Abstract:

The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) which is considerd to be a ‘Constitution for Oceans’ provides a legal framework for the governance of oceans on more than one hundred issues. It is regarded as a turning point with respect to protection and preservation of the marine environment which has been traditionally regulated by a variety of international legal treaties and therefore having a fragmented nature. The content of the provisions of UNCLOS with respect to the marine environment has been greatly influenced by the 1972 Stockholm Conference on Human Environment, which was considered to have been a milestone in the development of international environmental politics. The continious interplay between international environmental politics and UNCLOS can also be traced in relation to the 1992 Rio Conference (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development-UNCED) as well. Agenda21, one of the five outcomes of the Rio Conference, represents the most comprehensive document that has been most shaped by UNCLOS. Chapter 17 of Agenda 21, entitled briefly “Protection of the Oceans, All Kinds of Seas, Including Enclosed and Semi-Enclosed Seas and Coastal Areas” which was prepared based on Chapter XII of UNCLOS, goes beyond it and incorporates new dimensions into the marine environmental protection. The purpose of this study is to have a closer look to UNCLOS with respect to the protection of marine and coastal environment including the position of Turkey

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