Marine and Coastal Environmental Law: Marine Pollution, UNCLOS, Coastal Ecosystems, Marine Protected Areas, Deep-Sea Mining and the Blue Economy

India has a coastline of over eleven thousand kilometres (as remeasured in 2024), an exclusive economic zone of about two million square kilometres, island territories in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep, and millions of people who depend on fisheries. Its seas face sewage and industrial effluents, oil spills, plastic, destruction of mangroves and coral reefs, coastal erosion and now proposals for seabed mining. Marine environmental law combines the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and IMO conventions with domestic laws on shipping, water pollution, coastal regulation, wildlife and biodiversity. This note gathers them into one framework.

1. Marine Environmental Law: Framework

The principal sources are:

• UNCLOS (1982), ratified by India in 1995, especially Part XII (protection and preservation of the marine environment) and Part XI (the deep seabed 'Area');
• IMO conventions on ship-source pollution: MARPOL 73/78, the Civil Liability (1992) and Fund (1992) Conventions for oil pollution, the Bunker Convention (2001), the OPRC Convention (1990) on preparedness, the Ballast Water Convention (2004), the Anti-Fouling Systems Convention, the Nairobi Wreck Removal Convention (2007) and the Hong Kong Convention on ship recycling;
• the Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and Other Maritime Zones Act, 1976, which gives India jurisdiction to protect the marine environment in its zones;
• the Merchant Shipping Act, 2025, which replaced the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 and incorporates MARPOL, the civil liability and bunker oil conventions, and wreck removal;
• the Coast Guard Act, 1978, under which the Indian Coast Guard is the central coordinating authority for oil spill response under the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan;
• the Water Act, 1974 (whose definition of 'stream' includes sea and tidal waters to the extent notified) and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, including the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 2019 and the Island Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 2019;
• the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 for marine species and protected areas; State marine fishing regulation Acts; and the Offshore Areas Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act, 2002; and
• the BBNJ Agreement on marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction, in force from 17 January 2026.

2. Marine Pollution

The definition is broad: it covers substances and energy (including heat and noise), direct and indirect introduction, and harm that is merely likely. UNCLOS identifies six sources: land-based, seabed activities under national jurisdiction, activities in the Area, dumping, vessels, and the atmosphere. In its 2024 advisory opinion, ITLOS held that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are marine pollution under this definition.

2.1 Land-based marine pollution

About eighty per cent of marine pollution originates on land: untreated sewage from coastal cities, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff carrying fertilisers and pesticides (causing eutrophication and dead zones), river-borne plastic, and debris. Article 207 of UNCLOS requires States to adopt laws to prevent, reduce and control land-based pollution. In India, the Water Act and EPA discharge standards, the CRZ Notification, 2019 (which prohibits discharge of untreated sewage and effluents in the coastal zone and requires treatment facilities), the Solid Waste and Plastic Waste Rules, and the NGT's orders on coastal city sewage are the main tools. Enforcement is weak: many coastal cities still discharge large volumes of untreated sewage.

2.2 Oil pollution

Oil enters the sea from tanker accidents, operational discharges, offshore platforms, pipelines and refineries. It smothers marine life, kills seabirds and fish, damages mangroves and beaches, and ruins fishing livelihoods. The Civil Liability Convention (1992) makes the shipowner strictly liable for oil pollution damage from tankers, up to limits, backed by compulsory insurance, with the Fund Convention providing supplementary compensation; the Bunker Convention extends similar liability to fuel oil from other ships. India is party to these conventions and has incorporated them in merchant shipping law. Notable Indian incidents include the MSC Chitra collision off Mumbai (2010), the Ennore spills near Chennai (2017 and the 2023 spill after Cyclone Michaung, taken up suo motu by the NGT), and the sinking of the container ship MSC Elsa 3 off Kerala in May 2025, which spilled plastic nurdles and posed an oil and chemical risk; the Kerala High Court allowed the State to arrest a vessel of the same operator as security for its claim for environmental damage.

2.3 Ship-based pollution

MARPOL 73/78 is the main convention on pollution from ships. Its six Annexes regulate oil (I), noxious liquid substances (II), harmful substances in packaged form (III), sewage (IV), garbage including plastics (V) and air pollution and GHG emissions (VI). It sets discharge standards, requires equipment and record books, designates special areas with stricter rules, and relies on flag State and port State enforcement. Article 211 of UNCLOS gives coastal States power to adopt laws against vessel pollution in their territorial sea and EEZ, and Article 220 allows them to inspect and detain vessels in cases of serious pollution. Ballast water (spreading invasive species), anti-fouling paints (tributyltin), and ship recycling at Alang in Gujarat (now governed by the Recycling of Ships Act, 2019) are related concerns.

