IMPACT OF MARINE POLLUTION ON SHIPPING OPERATION IN THE SOUTH-SOUTH GEOPOLITICAL ZONE. A RESEARCH PROJECT MATERIAL ON ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
The internationally recognized definition for the marine environment was developed by Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP), currently known as Aspects Of Marine Environmental Protection, which states: ‘Introduction by man, directly or indirectly, of substances or energy into the marine environment (including estuaries) resulting in such deleterious effects as harm to living resources, hazard to human health, hindrance to marine activities, including fishing, impairment of quality for use of sea-water, and reduction of amenities’. Marine pollution is classed as point source or non-point source. Point source pollution occurs when there is a single, identifiable, and localized source of the pollution. That is, “point source” means any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, or vessel or other floating craft, from which pollutants are or may be discharged. An example is directly discharging sewage (i.e. water-carried waste, in solution or suspension, which is intended to be removed from a community, also known as wastewater) and industrial waste into the ocean Non-point source pollution occurs when the pollution comes from ill-defined and diffuse sources. It arises from a broad group of human activities for which the pollutants have no obvious point of entry into receiving watercourses. Obviously, non-point source pollution is much more difficult to measure, identify and control than point sources. These include agriculture tural storm water discharges and return flows from irrigated agriculture, urban runoff (from roofs, streets, parking lots, etc), transportation (roads, railways, pipelines, hydro-electric corridors) etc. Industries and businesses may discharge wastes to street gutters and storm drains. Overloading and malfunction of septic systems lead to surface runoff.
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