Overview: SUSTAINABLE OCEANS

Profile of the Author: Sejal Tayal is a law student at MAIMS (School of Law) and has a keen interest in contemporary legal issues

EARTH: THE BLUE PLANET

Oceans occupy an area of 362 million square kilometres, which is approximately 71% of the earth’s surface. Oceans provide 99% of the Earth’s living space and they are, therefore, the largest ecosystem on this planet. This justifies the sobriquet for Earth as the “blue planet”. Oceans are a major source of economic activity such as shipping, shipbuilding, ports, offshore oil and gas production, thereby contributing significantly to the world’s gross domestic product (GDP). Eight of the 10 largest cities in the world are located along the coast and around 44% of the world’s population lives within 150 km of the coastline.

The world's oceans are under increasing pressure from human activities such as fishing, coastal development, and pollution. New solutions for interaction between the marine ecosystem and socioeconomic systems of human society are desperately needed. It supports the healthy functioning of the planet and the well-being of the humanity, for example marine plants produce roughly 50% of atmospheric oxygen, coral reef related to tourism generates more than 37 billion each year, marine fisheries and aquaculture contributes substantially to the income of more than 10% of the world’s population primarily in the developing countries. Fish provides a critical source of protein and nutrition for more than 3 billion people. Coastal ecosystems such as reef and mangroves protects coastal communities from storm surge and extreme weather events. More than half, nearly 5000 pathogen genes of marine organisms are being applied to medicines and human health. The ocean, however, is changing under increasing pressure from unsustainable fishing practices, pollution, marine debris, habitat loss, ocean acidification and climate change. Protecting and conserving marine biodiversity is critical to achieving the future we want that is sustainable oceans.

Traditionally, countries have placed great importance on the right to exploit the resources in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). However, little attention is paid to the responsibility which a nation has in protecting the oceans. Hence, while overlapping EEZ claims amongst nations are regularly in the news, issues related to protection of the EEZ are seldom discussed in public debates.[1]

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, OECD projected a doubling of the ocean economy from 2010 to 2030, to reach USD 3 trillion and employ 40 million people. Pollution from plastics, offshore oil and gas, shipping, sewage, and fertiliser and agricultural runoff are significant challenges. Rapid urbanisation of coastal zones further aggravates pollution, habitat loss and resource pressure. Because of ineffective fisheries management and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, many fish stocks are heavily burdened or have collapsed. Climate change (sea-level rise, ocean warming and ocean acidification) further increases the strain on many species and habitats. All of this severely compromises the health and resilience of marine ecosystems and the ability of the ocean economy to sustainably develop and prosper.

WEAK GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE

Weak governance structures and inadequate regimes for governing the high seas are a major factor driving the degradation of oceans. Coupled with this, there is insufficient capacity for monitoring and for enforcement of regulations, both within and outside the EEZ, by many countries. Part 12 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas III spells out the obligations and rights for protection and preservation of the marine environment. [2]According to UNCLOS, countries have exclusive sovereignty over water, seabed and airspace in their territorial waters, and therefore have the right to set environmental protection laws, and regulate and enforce legislation in their territorial waters. Beyond this lies the contagious zone, which extends a further 12 nautical miles into the sea, where the state can enforce laws in pollution control. Under Article 61, states have the jurisdiction to protect and preserve the marine environment, to determine the allowable catch of living resources, to ensure conservation and management and to maintain/restore population for maximising sustainable yield in the EEZ. Under Article 62, which deals with the utilisation of living resources, countries have prescriptive and enforcement rights in the EEZ and need to promote the optimal utilisation of living resources in the EEZ. Beyond the 200-nautical-mile limit lie the “high seas”, which are considered a part of the global commons. Under the current international law, fishing on the high seas is open to all countries and the minerals in the seabed are agreed to be “the common heritage of mankind”. Seabed resources are regulated and controlled by the International Seabed Authority (ISA), and shipping activity in the high seas is regulated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Under the rules framed by the IMO, the authority to punish environmentally irresponsible conduct by ships on the high seas falls on the flag state of each vessel. This has led to the practice of “flag of convenience” for merchant shipping and is one of the major weaknesses in the environmental regulations. The high seas are therefore a good example of tragedy of the commons where all countries can freely use the resources but the region is unprotected and subject to abuse due to common ownership.[3]

CO-ORDINATED CATASTROPHE

It is a matter of concern that the high seas, which cover almost 50% of the Earth’s surface, are one of the least protected areas on this planet and there is no legally binding treaty for the high seas. Further, less than half a percent of marine habitats are protected, as compared to 11.5% of the global land area. Currently, the high seas are governed by a “patchwork of international regional and sectoral agreements and treaties which overlap and create complicated jurisdictional issues in some of these areas”. Some of the agreements on the “high seas” include treaties on the protection of species such as whales (International Whaling Commission), regional fisheries agreements such as the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and a UN fish stock agreement coordinated by regional fishery bodies and FAO, controlling pollution from shipping (by IMO), regulating seabed resources (by ISA) and regional seas convention for convention of biological diversity by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). As is evident, there are a large number of organisations currently responsible for monitoring and enforcement of agreements, resulting in overlapping jurisdictions, and this is described as a “co-ordinated catastrophe” by the Global Ocean Commission.

CONCLUSION

We need to have a common understanding around management, so that everyone agrees and support it. Understanding the old ways and the impact of the new ones, can help us protect the ocean for our children and their children. Now is the time to make a clear choice, let us choose to care for the oceans so that they can continue to care for us into the future.

Disclaimer: This article is an original submission of the Author. Niti Manthan does not hold any liability arising out of this article. Kindly refer to our Terms of use or write to us in case of any concerns.

FAQ

Q- What are the recent developments to ensure sustainable oceans?

A- Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for Oceans The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are a set of eight international development goals adopted in 2000, by all member countries of the United Nations (UN), to achieve well-defined targets for human development and Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ).

[1] Areas outside of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) are shown in a darker shade. Borders are based on The Flanders Marine Institute, Belgium (VLIZ) Maritime boundaries and Internationalwaters.png. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Chile license

[2] United Nations. “United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea – Part XII – Protection and Preservation of The Marine Environment.” http://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_ agreements/texts/unclos/part12.htm (accessed February 10, 2015).

[3] The “high seas” belong to all countries of the world, including landlocked states, and are not subject to national appropriation.