and development of the marine and coastal environment of the Went and Central African Region, Natural Resources/Water Series No. 13, m, note 161, p. 23 the 1974 Convention on the prevention of pollution from land-based sources,-LaPelf vol. XIII (1974), p, 352) the 1974 Convention on the protection of the marine environment of the Baltic Sea area, m., p. 546~ the 1976 Convention on the protection of the Mediterranean Sea against pollution, &&J., vol. Xv (1976) p. 290, and its 1980 Protocol, m., vol. XX (1980), p, 8731 and the 1978 Kuwait Regional Convention for co-operation in the protection of the marine environment from pollution, M., vol. XVII (1978), p. 511. JJW The principle of precautionary action has been applied especially in instruments concerning the ozone layer and land-based marine pollution. With regard to the oaone layer, see the 1985 Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, B-# vol. XXVI (1987)r p, 15’3, and its 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, i.k.u., p. 1541. Concerning land-based and other forms of marine pollution, see, e.g. Decision 15127 adopted by the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme at its fifteenth session on 25 May 1989 under the title “Precautionary approach to marine pollution, including waste-dumping at sea”; and the Ministerial Declarations of the Second and Third International Conferences on the Protection of the North Sea (London, 24-25 November 1987 and The Hague, 8 March 1990, respectively), The Ministerial Declarations specify that the precautionary principle entails the taking of action to avoid potentially damaging impacts of dangerous substances (i.e., those that are persistent, toxic or bioaccumulative) “even before a causal link [between emissions and effects] has been established by absolutely clear scientific evidence . . . ‘I, - 156 -relevance, as evidence of a recognition by States of the neceesity of
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing international agreements and conventions related to the protection of the marine and coastal environment, as well as the application of the precautionary principle in these contexts. The text references various international instruments and declarations, indicating a focus on international cooperation and regulation.

**Category**
Natural resources and environment, Science and technology