This final thesis presents an analysis of the role of the special compensation for salvage in the protection of the marine environment. The text explains the need for the establishment of an adequate system for the payment of special compensation for salvors, an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the existing system, as well as opportunities for progress. The special compensation to which the salvor is entitled according to the 1989 Salvage Convention represents the most significant step in the protection of the marine environment that has been made so far. The traditional salvage reward, to which a separate chapter is dedicated, was not suitable for the system of environmental salvage, especially in cases when it was certain that the salvage operation would not be completed successfully, that is, that a useful result would not be achieved. In addition to the convention solution, this paper also analyzed the possibilities that arose from the private sector, that is, the use of the LOF contract form and the SCOPIC clause. After several serious maritime accidents in the second half of the last century, awareness was raised about the need to improve the salvage system in such a way as to encourage salvors to prevent or reduce the pollution of the marine environment through their actions.