chaired by Professor Dr W. Riphagen, Chief of the Legal Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. The report of the Group will be presented to the Governing Council of UNEP later this year.
Cost Barrier to Severn Barrage? Interest in a barrage across the Severn estuary to generate electricity using the large tidal movement has risen and fallen almost as much as the tides in the area. And just as industry and the public were going through one of their bouts of enthusiasm, Professor Anthony Goss, of the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology, advised the Gwent County Council to forget about the barrage, at least for the moment. He said that
the scheme would cost too much, and that the county need not make any provision for the scheme in their county structure plan. The land which would be reclaimed was not needed, and unless there were significant cost savings, so far as energy production was concerned (and the Central Electricity Generating Board do not think there is) there was no reason for the barrage. At current prices the scheme would be likely to cost £1500-2000m, and would provide about 10070of the national energy requirements. And as the Central Electricity Generating Board have spare electricity capacity, as a result of the oil price rise and industrial recession, the barrage seems to be receding into the distance again.
Lyme Bay Oil Pollution Lyme Bay, off the Devon/Dorset coast, has been polluted with oil on a number of occasions in recent years, as a result of the oil industry's use of the bay for transferring the oil from large supertankers to smaller vessels. The local inhabitants have protested most vigorously about the oil spills, which do nothing to encourage the local tourist industry, a maj or employer of labour in the two counties. Now Shell International Marine have provided a converted fishing boat, the Penlee, to guard the 100 miles of beaches at risk. The boat, which has a crew of three, and has been fitted with several thousand pounds worth of equipment, is to be based at Brixham.
European Environmental Impact Analysis? Several European countries are considering the adoption of environmental impact statements, which have played such a key role in the United States' efforts to control pollution and protect the environment. A recent meeting in Louvain, sponsored by the European Council for Environmental Law and the European Environmental Bureau, discussed the American experience and its relevance to European problems. It seemed likely that the four countries presently considering its adoption, the UK, France, West Germany and the Netherlands, would only use it for a narrow range ofsubj ects, e.g. for land use development in the case of the UK. The EEC is also considering the use of impact statements, but again this would be on a much narrower basis than in the US.
Mediterranean Monitoring Scientists and experts from 15 countries: Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey and Yugoslavia, meeting in Geneva inDecember, agreed on a coordinated programme of measfiring pollution levels on beaches and in coastal waters used for swimming and growing shellfish. 61