POLLUTION CONTROL FOR COUNTRIES OF THE BALTIC AND NORTH SEAS

Since the early 1970s, the countries that border the North Sea and Baltic Sea have tried to coordinate their policies to control marine pollution: The Oslo Commission was established in 1974 to control marine dumping in the North Sea; the Paris Commission was established in 1978 to control landbased sources of pollution in the North Sea, the Helsinki Commission was developed in 1980 to control all sources of marine pollution in the Baltic Sea; the North Sea Ministerial Conferences began in 1984; and the Baltic Ministerial Conferences began in 1988. Together, these institutions form a single policy system for the protection of the Baltic and the North seas. Within this system, the countries have successfully developed and applied a growing number of measures to control specific sources of marine pollution. Since 1978, 58 decisions, recommendations, and agreements have been adopted for the North Sea, and 112 have been adopted for the Baltic.

Until 1987, these measures were developed and applied on a substance-by-substance basis, leading to a disorganized and incoherent set of policy efforts. Some substances were regulated according to common emission standards and others by common ambient standards. Although such an approach reflected scientific consensus about environmental capacity, it was slow and unwieldy. Moreover, because they received little public scrutiny and were subject to high industrial influence, many decisions were delayed or were subject to standards that merely satisfied a least-common-denominator approach (acceptable to the most recalcitrant government).

Institutional change contributed to more forceful environmental protection. Following the establishment of the Ministerial Conferences and the spread of environmental concern in the region, international efforts became much more vibrant and stringent. Across-the-board reductions of 50 percent were established for 37 significant pollutants, and 70 percent reductions for dioxins, mercury, cadmium, and lead emissions are required by 1995. Because the institutions amplified and refracted domestic environmental concern, many countries have accelerated or broadened national programs for pollution control. Combined with mounting domestic environmental concern, the high profile North Sea Ministerial Conferences made it difficult for environmental ministers from laggard countries to oppose environmental measures proposed by leader countries.