Oceans of noise - Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

6. Examples of regional and national legal instrumentsprotecting marine wildlife from noise pollutionMark SimmondsA brief review is provided here of some international and national law that relates to cetaceans,disturbance and noise, with particular reference to “whale watching” activities, where concernsabout disturbance are best developed.6.1 The Ligurian Sea SanctuaryIn November 1999, Italy, France and Monaco signed the Agreement that created the “LigurianSea Marine Mammal Sanctuary” (Tethys, 2002). The designated area comprises the Corso-Ligurian Basin and the Golfe du Lion, with Corsica roughly at its centre.The Agreement concluded by the three states clearly took the UN Law of the Sea Convention(LOSC) into account and includes the following in its preamble:“Considering that according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, thearea in question is in part constituted by waters, with respect to which, each of theContracting Parties exercises its sovereignty or jurisdiction.”Article 1c of the Agreement specifically recognises harassment by including it within thedefinition of “take”.In the operative section of the Agreement, Article 6.1 refers to “the fight against any form ofpollution” but then Article 6.2 refers explicitly to “toxic substances”. Article 7a forbidsdeliberate take or intentional disturbance and Article 8 deals with “whale watching”, stating thatit shall be regulated in the Sanctuary.6.2 The Habitats and Species Directive (COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992)This is certainly the most important and far reaching environmental legislation in force within theEuropean Community. Like all other EU Directives, the requirements of the Directive should beenacted via the laws of European Union member states and some of its provisions have yet to befully interpreted. The Directive provides two forms of protection for cetaceans and other marinewildlife.Article 2 explains that“The aim of the Directive shall be to contribute towards ensuring biodiversity through theconservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora in the European territory ofthe member states, to which the treaty applies.”Article 3 then requires that“A coherent European network of special areas of conservation shall be set up… hostingthe natural habitat types listed in Annex I and habitats of the species listed in Annex II.”63