南极海洋保护区建设及法律政治争论

《南极海洋生物资源养护公约》框架下的海洋保护区建设备受国际社会关注。2009年,南极海洋生物资源养护委员会建立了第一个海洋保护区,但2012年以来,罗斯海海洋保护区提案以及东南极海洋保护区代表体系提案却一直没有进展,其中涉及了南极条约体系解读与海洋保护区定义等法律争论、保护区建设与地缘政治控制以及排斥其他国家渔业活动等政治争论。研究表明,虽然委员会有权建立海洋保护区,以实现养护南极生物资源的目标,但两个提案一定程度上超越了委员会的职责范围;且这两个提案一定程度上都与提案国的南极领土主权以及渔业活动相关联,无法排除其他国家的政治关切;提案每年变化,也体现了政治妥协。因此,为真正实现按公约养护南极生物资源的目标,应切实解决相关的法律与政治关切,提高程序的透明度,扩大参与度,并认真实施对已建立的海洋保护区的研究与监测。

The Practice of Establishing Marine Protected Areas in the Southern Ocean and Related Legal and Political Debates

The practice of establishing marine protected areas (MPAs) within the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources has attracted the attention of the international community. In 2009, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources established its first MPA, the South Orkney Islands southern shelf MPA. However, since 2012, no progress has been made on the Ross Sea MPA proposal and the Eastern Antarctic MPA representative system proposal. Among others, legal concerns such as the interpretation of the Antarctic Treaty System in relation to MPAs and the definition of an MPA, as well as political concerns such as the potential consideration of geopolitics and the exclusion of fishing activities, are sensitive points of debate. Here, a careful study of these legal and political concerns has been conducted. The findings are as follows. The Commission is mandated to establish an MPA to achieve the objective of conserving Antarctic marine living resources. However, the objectives of both proposals are, to some extent, beyond that competency. Both proposals are related to claimed Antarctic territories and fishing activities of proponents; thus, the political concerns were unresolvable. It is suggested that to achieve the objective of the Convention, the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources, measures must be taken to resolve the associated legal and political concerns, increase the transparency of the procedures, expand engagement, and fully implement the research and monitoring plans of established MPAs.