Other Environmental Issues
Ports, necessarily, are located in estuaries or on the coast, often in areas of special scientific interest, outstanding natural beauty or environmental sensitivity. Ports are keenly aware of their environmental responsibilities and performance, and go to great lengths to ensure that their activities inflict as little damage as possible on the environment. Where impact on the environment is inevitable or inescapable, mitigating or compensatory measures are put in place, often at considerable cost to the port.
Significant changes to environmental regulation are now taking place in the UK and the European Union. In Europe, new legislative has recently been agreed on the regulation of hazardous substances in water and the system for classifying ships’ waste and dredged materials. In the UK, new marine legislation has recently been enacted bringing in a new system of marine spatial planning and designed to reduce the bureaucracy surrounding marine development. UKMPG is actively involved in the implementation of this legislation, pressing for the right balance to be struck between protecting and improving the environment and making it easier for ports to bring forward new developments which benefit the economy while respecting the coastal and marine environment.
