Balancing the protection of marine ecosystems with economic benefits from land‐based activities: The quest for international legal barriers

The major threats to the health, productivity, and biodiversity of the marine environment result from human activities on land. National laws have failed to provide an adequate response. In conformity with the obligations contained in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention, in recent years states have launched new legislative attempts that have as their stated objective to give more priority to protection of the marine ecosystem from land‐based activities. The 1995 Global Programme of Action as well as regional treaties and programs provide for a wide variety of alternative strategies, including monitoring, economic instruments, raising of awareness, and capability‐building that all as a matter or urgency need to be pursued. This article discusses what has become the dominant substantive strategy: development and imple‐mentation of best available techniques and best management practices. The article describes the rationale underlying the application of these approaches in international law and examines how recent treaties and action programs have incorporated them. The article concludes that in several respects the law is inadequate, but that the main problem is the lack of commitment of states to accept obligations to apply technology‐based standards or practices that are sufficiently responsive to the need for protection of the marine ecosystem.     

Contemplating the future: Acting now on long‐term monitoring to answer 2050's questions

In 2050, which aspects of ecosystem change will we regret not having measured? Long‐term monitoring plays a crucial part in managing Australia's natural environment because time is a key factor underpinning changes in ecosystems. It is critical to start measuring key attributes of ecosystems – and the human and natural process affecting them – now, so that we can track the trajectory of change over time. This will facilitate informed choices about how to manage ecological changes (including interventions where they are required) and promote better understanding by 2050 of how particular ecosystems have been shaped over time. There will be considerable value in building on existing long‐term monitoring programmes because this can add significantly to the temporal depth of information. The economic and social processes driving change in ecosystems are not identical in all ecosystems, so much of what is monitored (and the means by which it is monitored) will most likely target specific ecosystems or groups of ecosystems. To best understand the effects of ecosystem‐specific threats and drivers, monitoring also will need to address the economic and social factors underpinning ecosystem‐specific change. Therefore, robust assessments of the state of Australia's environment will be best achieved by reporting on the ecological performance of a representative sample of ecosystems over time. Political, policy and financial support to implement appropriate ecosystem‐specific monitoring is a perennial problem. We suggest that the value of ecological monitoring will be demonstrable, when plot‐based monitoring data make a unique and crucial contribution to Australia's ability to produce environmental accounts, environmental reports (e.g. the State of the Environment, State of the Forests) and to fulfilling reporting obligations under international agreements, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity. This paper suggests what must be done to meet Australia's ecological information needs by 2050.     

Indices of national interest in the oceans

Abstract

Each of the 148 independent States of the world has a particular set of interests in the oceans; these interests are reflected in policies regarding the international law of the sea. By analyzing the nature of national marine interests it is possible both to develop a generalized model which can be applied to any one of the world's countries, and to divide States into groupings, depending on their physical, economic, historic or other characteristics with respect to the marine environment. The four basic components of the national marine interest are accessibility, investment, dependence and control. These components are important to an understanding of the positions of the 30 land‐locked, 20 shelf‐locked and 98 other countries in current and upcoming law of the sea negotiations.     

基于社会总体偏差和同伴效应修正的海洋生态修复偏好研究

公众参与海洋生态修复对我国海洋环境保护与生态安全具有重要意义。利用单边界二分式引导技术评估青岛市居民海洋生态修复偏好,并从内疚和抵抗心理两方面就社会总体偏差与同伴效应对修复偏好的影响机理进行分析,为政府激发公众参与海洋生态修复的积极性提供理论依据与技术指导。结果表明:①青岛市居民平均每年愿意为海洋生态修复捐赠184.386元,考虑属性重要程度结果表明生物数量的改善可显著提高公众海洋生态修复支付意愿,而公众对改善海水水质和海岸环境并未表现出显著差异性偏好。②社会总体偏差和同伴效应均对公众海洋生态修复支付意愿表现出显著正向影响。③社会总体偏差和同伴效应可通过激发受访者的内疚感提高生态修复支付意愿,但也会导致抵抗心理抑制参与积极性;主观规范正向调节社会总体偏差和同伴效应对支付意愿的影响。研究揭示了公众在海洋生态修复中的偏好和竞争性心理对陈述偏好的影响,可为促进公众参与海洋生态修复和提高海洋环境资源价值评估准确性提供参考。     