2.4 Plastic pollution in oceans

Millions of tonnes of plastic enter the oceans each year, mostly from land via rivers. It entangles turtles, whales and seabirds, is ingested by fish, breaks into microplastics that enter the food chain, and includes ghost nets (abandoned fishing gear). MARPOL Annex V prohibits discharge of plastics from ships. On land, the Plastic Waste Management Rules (single-use plastic ban from July 2022, EPR), coastal clean-up campaigns and waste management at fishing harbours are India's main tools. Negotiations for a global plastics treaty under UNEP (INC sessions at Busan in 2024 and Geneva in 2025) have not yet produced agreement.

3. UNCLOS and the Marine Environment

Part XII of UNCLOS (Articles 192 to 237) is the constitution of the marine environment. Article 192 states the fundamental obligation: 'States have the obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment.' Article 193 affirms the sovereign right to exploit natural resources, but 'in accordance with their duty to protect and preserve the marine environment'. Article 194 requires measures to prevent, reduce and control pollution from any source, including measures to protect rare or fragile ecosystems and habitats of depleted or endangered species. Articles 204 to 206 require monitoring and environmental impact assessment of planned activities. Articles 207 to 212 deal with each source of pollution, and Articles 213 to 222 with enforcement by flag, port and coastal States. Article 235 makes States responsible for fulfilling these obligations and liable in accordance with international law, and requires recourse for prompt and adequate compensation. The ITLOS advisory opinion (2024) and the ICJ advisory opinion (2025) confirm that these duties are of due diligence and extend to climate change.

4. Coastal Regulation and Coastal Ecosystems

4.1 Coastal regulation

Coastal land use is regulated by the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 2019 under the EPA (covered in detail in Topic 21). It divides the coast into CRZ-I (ecologically sensitive areas such as mangroves, coral reefs, sand dunes, turtle nesting grounds, and the intertidal zone), CRZ-II (developed urban areas), CRZ-III (rural areas, with no development zones of 50 or 200 metres from the high tide line), and CRZ-IV (water areas up to twelve nautical miles). It prohibits most new industry in the CRZ, reclamation (with exceptions), discharge of untreated waste and destruction of mangroves, and requires Coastal Zone Management Plans approved by the Centre. The Island Protection Zone Notification applies to the Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands.

4.2 Mangrove conservation

Mangroves are salt-tolerant forests in the intertidal zone, found in the Sundarbans, Bhitarkanika, the Gulf of Kachchh, Mumbai and the Andamans. They protect the coast against cyclones and storm surges, serve as fish nurseries, and store large amounts of blue carbon. Mangroves are CRZ-I areas, and the CRZ Notification requires a buffer of fifty metres around mangrove areas larger than one thousand square metres. Mangroves on government land are treated as forest under the Godavarman definition, attracting forest conservation law. In Bombay Environmental Action Group v. State of Maharashtra (2018), the Bombay High Court imposed a total freeze on destruction of mangroves in Maharashtra, required a 50-metre buffer, and directed that mangroves on government land be declared protected forests. The MISHTI scheme (2023) promotes mangrove plantation.

4.3 Coral reef protection

India's coral reefs are in the Gulf of Mannar, Gulf of Kachchh, Palk Bay, Lakshadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. They are threatened by bleaching from warming seas, sedimentation, destructive fishing, coral mining and pollution. All reef-building corals are listed in Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, giving them the highest protection, so that collection or trade is an offence. Coral reefs are CRZ-I areas, and mining of corals and coral sand is prohibited. Marine National Parks in the Gulf of Mannar and Gulf of Kachchh protect major reefs.

4.4 Coastal erosion

A large part of India's coastline, roughly a third according to the National Centre for Coastal Research, is eroding, due to natural processes, sea-level rise, sand mining, dams that trap river sediment, and ports, groynes and seawalls that interrupt the natural movement of sand. Erosion destroys homes, fishing villages and beaches. The CRZ Notification, 2019 permits erosion control measures and requires demarcation of a hazard line; the Centre has pressed for 'soft' measures such as beach nourishment and dune restoration over 'hard' seawalls that often shift erosion elsewhere. The NGT and High Courts have directed shoreline change studies before approving harbours and coastal structures.

