Environmental protection of the high seas and international maritime organization

The seas are resources that cover more than 70% of the Earth's surface and have many biological and economic benefits.1 These benefits depend on ocean processes and marine biodiversity. The seas, which are essential for the ecosystem, are polluted by various factors and are at risk of losing a significant part of their function in the near future. Among all existing maritime law regulations, the global commons, the high seas, which is the subject of our study, is undoubtedly the least protected environment under the existing maritime environmental law. 2 Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the environmental protection of the high seas within the framework of existing regulations. In our study, firstly, the definition and scope of the high seas will be explained, and then the sources and pollutants polluting the seas will be discussed both for all marine areas and for high seas areas separately. The objectives of the study are to examine the problem of marine pollution, which is discussed in Chapter 1, and to examine the efforts for the environmental protection and conservation of the high seas in Chapter 2. The first and most important of these efforts are the international conventions protecting the high seas. The responsibilities of States in relation to the high seas have largely been addressed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The most important contribution of the Convention on Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction, which is a relatively new regulation, regarding the high seas is the provision of large protected areas. The protection of the high seas is essentially a matter of governance. Therefore, international organizations as governance mechanisms are discussed together with their contributions to the protection of the high seas. In the third and final part of our study, the organs, fields of activity, contributions of the International Maritime Organization, which is the most effective governance organization in the protection of the high seas, and its integration with other international conventions and international organizations that contribute to the protection of the high seas will be examined.