Researchers from the UJI and the UA defend the integration of the impacts of marine noise pollution in international criminal law with an analysis from ecocriminology (IMAGE)
Caption
In an article published in the journal Kriminologie, a team of researchers from the universities of Castelló and Alicante suggest that the effects of underwater noise pollution should be included in international criminal and administrative law.
Anthropogenic noise can be not only a serious public health problem, but also a significant stressor for marine and terrestrial life. Scientific evidence has shown that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between underwater noise pollution and the development of some species, and although it has been identified by the World Health Organisation as one of the world's most important pollutants, comprehensive strategies to address its impact on the marine environment have only been developed in the last decade.
After analysing international legislation on the subject, the team believes that this type of pollution "needs to be addressed in a single but integrated approach" because even if the activities are authorised, their effects can be difficult to reverse. In their view, "the law must deal with the protection of the environment in a comprehensive manner" and develop a model of protection that includes administrative sanctions, but also criminal sanctions in very serious cases.
The article "Underwater noise pollution as an ecological crime: a global problem in the Anthropocene", signed by Esteban Morelle-Hungría of the UJI's Centre for Research in Criminal Law, Criminology and Intelligence; Eva S. Fonfría, John Y. Dobson and Cesar Bordehore of the Multidisciplinary Institute for the Study of the Environment "Ramon Margalef", the Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Bromatology and the Department of Ecology, respectively, of the University of Alicante, which analyses the legislation on the subject, has been selected by a jury of scientists as the best article of 2023 in the scientific journal Kriminologie - The Online Journal.
Credit
Universitat Jaume I of Castellon
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