Towards Principled Oceans Governance

Australia and Canada have been at the forefront of efforts to operationalize integrated oceans and coastal management. Throughout the 1990s both countries devoted considerable effort to developing strategies to give effect to international ocean management obligations. This key book focuses on principles of marine environmental conservation and management, maritime regulation and enforcement, and regional maritime planning and implementation. With contributions from respected scholars, this informative book collectively assesses the obligations, compliance, implementation and trends in international ocean law, particularly in giving effect to an Oceans Policy, regional maritime planning, international oceans governance, and maritime security. This book will be of interest to all academics involved with maritime studies and international law.

The sea change towards principled oceans governance / Donald R. Rothwell and David L. VanderZwaag -- Beyond the buzzwords : a perspective on integrated coastal and ocean management in Canada / Aldo Chircop and Larry Hildebrand -- Operationalizing integrated coastal and oceans management in Australia : the challenges / Veronica Sakell -- The application of compliance and enforcement strategies on Canada's Pacific coast / Francois Bailet, Janna Cumming, and Ted L. McDorman -- Integrated maritime enforcement and compliance in Australia / Sam Bateman. [et al.] -- Canada and the precautionary principle/approach in ocean and coastal management : wading and wandering in tricky currents / David L. VanderZwaag, Susanna D. Fuller, and Ransom A. Myers -- Australia and the precautionary principle : moving from international principles to domestic and local implementation / Lorne K. Kriwoken, Liza D. Fallon, and Donald R. Rothwell -- Marine ecosystem management : is the whole greater than the sum of the parts? / Bruce G. Hatcher and Roger H. Bradbury -- Ecosystem bill of rights / Richard J. Beamish and Chrys-Ellen M. Neville -- Community involvement in marine and coastal management in Australia and Canada / Marian Binkley. [et al.] -- Aboriginal title and oceans policy in Canada / Dianna Ginn -- Canada's seas and her first nations : a colonial paradigm revisited / Russ Jones -- Indigenous rights in the sea : the law and practice of native title in Australia / Geoff Clark -- Aboriginal peoples and ocean policy in Australia : an indigenous perspective / Rodney Dillon -- The challenge of international oceans governance : institutional, ethical, and conceptual dilemmas / Douglas M. Johnston.

This Special Issue is designed to discuss and examine relevant legal issues concerning ocean governance in the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the long-lasting benefits of the international community. It will cover, inter alia, the safety of navigation and maritime security, the sustainable use of marine resources (living and non-living), marine environmental protection, climate change, and marine scientific research.

This volume reviews and critiques efforts to recast governance of marine fisheries on the basis of sustainability principles (e.g., precautionary and ecosystem approaches), with a focus on Canada’s transboundary fisheries management arrangements, and surveys international laws and policy developments governing transboundary fisheries.

Ocean—a source of life, has been overused and heavily polluted. While the traditional approaches might not be able to solve the complexity of the ocean governance issues, there is a need to adopt a new way of thinking in order to deal with the current problems. This book emphasises the importance of law and policy while generating ocean governance initiatives. “Good Ocean Governance” as a new way of thinking, needs to be supported by legislation and decision makers. It is, therefore, necessary to examine whether the idea of good ocean governance exists within the international legal system and is subsequently subject to transfer into the domestic law. During this transaction process, a number of examples provided from the United States, Canada and Australia help to demonstrate the broad picture. Also included are discussions on the governance of marine resources, ship recycling and marine pollution, the impact of maritime clusters as well as social and culture impact of ports. The ultimate aim of this book is to tease out more new ideas and discussions on ocean governance issues.

This book provides a blueprint for an International Legally Binding Instrument (ILBI) for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). The development of an ILBI could signify a pivotal turning point in the law of the sea by addressing regulatory, governance and institutional gaps and deficiencies in the existing international law framework for BBNJ. This book analyses the essential components an ILBI will require to effectively conserve and sustainably use BBNJ, focusing on marine genetic resources, areabased management tools, environmental impact assessments, capacity-building and marine technology transfer. It investigates potential areas of compromise, as the success of an ILBI will rely upon the support of a powerful bloc of maritime States, principally the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, the Netherlands, France and Japan. The participation of major maritime powers will be critical as it is their nationals, corporations and flag vessels that have the financial and technical wherewithal to undertake activities beyond national jurisdiction. This bloc of States has historically been the strongest proponent of the Grotian doctrine of ‘freedom of the seas’ as it aligns with their predominant interest to preserve navigational freedom for their merchant and military fleets. Accordingly, this book assesses the extent to which the Grotian doctrine continues to exert influence on the development of the law of the sea and the development of an ILBI. Providing a comprehensive overview of this important development in international law, this book will be of interest to students, lecturers and academics of law of the sea, international environmental law and biodiversity law.

'This book is recommended for anyone wanting to quickly get up to speed with oceans governance, bearing in mind at this stage it is an immature and quickly developing field. The strength of the book is that it is grounded in real-world examples from four case study countries and in this context at the very least exposes the reader to emergent oceans governance and policy issues. . . an excellent starting point for further analysis of oceans governance and sets up a research agenda for the future.' - Murray Patterson, Journal of Ecological Economics

Praise for the previous edition: “A complete overview of the subject which does not intimidate the reader but rather spurns interest and understanding in the subject.” European Energy and Environmental Law Review “...(the book is) scholarly yet accessible and very readable; thoroughly recommended.” Law Institute Journal Description The law of the sea provides for the regulation, management and governance of the ocean spaces that cover over two-thirds of the Earth's surface. This book provides a comprehensive assessment of the foundational principles of the law of the sea, a critical overview of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and an analysis of subsequent developments including many bilateral, regional, and global agreements that supplement the Convention. The third edition of this acclaimed text has been thoroughly revised and updated, and now incorporates a dedicated chapter on natural and artificial islands. All of the main areas of the law of the sea are addressed including the foundations and sources of the law, the nature and extent of the maritime zones, the delimitation of overlapping maritime boundaries, the place of archipelagic and other special states in the law of the sea, navigational rights and freedoms, military activities at sea, marine scientific research, and marine resource and conservation issues such as fisheries, marine environmental protection and dispute settlement. The book also takes stock of contemporary oceans governance issues not adequately addressed by the Convention. Overarching challenges facing the law of the sea are considered, including how new maritime security initiatives can be reconciled with traditional navigational rights and freedoms, the need for stronger legal and policy responses to protect the global ocean environment from climate change and ocean acidification, and work on a new agreement for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.