Aldo Chircop

Teaching integrated coastal management: lessons from the learning arena

This paper addresses difficulties associated with the definition of the field of integrated coastal management and the packaging of relevant knowledge and skills for program and curriculum development purposes. Context, inter-disciplinarity, integration and process are discussed as critical elements in curriculum development. The learning arena (classroom setting) is then discussed with reference to program objectives, a balance between knowledge and skills, methodology and faculty to deliver the program and core courses. The author concludes by emphasizing that different contexts will necessitate different approaches to the teaching of the field and that curriculum developers should beware of easy solutions.

The Growth of International Shipping in the Arctic: Is a Regulatory Review Timely?

This article is set against the backdrop of the fundamental physical change in the Arctic and the prospect of increased international shipping, including prospects for new international maritime routes through that region. The multiple levels of governance bearing on Arctic shipping and the need for a review of international maritime rules and standards to facilitate their application to future Arctic navigation are discussed. It is concluded that regional cooperation, inclusion of non-Arctic States in shipping governance, and a uniform set of rules and standards for ship safety and marine environmental protection are needed.

Governance of Marine Protected Areas in East Africa: A Comparative Study of Mozambique, South Africa, and Tanzania

Marine protected areas (MPAs), including MPA networks, have become an indispensable tool for marine conservation. This article undertakes a comparative discussion of the domestic governance frameworks of Mozambique, South Africa, and Tanzania in view of the efforts of these three states to scale up their MPA cooperation in the East African Marine Ecoregion (EAME) to include MPA networks, including transboundary MPAs. Although on many issues there appears to be regional solidarity and convergence on principles, including participatory processes and decision making to guide MPA making, there are significant differences on lead roles, institutional structures, access to public information, and conflict management, among others, which would need to be factored in MPA cooperation. Other important factors for regional MPA cooperation include policy directions on shared concerns such as conservation and development values with emphasis on equitable resource use and poverty alleviation.

Education for sustainable development of the Mediterranean: the missing link

The author surveys some of the principal amendments to the Barcelona system adopted at the Ninth Ordinary Meeting of Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention in June 1995 and underlines the new national responsibilities for the implementation of the policy, legal and institutional changes in the direction of sustainable development. Emphasis is placed on the types of human resources that will be needed to facilitate implementation and render the regime effective at both national and regional levels. The author advocates a role for Mediterranean universities to assist regional regime-building through the development of relevant marine affairs education programmes in support of the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP). A catalytic role for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)/MAP Coordinating Unit in mobilizing inter-university cooperation is also identified.

Area-based management on the high seas: possible application of the IMO's particularly sensitive sea area concept

Area-based management is an important tool to improve integrated conservation of high seas biodiversity. While States clearly support the need to protect high seas biodiversity, some States remain reluctant to adopt internationally binding measures that may have an impact on high seas freedoms. Since there is limited experience to date with the application of area-based management tools on the high seas, this article examines the practical implications of establishing such measures through an analysis of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) particularly sensitive sea area concept. After providing an overview of the legal complexities associated with the designation of high seas marine protected areas, this article introduces the PSSA concept and identifies the unique features that make it appropriate as a measure for protecting high seas biodiversity. The core of the analysis is an examination of State practice within the IMO in the context of the potential designation of a PSSA in the Southern Ocean.

Climate change and the prospects of increased navigation in the Canadian Arctic

There is wide recognition that the process of climate change may be affecting the Arctic region at a faster pace than other regions. What is uncertain is the full impact of climate change on ice cover, and in particular whether there will be a significant decrease of summer ice from the current three months to a longer period and accompanied by navigation conditions suitable and safe for commercial shipping. New international navigation routes through the Canadian and Russian Arctic sectors could significantly reduce the length of sea voyages from Asia to North America and Europe. However, on the basis of what is known to date, there are significant differences of view as to the feasibility of international commercial navigation in the Northwest Passage.If Arctic change occurs on a scale sufficient to permit international commercial navigation, it would be useful for polar states, the maritime industry and the IMO to anticipate the significance and limitations of new Arctic sea routes. Major constraints include the special sensitivity of the Arctic marine environment which would certainly necessitate the need for very high environmental standards for ships, in addition to the IMO Guide lines for Ships Operating in Arctic Ice-covered Waters. Arctic states can draw upon UNCLOS Article 234 on ice covered areas, potential MARPOL 73/78 special area and PSSA designation utilizing various measures under SOLAS to raise standards. The infrastructure of navigational services for commercial shipping would need to be upgraded, in particular navigation aids, search and rescue and contingency planning and response to environmental incidents and casualties.A significant consideration in the context of such change is likely to be Canada’s sovereignty claim over the waters of the Northwest Passage. Also, any action in the Arctic will need to take heed of the Arctic Council and the views and interests of the indigenous peoples of the North. In this regard, some preliminary work has commenced with the Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment.The paper concludes with issues for consideration at the 2008 Conference on the Impact of Climate Change on the Maritime Industry.

