Marine environmental protection in mineral resource development in the Arctic zone of Russia

Abstract

International and environmental law in Russia does not provide a preventive and precautionary approach to forestall degradation of the marine environment and the “polluter pays” principle at the present stage. The author proposes supplementing international environmental law in the investigated area with an approach based on the principle that the polluter not only pays but also restores. Improvement of approaches and principles of international law will be the basis for changing Russian legislation and legislation of other countries in order to prevent degradation of the marine environment. After an oil spill, the coastal waters of the seas and their ecosystems are the most vulnerable; therefore, the national legislation of states is primarily interested in legal regulation of marine environmental protection in case of oil and petroleum product spills. The legal obligation on oil and gas producing companies to carry out measures to remediate the marine environment will require them to finance scientific research, search and develop new technologies for the safe development of subsoil resources and restoration of the marine environment. This study is a comprehensive analysis of the scientific research results in the field of biology, environmental protection, protection of water bodies, marine environment, as well as international and Russian environmental law governing relations in the field of marine environment protection during the development of mineral deposits on the continental shelf, internal sea waters, in the territorial sea and the adjacent zone of the Russian Federation.