摘要:The twenty-first century has witnessed the increasingly important role played by the oceans in human lives.Yet,wastes are being dumped into oceans deliberately,and the marine environment and resources are seriously contaminated as a result of the oceanic and coastal operational accidents,as well as the natural disasters.Due to various factors,the understanding of the concept of ocean dumping differs from each other,some of which being lopsided,making it imperious to clarify the meaning of ocean dumping.The understanding on ocean dumping has experienced a historical transition from being embryonic,developing and mature stages,as is embodied in the domestic legislations on ocean dumping worldwide.In the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and 1972 London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter,the concept of ocean dumping is updated both in its content and boundary.Currently,China's legislations on ocean dumping are expecting tremendous modifications and therefore,it is of great theoretical and practical value to study the concept of ocean dumping.%海洋在21世纪的人类生活中越来越重要,然而人类故意向海洋倾倒废弃物,海上或沿海操作性事故和自然灾害等使得海洋环境及海洋资源受到严重污染.受各种因素的影响,人类对海洋倾废的理解不尽相同,并存在一些片面的理解,正确揭示海洋倾废概念显得尤为迫切.人类对海洋倾废概念的理解,亦经历了从萌芽、发展到成熟的历史演变,这在世界各国的海洋倾废立法当中得到了充分的体现.《联合国海洋法公约》和《1972年伦敦倾废公约》对海洋倾废概念提出了新的内涵和外延.当前,我国的海洋倾废立法面临着重大修改,研究海洋倾废概念,对我国海洋倾废管理具有重大的理论与实践意义.