The international legal framework for the management of the global oceans social-ecological system

This paper evaluates the international agreements in place for the protection of the environment and the regulation of human activities taking place in world's oceans and seas. 500 multilateral agreements were reviewed against a framework of reference, grounded on the theoretical approaches of Adaptive Management and Transition Management. According to this framework, oceans complex systems management should: (1) consider the global oceans as a Social-Ecological System (SES); (2) aim to achieve or maintain their ecological resilience; and (3) implement iterative, learning-based management strategies, supported by science-based advice to policy and management. The results show that the present international legal framework for the global oceans does not require countries to adopt an adaptive, complex systems approach for global oceans ecological resilience. Instead, this study supports the perspective of a double fragmentation among international agreements. First, global agreements focus on issue-based objectives for determined human activities, ecological components or anthropogenic pressures. Second, regional agreements have a wider scope, but also a varying level of inclusion of ecological resilience considerations. There is the need to foster the inclusion of such an approach into existing and future international agreements and their implementation, including through soft-law, project-based initiatives at global and regional scales.     

北极地区国家在《联合国海洋法公约》下的权利义务及其与地理不利国家之间的关系

随着全球气候变暖,北极地区丰富的自然资源和独特的地理区位使其战略价值一时凸显。环北极国家为了该地区丰富的自然资源和战略优势展开了一系列行动,也产生了一系列争端。除了北极八国间存在着主权与主权权利的争端外,各地理不利国家也纷纷依据《联合国海洋法公约》的相关规定主张其在北极地区应有的权利和利益,由此加重了北极地缘政治关系的复杂性。鉴于现有的北极多边法律文件以及环北极国家行使主权的实践,在"人类共同继承"原则下,亟需澄清环北极国家在《联合国海洋法公约》下的权利义务,进而协调好它们与包括中国在内的地理不利国家之间的关系。     

The negotiations for a binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond national jurisdiction

The conservation of marine biological diversity has been identified as a crucial issue in need of legal regulation. The UNCLOS does not sufficiently address all issues relevant to viably conserve biological diversity. Legal developments concerning marine genetic resources, area-based management tools such as marine protected areas, environmental impact assessment and capacity building are being discussed as elements of a new implementing agreement. In particular, more precise legal rules concerning marine protected areas beyond national jurisdiction are needed to supplement the frame left by UNCLOS. As concerns the issue of access to genetic resources and the sharing of benefits the UNCLOS regime has gaps because the relevant activities had not been foreseen at the time of the convention's adoption. Divergent views exist as to whether the concept of the common heritage of mankind should be extended to genetic resources.     

Ecosystem-based marine spatial management: Review of concepts, policies, tools, and critical issues

Conventional sectoral management and piecemeal governance are considered less and less appropriate in pursuit of sustainable development. Ecosystem based marine spatial management (EB-MSM) is an approach that recognizes the full array of interactions within an ecosystem, including human uses, rather than considering single issues, species, or ecosystem services in isolation. Marine spatial planning and ocean zoning are emerging concepts that can support EB-MSM. EB-MSM is driven by high-level goals that managers aim to achieve through the implementation of measures. High-level goals and objectives need to be translated into more operational objectives before specific targets, limits and measures can be elaborated.Monitoring, evaluation and adaptation are necessary to ensure that marine management measures are both effective and efficient. Solid monitoring frameworks are the foundation of adaptive management, as they provide the necessary information to evaluate performance and the effectiveness of management actions. Marine protected areas (MPAs) - possibly set up in networks - constitute a key component in EB-MSM policies and practises and have been applied as a cornerstone in conservation of marine biodiversity, management of fish populations, development of coastal tourism, etc. Moreover, MPA experiences have provided methods and concepts (such as zoning) to a wider EB-MSM context. The assignment of values to biophysical features of the marine environment allows the direct assessment of related management choices and may assist EB-MSM.A range of monetary valuation techniques have been proposed to reduce attributes of goods and services to a single metric. However, in the marine environment such an approach is often over simplistic, and thus less reductive techniques may be necessary. Rather than producing a single metric, the results of non-monetary assessments guide policy allowing weight to be given as necessary to potential areas of conflict and consensus.Strategies to take into account climate change effects and geohazard risks in EB-MSM have been applied or proposed worldwide. EB-MSM regimes must be alert to such risks and flexible to account for changes.     

Geological structures of ridges with relation to the definition of three types of seafloor highs stipulated in Article 76

