Restoration Activities in the Marine Environment: Balancing Diverging Perceptions of ‘Risk’

Roland Holst, Rozemarijn J.

Abstract

This Chapter analyses the legal challenges raised by the use of new technologies for marine environmental restoration purposes, using as a case study The Ocean Cleanup’s plastic cleanup activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction. While the objective of both proponents and opponents of such technological “solutions” is ultimately the same – the protection of the marine environment – the underlying conceptions of the “risks” and the “benefits” involved seem to diverge. When seeking guidance from the rule of law on how to assess and balance these different perceptions of risk, challenges arise where uncertainty remains and the law in turn relies on extra-legal knowledge, such as scientific data, to give content to legal standards.

Citation

Roland Holst, R. J. (2023). Restoration Activities in the Marine Environment: Balancing Diverging Perceptions of ‘Risk’. In F. M. Platjouw, & A. Pozdnakova (Eds.), The Environmental Rule of Law for Oceans: Designing Legal Solutions (95-107). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009253741.012

• Online Publication Date: Feb 21, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023-02
• Deposit Date: Nov 10, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 23, 2023
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Pages: 95-107
• Book Title: The Environmental Rule of Law for Oceans: Designing Legal Solutions
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009253741.012
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1643588
• Contract Date: Feb 14, 2022