A Study On Fragmentation Of Marine Environmental Impact Assessment Systems

The impact of human activities on the marine environment has been scientifically confirmed,and the protection and preservation of the ocean as an ecological whole is an important subject related to the sustainable development of the ocean.The environmental impact assessment system adopts the method of risk prevention,which is an important tool for the protection and preservation of the marine environment.At present,the protection and preservation of the marine environment mainly adopts a subregional approach.With the enhancement of human capacity for marine exploration and development,the marine environment has been overwhelmed,and the method of subregional protection of the ocean can no longer meet the needs of the protection and preservation of the present marine environment.Marine environmental impact assessment system has the characteristics of fragmentation,global,regional and domestic three layers of environmental impact assessment system coexist,but the process of marine environmental impact assessment system at all levels and regions is not uniform,which affects the effect of marine environmental protection and preservation.In the long run,the marine environmental impact assessment system will eventually be systematized,and the establishment of global international treaties and institutions is the fundamental way to coordinate marine environmental impact assessment systems at all levels and in all regions.The current research on transboundary environmental impact assessment is mostly limited to a certain area of the ocean or a treaty,and lack of research on the environmental impact assessment system from the perspective of the whole marine ecosystem.Therefore,this paper analyzes the fragmentation of marine environmental impact assessment system from the perspective of the whole marine ecosystem,and systematically studies the rules,basic elements and implementation mechanism.The article is divided into seven parts:The introduction part mainly expounds the background and significance of choosing the marine environmental impact assessment system as the research topic,the research situation at home and abroad,and the research contents and methods.Science has shown that the degradation of the marine environment is inextricably linked to human activity.The impact of human activities on the oceans has seriously affected the sustainable development and utilization of the oceans.Human beings are part of the community of marine destiny,and the protection and preservation of the marine environment is to protect human beings themselves.Marine environmental impact assessment is an important tool for the protection and preservation of the marine environment.Studying the fragmentation of marine environmental impact assessment can provide clearer norms for environmental impact assessment for marine activities and promote the global development of marine environmental impact systems.The first chapter introduces the performance,causes and effects of the fragmentation of marine environmental impact assessment system.Marine environmental impact assessment is the application and development of transboundary environmental impact assessment in the marine field.Marine environmental impact assessment has become an obligation under general international law and has rich judicial and regional practices.These practices show that marine environmental impact assessment has fragmentation of legislation,judicial case and regionalization of implementation.The multi-legislation of transboundary environmental impact assessment,the lag of legislation and the regionalization of marine environment and governance lead to the fragmentation of marine environmental impact assessment system.This fragmentation is the norm of marine environmental impact assessment,which will lead to gaps and conflicts in marine environmental governance,difficulties in judicial application,and weaken the implementation effect of marine environmental impact assessment system.Chapter two studies the application of the rules of marine environmental impact assessment.In the context of the current lack of uniform rules on marine environmental impact assessment,emphasis is placed on the analysis of the contents of existing typical international treaties,customary international law,general principles of law and "soft law" documents on marine environmental impact assessment,exploring the relationship between these sources,their respective roles in the marine environmental impact assessment system and their advantages and disadvantages.Chapter three examines the basic elements of the marine environmental impact assessment system.At present,most international instruments dealing with the sea contain provisions on environmental impact assessment,and transboundary environmental impact assessment has become customary international law,but the basic elements of marine environmental impact assessment are not clear enough and quantitative provisions are still lacking.Through a comparative study of international treaties,including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,and the "soft law" document,this part describes the specific content of marine environmental impact assessment from four elements: scope of assessment,damage criteria,content of assessment and stakeholder participation.The damage criteria of transboundary environmental impact assessment in the law of the sea are decreasing,the contents are being refined and the participation of stakeholders is deepening.Recent international treaties and judicial practice have gradually refined the scope and content of marine environmental impact assessments.These new changes are the result of the continuous development of international practice,which in turn will contribute to the further development of the environmental impact assessment system in the protection and preservation of the marine environment.Chapter four explores the implementation mechanism of marine environmental impact assessment.The practice of regional seas projects shows that the implementation of marine environmental impact assessments is uneven.At present,there is still a lack of mandatory implementation mechanism in marine environmental impact assessment,which mainly adopts the procedure-oriented implementation mode,and the domestic procedure-oriented and the international procedure-oriented implementation path coexist.The international approach to the implementation of marine environmental impact assessments includes rights-and collective assistance-oriented law enforcement procedures,political and legal solutions for dispute resolution,and benefit-oriented capacity-building.States,on the basis of their own interests or the interests of mankind as a whole,generally accept rules of international law in their favour and reject rules of international law that are detrimental to them.Moreover,the choice of rules is related to the international community’s collective assistance mechanisms,legal binding,moral binding and the existence of a super-Power.Chapter five looks forward to the systematization of marine environmental impact assessment system.After analyzing the performance,cause,influence,rules,basic elements and implementation mechanism of the fragmentation of the marine environmental impact assessment system,it can be found that the environmental impact assessment presents the trend of globalization.While regional marine environmental impact assessment systems have played an important role,they are moving towards legally binding global treaties.The Espoo Convention is expected to be a uniform norm for transboundary environmental impact assessment systems among countries.Although the Espoo Convention itself has a more rational institutional setting,it faces the challenge of financial and institutional adjustment following the accession of a large number of countries.International instruments for the protection and use of biodiversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction,including marine environmental impact assessments,are being developed.While such an international instrument would not be as difficult as it was when the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was developed,it would be difficult in the short term.Thus,in addition to adopting a global model for the establishment of treaty bodies based on new international instruments,the choice of international institutions beyond areas of national jurisdiction could be to adopt a regional and sectoral model that would strengthen the functions of established regional and sectoral international bodies in a coherent policy-driven manner.In addition,the two models could be integrated with a broader global monitoring and review mechanism,such as strengthening domestic implementation mechanisms and improving State responsibility systems.Overall,the marine environmental impact assessment system is moving towards globalization.The conclusion summarizes the core point of view and points out the role and principles that China should play in marine environmental protection and preservation.