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TEXT 1. AIR POLLUTION
Air pollution has been defined as the introduction by man, directly or indirectly, of substances or energy into the air, resulting in deleterious effects of such a nature as to endanger human health, harm living resources and ecosystems and material property, and impair or interfere with amenities and other legitimate uses of the environment. This definition adapts the general concept of pollution, focusing on risk or harm resulting from changes in the environment.
Atmospheric pollution appears in multiple forms, some only recently understood. Domestic and international regulation has evolved as the impacts of each form of pollution have become known.
1) Sulphuric gas of industrial origin, in part converted into sulphate in the troposphere and stratospheric base, becomes sulphuric acid. In addition to its impact on fresh-waters, the acid is returned to the soil in rain, where it attacks the roots of trees.
2) Other pollutants, principally nitrous dioxide (NO2) and emissions from hydrocarbons (HC) combine with sulphuric gases. They are the source of ground-level ozone (O3) during sunny periods. Ozone harms the needles of conifers, particularly the membrane which supports photosynthesis. This is the source of serious damage to trees on western and southern hills and mountains at an altitude near 800 meters. Automobile gas emissions are another major source of pollution, which must be added to pollution caused by power stations and industries utilizing fossil fuels.
3) Particulates, such as ash and heavy metals, corrode buildings, monuments and other objects.
4) Most recently, the impact of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the atmosphere has become a major concern.
Although air pollution was traditionally considered as a local problem, the leading early case in international environmental law concerns transfrontier air pollution. To combat deterioration in air quality, initial measures sought to disperse industrial pollutants through increasing the height of factory smokestacks. The "solution" created new environmental problems: emissions taken to higher atmospheric levels travelled considerable distances on air currents, causing long-range pollution damage. As a result, air pollution was no longer solely a local phenomenon concerning large cities and industrial zones, but was a matter that affected non-industrial countries and agricultural areas often far from the source of the emissions.
There are few global rules establishing air quality or pollution emissions standards. The first binding international rules on global atmospheric pollution are found, perhaps unexpectedly, in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) (Montego Bay, Dec. 10, 1982) According to Article 212, states must adopt laws and regulations to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment from or through the atmosphere. The laws and regulations should apply to the states' airspace, and to vessels and aircraft flying their flag or under their registry. States also must take other measures as necessary to prevent, reduce and control such pollution. On the international level, they must endeavour to establish global and regional rules and procedures. Within the limits of their jurisdiction, they must enforce the laws and regulations they adopt.
Significant progress in air pollution control has been achieved at the regional level. The Geneva Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, adopted on November 13, 1979, is a framework convention open to all European states, the U.S. and Canada. The general obligation of the states parties in Article 2 is to protect humans and the environment against air pollution, and to endeavour to limit and, as far as possible, gradually reduce and prevent it. Long-range transboundary air pollution is defined as air pollution whose physical origin is situated wholly or in part within the area under the national jurisdiction of one State and which has adverse effects in the area under the jurisdiction of another State at such a distance that it is not generally possible to distinguish the contribution of individual emission sources or groups of sources. Obviously, this definition excludes any idea of individual responsibility of the polluter, because that person or entity cannot be identified.
The Convention has been augmented by protocols regulating the emission of different polluting substances: sulphur, nitrogen oxides (NOx) from fixed or mobile sources, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), heavy metals, and ground level ozone.
Another source of atmospheric pollution appeared in the closing years of the twentieth century, when forest fires devastated Brunei and Indonesia, producing a heavy haze that polluted the atmosphere and caused serious health problems not only in the originating countries but also in Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand. In 1997, in response to the problem, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) adopted a Regional Haze Action Plan followed in 2002 by an Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (Kuala Lumpur, June 10, 2003).
The Convention defines haze pollution as smoke resulting from land and/or forest fire which causes deleterious effects of such a nature as to endanger human health, harm living resources, ecosystems and material property, and impair or interfere with amenities and other legitimate uses of the environment. The Agreement aims at preventing and monitoring such pollution, which should be mitigated through concerted national efforts and intensified regional and international cooperation (Art. 2). To that effect, precautionary and preventive measures should be taken, when necessary by developing and implementing international measures aiming at controlling sources of fires, identifying fires, creating monitoring, assessment and early warning systems, exchanging information and technology and providing mutual assistance. The Parties shall take appropriate measures to monitor all fire prone areas, land and/or forest fires, the environmental conditions conductive to such fires and haze pollution arising from them as well as the necessary preventive measures. Technical co-operation should include relevant training, education and awareness raising campaigns, in particular relating to the promotion of zero-burning practices and raising awareness of the impact of haze pollution on human health and the environment. Markets should be developed for the utilization of biomass and appropriate methods to treat agricultural wastes. The Agreement also provides for cooperation and mutual assistance. See also the US-Canada Air Quality Agreement (which addresses acid rain and a range of other transboundary air pollution issues).
TEXT 2. SOIL
Soil is the part of the Earth between its surface and its bedrock. It contains the nutrients necessary for maintenance of plant life and it acts to filter out pollutants before they reach subterranean water sources or enter the food chain. Soil also helps to avoid flooding by absorbing considerable amounts of water. Nearly all soil constitutes a habitat for flora and fauna and in this way contributes to biological diversity. In addition to its natural roles, soil is a primary resource for construction, physical support for structures and of historical evidence on the origins of plants, humans, animals and the Earth.
Soil naturally erodes and degrades, but it is increasingly threatened by excess demands on all the roles it plays. Overuse of soil depletes its nutrients and leads to erosion and desertification. The principal cause of erosion, in most cases an irreversible process, is incorrect management of forests and agricultural lands, principally through intensive and environmentally unsound cutting and farming methods. Erosion can also diminish the ability of soil to prevent and to absorb flooding. Contamination by heavy metals and organic toxic substances, including fertilizers and pesticides, is a particularly serious problem in many parts of the world. Waste, particularly industrial waste, has likewise become a major source of soil contamination. Finally, the surface space of soil is diminishing as it becomes covered by buildings, industrial facilities, and impermeable roads, airport runways, and other artificial surfaces.
Legal protection for the soil is rather recent, although some forestry laws protected trees at least in part to avoid erosion and consequent flooding. Part of the neglect was due to a general perception of soil as an inexhaustible resource.
Owing to the belief that soil degradation did not raise transboundary problems, international legal rules on soil were late in coming and remain relatively rare. After the Council of Europe adopted the European Soil Charter in 1972 (Committee of Ministers, Res. (72)19 of May 30, 1972), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization proclaimed a World Soil Charter on November 25, 1981. Both documents contain guidelines for action and basic principles, advocating the development of land-use programs tending to the best possible use of the land, ensuring long-term maintenance and improvement of its productivity, and avoiding the loss of productive soil. Agenda 21 devoted five chapters to different aspects of soil conservation respectively related to planning and management of land resources, deforestation, desertification, sustainable mountain development and agriculture and rural development.