5. Marine Biodiversity and Protected Areas

5.1 Marine biodiversity

Indian seas host corals, seagrasses, mangroves, dugongs, whales and dolphins, sharks and rays, sea turtles, sea cucumbers and thousands of fish species. The Wild Life (Protection) Act protects many marine species, including the dugong, whale shark, several sharks and rays, sea cucumbers, seahorses, giant grouper and all cetaceans. The Biological Diversity Act applies to marine biological resources, and its access and benefit-sharing rules cover marine bioprospecting. The BBNJ Agreement (2023, in force 2026) creates tools for marine protected areas and EIA in the high seas, and benefit-sharing for marine genetic resources.

5.2 Marine protected areas

India has no separate marine protected area law. MPAs are declared under the Wild Life (Protection) Act as national parks, sanctuaries, conservation reserves or community reserves that include marine and coastal areas. Examples are the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park (and Biosphere Reserve), the Gulf of Kachchh Marine National Park, Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park (Andamans), Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary (Odisha), Malvan Marine Sanctuary (Maharashtra) and the Sundarbans. Critics note that India's MPAs cover a small share of its EEZ, focus on coastal areas, and are often in conflict with traditional fishing rights; community-based management is increasingly advocated.

5.3 Sea turtle protection

Five species of sea turtles occur in Indian waters, all listed in Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act. The olive ridley is famous for arribada (mass nesting) at Gahirmatha, Rushikulya and Devi river mouths in Odisha. Threats include trawl nets, beach lighting, coastal development and predation of eggs. The Orissa Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1982 and State orders impose a seasonal ban on fishing within a specified distance of nesting beaches (generally from November to May), mandate turtle excluder devices in trawl nets, and prohibit mechanised fishing in the Gahirmatha sanctuary. Nesting beaches are CRZ-I areas. Courts and the NGT have directed enforcement of these measures and the Coast Guard's Operation Olivia patrols nesting grounds.

6. Deep-Sea Mining: Environmental Issues

The deep seabed contains polymetallic nodules, sulphides and cobalt-rich crusts rich in nickel, cobalt, copper and manganese, minerals needed for batteries. Under Part XI of UNCLOS, the seabed beyond national jurisdiction (the Area) and its resources are the common heritage of mankind (Article 136), administered by the International Seabed Authority (ISA). India was registered as a pioneer investor in 1987 and holds an exploration contract for nodules in the Central Indian Ocean Basin; its Deep Ocean Mission (2021) includes the manned submersible project Samudrayaan. The ISA has not yet adopted the mining code for exploitation, and many States and scientists call for a moratorium or precautionary pause, while the United States in 2025 moved to permit seabed mining unilaterally.

Within India's own waters, the Offshore Areas Mineral (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2023 introduced auctions of offshore mineral blocks, and in November 2024 the Ministry of Mines launched the first auction of thirteen blocks off Kerala (construction sand), Gujarat (lime mud) and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (polymetallic nodules). Kerala's fishers protested that dredging would destroy rocky reefs and fishing grounds. The environmental issues are serious: removal of slow-growing habitats that may never recover, sediment plumes that smother life over large areas, noise and light pollution, loss of unknown species, and disturbance of carbon stored in sediments. The precautionary principle, EIA, and consultation with fishing communities are central legal safeguards.

7. Blue Economy and Environmental Law

The blue economy refers to the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, livelihoods and ocean health. India's draft Blue Economy Policy (2021), the Sagarmala port-led development programme, the Deep Ocean Mission, offshore wind, aquaculture, marine tourism and seabed mining all fall within it. Environmental law requires that the blue economy remain genuinely sustainable: EIA and CRZ clearance for ports and coastal projects, protection of fishers' customary rights, marine spatial planning, protection of MPAs, and alignment with SDG 14 (life below water). The tension between large port and industrial projects and fragile coastal ecosystems, as in the Great Nicobar project and the Vadhavan port, is a recurring theme in litigation before the NGT and High Courts.

8. Critical Appraisal

India's marine environmental law is fragmented across shipping, pollution, coastal, wildlife, mining and fisheries statutes, with no integrated ocean governance law or marine spatial plan. The Merchant Shipping Act, 2025 modernises ship-source pollution law, and the CRZ regime and Wild Life Act give strong formal protection to key habitats. But land-based pollution remains largely uncontrolled, CRZ violations are widespread, MPAs are limited, coastal erosion is accelerating, and new frontiers such as seabed mining and large ports raise risks before adequate baseline science exists. An integrated approach, with community participation and the precautionary principle at its core, is needed.

9. Related Topics and Provisions