海洋牧场生态安全监管的演化博弈模型及仿真

海洋牧场生态安全监管是由政府部门对海洋牧场企业的资源开发利用、环境治理保护等行为进行监督和管理,保证海洋牧场海域的资源与环境符合生态安全需要,其对实现海洋牧场的环境保护、资源养护和渔业持续产出功能具有重要作用。首先分析了海洋牧场生态安全监管中的参与主体为政府部门和海洋牧场企业,然后从监管与不监管、重视与不重视两个维度构建了海洋牧场生态安全监管博弈参与主体的策略集合及收益矩阵,在此基础上结合复制动态方程和雅可比矩阵求解了海洋牧场生态安全监管博弈中演化稳定策略并进行了稳定性分析和模拟仿真,最后提出了海洋牧场生态安全监管的对策建议。研究结果表明,对海洋牧场企业不重视生态安全行为的惩罚力度、政府部门从发现企业不重视生态安全中获取的收益、外界监督力量监督成功的概率是影响演化博弈结果的重要因素。据此提出"加大对海洋牧场企业不重视海洋牧场生态安全行为的处罚力度、提高政府部门发现海洋牧场企业不重视海洋牧场生态安全时的收益、建立健全海洋牧场生态安全监管机制、发挥外界监督力量的作用"等政策建议,以维护我国海洋牧场生态安全。     

Economic incentives, social norms, and the crisis of fisheries

This year’s Kyoto prize signals the long overdue recognition of the fundamental interdependence of economic and ecologic systems for the protection and maintenance of ecosystem services and human well-being. Levin (2006) and Vincent (2007) point to several of the more important ways that interdisciplinary approaches will be essential to the better quantification and understanding of the economic contributions of ecosystem services, but they differ fundamentally in their relative faith in the evolution of new social norms versus economic incentives backed up by sanctions to achieve the necessary cooperation for environmental protection. In the case of marine fisheries, social norms have proven highly effective on small spatial scales but have not taken root in the face of increasingly global markets and free trade.     

Conservation “identity” and marine protected areas management: A Mediterranean case study

Protection of natural environments sought through management plans varies greatly between countries; characterizing these differences and what motivates them can inform future regional and international conservation efforts. This research builds on previous work addressing the spatial distribution of marine protected areas in the Mediterranean Sea. Particularly, it examines the relationship between a “protection level” (PL) score and a set of variables pertaining to each country's conservation efforts, economic conditions and human impact along the coast using regression analysis. Four sets of models demonstrated country characteristics that correlate with higher protection levels within marine protected areas (MPAs). Certain contextual factors – economic dependence on the marine environment, efforts at terrestrial conservation and greater human impact – were found to be significantly associated with higher PLs among the northern littoral countries of the Mediterranean. Such findings can inform policy makers about where efforts and investments should be directed for marine conservation.     

Equity or equality? Moral judgments follow the money

Previous research emphasizes people''s dispositions as a source of differences in moral views. We investigate another source of moral disagreement, self-interest. In three experiments, participants played a simple economic game in which one player divides money with a partner according to the principle of equality (same payoffs) or the principle of equity (payoffs proportional to effort expended). We find, first, that people''s moral judgment of an allocation rule depends on their role in the game. People not only prefer the rule that most benefits them but also judge it to be more fair and moral. Second, we find that participants'' views about equality and equity change in a matter of minutes as they learn where their interests lie. Finally, we find limits to self-interest: when the justification for equity is removed, participants no longer show strategic advocacy of the unequal division. We discuss implications for understanding moral debate and disagreement.     