Canada's Oceans Policy Framework: An Overview

The myth of national ocean policymaking is that there is a single path, structure, or instrument within which ocean policy is considered, adopted, implemented, and, where necessary, enforced. The reality is that a State and its citizens interact with the oceans in a multitude of different manners that defy and undermine an easy definition of national ocean policymaking as an explanation of that relationship. Within this premise, this article focuses on four matters respecting the framework of Canadas oceans policymaking: (a) where is Canadas oceans space in the Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans and the extent of jurisdiction that Canada can exercise over its adjacent ocean areas; (b) what is the constitutional context for oceans policymaking in Canada; (c) how are fisheries, hydrocarbons, and shipping legislatively and administratively managed; and (d) the 1996 Oceans Act and integrated ocean management.

The Gulf of Maine Agreement and Action Plan: A novel but nascent approach to transboundary marine environmental protection

Following the World Courts settlement of the Gulf of Maine boundary dispute in 1984, oceans cooperation between Canada and the US in the Bay of Fundy/Gulf of Maine region has re-emerged primarily at the provincial/state, rather than the federal levels of government. The Gulf of Maine Action Plan 1991-2000 and the Agreement on Conservation of the Marine Environment of the Gulf of Maine 1989 form the basis of an emerging regional environmental regime in the shared Atlantic region. The provinces and states have shied away from addressing fisheries issues directly, but the collapse of various Atlantic stocks and consequent closures is providing a new rationale for regional cooperation, at least in habitat management. The Action Plan is currently undergoing a mid-term review process, which is considering the possible adoption of a series of Protocols to supplement the 1989 Agreement, with an emphasis on habitat protection. The authors conclude by identifying three main options for regime development at the state-provincial level: (1) maintenance of the status quo in regional cooperation; (2) adoption of an incremental approach to regional development; and (3) development of an Agenda 21 for the Gulf of Maine. As well, there is scope for greater federal involvement, for example, through the development of a Regional Seas Programme for North America.

THE MARITIME ZONES OF EAST AFRICAN STATES IN THE LAW OF THE SEA: BENEFITS GAINED, OPPORTUNITIES MISSED

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982 (LOS Convention) has been in force since 16 November 1994 and on 10 December 2007, it will be a quarter century since its adoption in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Many African coastal states were among the most active supporters of a new international law of the sea. Indeed, they pre-empted the adoption and entry into force of the LOS Convention by claiming the national maritime zones and jurisdictional benefits conferred by that instrument. For many of those states, the LOS Convention constituted an opportunity to break away from their colonial past and to engage in a new kind of regime-building expected to contribute to the economic and social advancement of all peoples, effectively a new international economic order. The ocean space and marine resources adjacent to the coastal state were perceived as constituting an opportunity to further national economic development. East African states, in particular Kenya and Tanzania, were among the most active in developing a new framework for national maritime zones and the type and extent of authority enjoyed therein by coastal states, and to a much lesser extent, by land-locked states. Twenty-five years hence, it is appropriate to enquire how African states, and in particular East African states, have legislated the maritime zone claims permissible under the LOS Convention to maximise their entitlements while being compliant with the new legal framework. At the time the LOS Convention

Functional Interactions and Maritime Regulation: The Mutual Accommodation of Offshore Wind Farms and International Navigation and Shipping

There is growing interest in Europe and North America in locating wind farms in ocean space within national jurisdiction. For many States, wind is the renewable energy of choice in the search for alternatives to fossil fuels to meet emissions reductions targets established by international agreement on a large scale. Locating windfarms in the marine environment is attractive because of the availability of open spaces to accommodate extensive arrays capable of producing power on a large scale, ideal wind conditions and less likelihood of impacts that trigger public opposition, such as noise, lowering of property values and interference with landscape aesthetics.