Integrated management of marine biodiversity in Europe: Perspectives from ICZM and the evolving EU Maritime Policy framework

Biological diversity, or biodiversity, is high on the international agenda for nature conservation. Marine and coastal ecosystems account for an important share of the biological diversity on Earth. As a consequence many international conventions, European legislation and national laws refer to marine biodiversity. The protection of marine biodiversity is a complex legal issue as it requires consideration of geographic (between land and sea), political (between conservation and exploitation), and economic (between fisheries, tourism, intellectual property and many other sectors) factors. Like Matryoshka dolls, marine biodiversity is a heterogeneous notion difficult to address as one discrete area in the development of policy agendas or juridical frameworks. In the past decade, the EU has been very active in Promoting Integrated Coastal Zone Management and in developing a framework for an Integrated Maritime Policy. This article reviews the status of marine biodiversity in the policy and legal initiatives of the European Union, a challenging issue to both the objectives of conservation and to the concept of integration.     

EU marine policy on the move: The tension between fisheries and maritime policy

In the past decade, the European Commission has developed the Marine Strategy Directive and the Maritime Policy. Both policies aim at governing the marine environment; yet the two policies have a differing signature in policy formulation and implementation. From a fisher's perspective these policies present a change in institutional setting; major policy measures no longer descend from the EU Common Fisheries Policy alone, but increasingly are derived from general environmental policy developments. In this paper, the policy arrangement approach is used to analyse the differences between the two maritime policies, and the way in which they can affect fisheries management.     

An ecosystem-based framework for governance and management of maritime cultural heritage in the USA

A new federal administration, alongside initiatives proposed by the President's US Commission on Ocean Policy, provides a timely and critical opportunity for maritime archaeologists and cultural resource managers to re-consider management frameworks for maritime cultural heritage in the USA. Policy is urgently needed that defines governments’ roles and responsibilities in protecting and managing maritime cultural heritage in federal waters. Implementation of a regional governance structure based on the tenets of ecosystem-based management is proposed in this paper to manage and develop these resources effectively. Through regional governance, the maritime heritage of the USA can be conserved for future generations, keeping its citizens connected to deep-rooted maritime traditions and contribute to the well-being, economic growth and development of coastal communities.     

Social responsibility in shipping

This paper discusses the effects of competition in shipping, noting recent gains for the consumers of shipping services, a variety of strategies for investors in shipping and some of the effects on seamen. The dangers of monopolistic effects in ports are described and there is a discussion of the externalities involved in maritime safety, including pollution. The current regulatory regime, particularly the involvement of classification societies, is criticised and it is suggested that lessons can be learnt from other industries.     

International legal options for the control of biofouling on international vessels

Shipping represents a threat as a vector for the transfer of non-indigenous marine species through the discharge of ballast water and biofouling of vessels’ external structures and internal piping. While considerable attention has been given to the management of ballast water, there currently exists no international legal instrument with which to control biofouling.A number of existing legal mechanisms may be applicable in the context of coastal States’ rights under international law. However, existing mechanisms are insufficient to regulate all aspects of the biofouling problem to ensure comprehensive management of the issue. There is, therefore, a need for the development of a comprehensive international agreement to address this gap. The issue of biofouling on international vessels has now been included on the work programme of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). As a contribution to discussions on how to address this particular issue at an international level, this article provides an analysis of the options available through the IMO to address this issue.Having defined the specific “threat scenario” with regard to hull fouling, the article will consider: (i) the international legal framework that has been established to regulate the harmful impacts of international shipping; (ii) the range of practical measures that are available to manage biofouling on vessels; and (iii) international legal options available to States to address the threat of biofouling posed by international shipping.     

广州是华南海上丝绸之路最早的始发港(Ⅱ)

华南海上丝绸之路最早的始发港是番禺(广州),主要依据:①番禺区位优越,腹地巨大,具备优良自然条件;②番禺地区古越族有纺织传统,秦汉时种桑、养蚕、缫丝,丝织业发达;③古越族的造船技术先进,所造的海船备舵和帆;④古越族习水行舟,有远航和外贸传统;⑤番禺城在878～111BC一直是岭南区域首府,成为区域政治、文化和经济中心.番禺在秦汉时期是中国9大城市之一,文献显示,华南海上丝路在4世纪BC已通向印度.据考古学研究,广州西汉南越王赵眜墓陪葬的贵重物品有大量丝绸,以及来自东南亚、伊朗、非洲和意大利的进口货,说明华     

Prospects for satellite imagery of insular features and surrounding marine habitats in the South China Sea

This paper investigates the extent to which remote sensing data can contribute to the management of two parallel crises in the South China Sea (SCS); first the ongoing disputes related to islands and related maritime boundaries and second the degradation of the marine environment and the decrease in fish stocks. It demonstrates that remote sensing surveys are the only means to lawfully collect independent and verifiable geographic data on the disputed features without the need to consult all the claimants and thereby add to regional frictions and tensions. These surveys can contribute to the determination of whether these features are submerged or above water at high tide and what their physical characteristics are. This would inform the application of the Law of the Sea and help determine entitlements to maritime zones and thus access to resources. The other category of uses for remote sensing surveys which is explored is the identification and classification of marine habitats and the building of a biogeographic platform. This paper shows the limits created by unavoidable uncertainties in the interpretation of satellite imagery. However, many benefits outweigh the downsides: the potential for national and regional marine spatial planning, for the prioritization of marine environments in need of management, for the implementation by the States bordering the SCS of the international treaties which they have ratified and for ecological monitoring.     