The ridge like seafloor highs with various geological origins can be classed into mid-ocean ridges,transverse ridges related to transform faults,hot spot/mantle plume originated ridges,microcontinent rifted from major continent,intra-plate arc formed by interaction of two oceanic plates,and tectonic ridges uplifted by later tectonic activity.Those ridges moved towards the convergent continental margins along with the underlain plate drifting and formed so-called accreted ridges commonly trending at a high angle to the continental margins.At divergent continental margins,the continental crusts were extended and thinned accompanying with magmatism,which formed high terrains protruding or parallel to the coastal line.The ridges worldwide have various origins and the crustal thicknesses and structures of them are diversity.The crusts beneath the microcontinents,and the transverse ridges along the transform margin,and the seafloor highs beside the passive continental margins are continental,while the crusts of other ridges are oceanic.Article 76 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) has classed the seafloor highs worldwide into three legal categories,namely oceanic ridges,submarine ridges and submarine elevations,for the purpose to delineate the outer limit of the coastal States’ continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles.To define the categories of the legal seafloor highs to which the ridges with various geological origins belong,the continuities in morphology and geology including the rock types,crustal structures,origins and tectonic setting of the ridges and the coastal States’ land mass with its submerged prolongation should be taken into account.If a ridge is continuous both in morphology and geology with the coastal States’ land mass and its submerged prolongation,it is a submarine elevation stipulated in Article 76.If it is discontinuous in morphology,the ridge should be regarded as oceanic ridges.If a ridge is continuous in morphology but discontinuous in geology with the coastal States’ land mass and its submerged prolongation,then it is a submarine ridge as stipulated in Article 76.     

Bio-logging of marine migratory species in the law of the sea

The use of advanced and emerging remote data-collection technologies, and in particular bio-logging of marine migratory species, raises fundamental questions about the scope of authority of coastal states to regulate marine scientific research in the waters under their jurisdiction. Bio-logging involves the attachment of devices to marine animals that collect and transmit data about their movements and aspects of the local marine environment, and is now routinely used by marine scientists to support conservation programs and augment oceanographic data collection. Tagged marine life, including seabirds, marine mammals, sea turtles and pelagic fishes, may interact unpredictably with the territorial seas and exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of numerous coastal states. This article explores the legal implications of bio-logging within the legal regime of marine scientific research in the law of the sea. Although bio-logging is a form of marine scientific research, when it is initiated outside a coastal state׳s jurisdiction it does not later fall within it, even if the tagged animals subsequently enters a coastal state׳s territorial sea or EEZ.     

Bio-logging as marine scientific research under the law of the sea: A commentary responding to James Kraska,Guillermo Ortuño Crespo,David W. Johnston,bio-logging of marine migratory species in the law of the sea,Marine Policy 51 (2015) 394–400

Rapid advances in attaching miniaturized electronic devices to marine animals for the purpose of learning more about their behavior and interaction with the marine environment, known as bio-logging, raise important and unsettled questions under the international law of the sea. Part XIII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) provides coastal states with the right to regulate and authorize marine scientific research in offshore areas under their sovereignty and jurisdiction. In their recent article published in this journal, James Kraska, Guillermo Ortuño, and David W. Johnston, assert that although bio-logging is a form of marine scientific research, Part XIII of UNCLOS does not apply to tagged animals that collect scientific information within a coastal state’s 200 mile exclusive economic zone, territorial sea, or internal waters. This commentary rejects Kraska et al.'s interpretation and provides evidence to support the claim that coastal state consent under Part XIII of UNCLOS may, under some circumstances, apply to bio-logging. In light of the immense scientific contributions that bio-logging research provide to global marine conservation efforts and the possible burdens that may be imposed on researchers if coastal states begin to assert their rights under UNCLOS, it is important that the international community engage in a robust and candid discussion of the issue and develop a consensus-based approach on how best to move forward.     

Identifying new pathways for ocean governance: The role of legal principles in areas beyond national jurisdiction

This paper seeks to illustrate the role of principles in an emerging regime for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). While certainly not a standalone solution for a complex issue, principles nonetheless serve an essential function in regime-building, bridging legal and governance processes to identify new ways forward. Given the fundamental questions of international law at hand – the restriction of the freedoms of the high seas, the nature of UNCLOS as a “living instrument” and the need to engage in innovative practice spanning law and governance – it comes as no surprise that discussions on the future of ABNJ have been highly polarized. Principles offer points of convergence to address both the “regulatory gaps” and “implementation gaps” identified and serve the structural needs of both law and governance to produce dynamic change in the protection of marine biodiversity in ABNJ. Through their function as precursors to rules, principles prepare a common space for the emergence of a regime and give it a set of mechanisms through which it can strengthen its connections to the diversity of instruments and institutions involved in addressing a multifaceted problem. A statement of principles to strengthen the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in ABNJ – many of which constitute customary international law – would therefore be a logical and constructive next step in this on-going process.     

Innovating for change in global fisheries governance: an introduction

On 23 September 2016, a workshop entitled “Innovating for change in global fisheries governance” was held in Tromsø, hosted by the K. G. Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea (JCLOS) at the Faculty of Law of UiT, The Arctic University of Norway. The aim of the workshop was to address the following question: How can international law be used as an innovative mechanism for change in global fisheries governance? Seven of the papers presented at the workshop, each one addressing a particular aspect of this overarching question, are published here in this special issue of Marine Policy.     

Comparative review of marine mammal guidance implemented during naval exercises

This article reviews the types and effectiveness of marine mammal mitigation measures used during some naval activities worldwide. The three main standard methods used to mitigate the potential impacts of naval sonar sound on marine mammals are (1) time/area planning (of exercises/active sonar use) to avoid marine mammals; (2) implementation of operational procedures (e.g. ‘soft start’ - where sound levels are gradually increased over time); and (3) monitoring of animals for the purpose of maintaining an ‘exclusion zone’ around the sound source. Suggestions towards a minimum worldwide mitigation standard are made.