Environmental justice implications of Maritime Spatial Planning in the European Union

This paper examines the implications of environmental justice in the regime for Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) currently developing in the European Union (EU). An ‘ecosystem-based approach’ to marine management is enshrined in the new Integrated Maritime Policy and Marine Strategy Framework Directive and forms the basis of MSP. This concept is intended to encompass all aspects of an ecosystem, including the human element. Yet the modes of including meaningful public participation in the decision-making process for MSP remain undetermined. At the same time, the Aarhus Convention (on access to information, public participation in decision making and access to justice in environmental matters) empowers non-governmental organisations to hold EU Member States to account. Consequently the issue of transparency will gain increased importance, as will linkages between human and environmental rights. Such public interest-based activism on the part of NGOs has the potential to enforce the developing framework for stakeholder engagement within MSP, but it also has implications worth considering regarding the appropriate role of interest-based organisations in the international political arena.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book Reviewed in this article: Hillslope Processes. Binghamton Symposia in Geomorphology International Series: 16. Athol D. Abrahams , ed. The Atlas of Central America and the Caribbean. The Diagram Group . The Cultural Atlas of Islam. Isma'il R. al Faruqi and Lois Lamaya'al Faruqi . Atlas of Israel Contemporary Africa: Development, Culture and the State. Morag Bell . Fundamentals of Physical Geography. David Briggs and Peter Smithson . The Bicentennial Census: New Directions for Methodology in 1990. Constance F. Citro and Michael L. Cohen , eds . World Patterns of Modern Urban Change: Essays in Honor of Chauncy D. Harris. Michael P. Conzen , ed . New Directions for Agriculture and Agricultural Research: Neglected Dimensions and Emerging Alternatives. Kenneth A. Dahlberg , ed . Water Resources Atlas of Florida. E.A. Fernald and D.J. Patton , eds . Landscape Ecology. R.T.T. Forman and M. Godron . The Myth of the North American City: Continentalism Challenged. Michael Goldberg and John Mercer . The Permafrost Environment. Stuart A. Harris . Climate and Circulation of the Tropics. Stefan Hastenrath . The Island of South Georgia. Robert Headland . The Making of Urban Europe, 1000-1950. Paul M. Hohenberg and Lynn Hollen Lees . Bombay in Transition: The Growth and Social Ecology of a Colonial City, 1889–1980. Meera Kosambi . Plant Closings; Public or Private Choices? Richard B. McKenzie , ed . Malaysia: Tradition, Modernity and Islam. R.S. Milne and Diane K. Mauzy . Technology on the Frontier: Mining in Old Ontario. Dianne Newell . The Maritime Political Boundaries of the World. J.R.V. Prescott . Tall Office Buildings in the United States. James W. Pygman and Richard Kateley (Real Estate Research Corporation). Technology, Regions, and Policy. John Rees , ed . The United States and the Regional Organization of Asia and the Pacific: 1965-1985. W.W. Rostow . Renewable Energy: Progress, Prospects. Stephen W. Sawyer Wisconsin Foundations. Gwen Schultz . Dwelling, Place and Environment: Towards a Phenomenology of Person and World. David Seamon and Robert Mugerauer , eds . Power and Place: Canadian Urban Development in the North American Context. Gilbert A. Stelter and Alan F.J. Artibise , eds . Small Firms in Regional Economic Development: Britain, Ireland and the United States. D. J. Storey , ed . Mathematical Methods in Human Geography and Planning. A. G. Wilson and R. J. Bennett . El Niño North: Niño Effects on the Eastern Subarctic Pacific Ocean. W. S. Wooster and D. L. Fluharty , eds . The Soviet Iron and Steel Industry. Craig ZumBrunnen and Jeffrey Osleeb .     

“21世纪海上丝绸之路”集装箱海运网络的脆弱性变化

为探究“21世纪海上丝绸之路”集装箱海运网络在蓄意攻击下的脆弱性变化情况,基于蓄意攻击下集装箱海运网络的地理空间联系变化和网络分裂过程,提出了集装箱海运网络崩溃临界点的识别方法,进而建立了集装箱海运网络脆弱性变化趋势和程度的量化方法,并利用2015年和2019年海上丝绸之路中港口和航线的统计数据构建网络进行分析。结果表明：2015年和2019年“海上丝路”网络的蓄意攻击承受能力分别为4.21%和5.51%,说明2019年的“海上丝路”海运网络比2015年更加强壮,其相对变化率为30.88%;“海上丝路”网络脆弱性变化的驱动机制主要包括港口层级结构的差异性减弱、关键港口备份机制日趋完备、东亚和东南亚与其他区域间的集装箱海运联系更加紧密等。最后,从持续保障中国与“海上丝路”沿线各国集装箱海运互联互通的角度,提出了相应的对策和建议。研究成果对于揭示“海上丝路”海运网络的脆弱性变化及其驱动机制和影响因素,进而有针对性的持续保障该网络的互联互通,具有重要的理论意义和实用价值,且本文的分析方法对其他运输网络脆弱性变化的相关研究也可提供借鉴。