Canadian perspectives on seabed mining: The case of the production limitation formula

Abstract

This paper will analyze the position Canada took on seabed mining in the Third United Nations Law of the Sea Conference (UNCLOS III). Canada is a major land‐based producer of nickel, an industrialized country with private interests in seabed mining, a NATO member, a major ally of the United States, and a country with extensive ties to less‐developed countries. At UNCLOS III Canada was concerned primarily about the management and control of its coastal resources and the protection of the marine environment. After having secured these interests, Canada emerged as the leader of the land‐based mineral‐producer group advocating production controls on seabed mining. The production limitation formula was one of the major reasons for the United States’ decision not to sign the Law of the Sea Treaty. In so forcefully advocating a production limitation formula, the Canadian delegation relinquished Canada's potential as a middle power to bridge the gap between the Group of 77 and the Western industrialized countries in order to formulate a widely acceptable regime to govern the seabed. A production limitation formula was not in Canada's best interests, given her potential role in seabed mining, and was rejected by officials in the Department of Energy, Mines, and Resources, as well as the Canadian private sector.     

Designing marine protected areas for migrating fish stocks

This paper extends an earlier analysis and presents an investigation of how migration rates affect the performance of various types of management regimes with respect to economic yield and conservation benefits. Particular emphasis is placed on evaluating the geometric design of marine protected areas (MPAs). Earlier results have shown that MPAs are only likely to provide significant benefits when they are used in conjunction with direct catch or effort controls, unless they are quite large and cover most of the resource in question. Conversely, catch and effort controls are far more effective when protected areas are included in the management regime as a buffer against uncertainty. Dispersal of reproduction (recruitment) to other areas is an important expected benefit of protected areas, but such dispersal increases the variability of the effects of the area protection. If fishing mortality rates outside of the protected area are not controlled then dispersal can result in nullifying some of the benefits of the protected area. Similarly, adult migration increases the variability in the results when an area is protected and critically depends upon an overall control of fishing mortality outside the area. For both dispersal and migration separately or in combination, however, there are clear benefits to using MPAs in conjunction with catch or effort controls. These benefits are expressed in terms of long-term yield and recovery probabilities. In addition, short-term yield declines relatively slowly with increasing area protected. Design of the protected areas is seen to be important since using contiguous areas provide greater protection against overfishing than protected areas in isolation.     

The Potential Marine Pollution Threat from Oil and Gas Development Activities in the Disputed South China Sea/Spratly Area: A Role that Taiwan Can Play

This article examines the potential threat of marine pollution caused by offshore oil and gas development activities in the disputed areas of the South China Sea (SCS) and the Spratly Islands. After addressing the potential threat of marine pollution, it discusses the legal obligations and political commitment of the SCS littoral states regarding the protection of the marine environment in the area. The role that Taiwan can play in these matters is also examined.     

The European Union and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive: Continuing the Development of European Ocean Use Management

The European Union has been engaged in an effort to develop a marine strategy to protect the marine environment and a more encompassing integrated maritime policy that would provide a comprehensive system for the management of the uses of the marine areas of Europe. An earlier article by the author described the beginnings of this policy development; this article examines the subsequent 2008 Directive of the European Parliament and the Council, which establishes a framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive provides a plan of action with designated responsibilities and obligations and a schedule that is to be adhered to by member states and the European Commission. It represents a significant step in the European endeavor to advance ocean use management and sets the stage for future development of European marine policy.     

Maximizing surveillance through spatial characterization of marine mammal stranding hot spots

Spatial analyses of marine mammal stranding data can be used to identify stranding patterns and improve surveillance and monitoring. Using ArcGIS and SaTScan, we analyzed 12 years (2002–2014) of dead beachcast marine mammals from San Juan County, Washington, to better understand patterns of carcass deposition. We plotted the locations for 631 dead marine mammals and aggregated strandings into 1,000 m segments of shoreline. “Hot spots” included beach segments with significantly higher carcass deposition according to the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic in ArcGIS or beach segments that were encompassed by significant spatial clusters using the discrete Poisson model in SatTScan. We identified 52 hot spots for harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in ArcGIS and 62 hot spots in SaTScan with 81% agreement between methods. Carcass deposition showed a strong relationship with locations having high proximity to public pedestrian access points, suggesting increased reporting effort in those areas. Stranding frequency was also higher on beach segments with longer fetch and nearly level or gentle slopes. Beaches with these geomorphic characteristics, especially those without high proximity to public access, would be ideal locations to actively survey to improve high quality carcass collection during times of high expected mortality and limited resources.     

Marine scientific research and marine pollution in China

Abstract

In recent years coastal states everywhere in the world have paid attention to the preservation of the marine environment and the conduct of marine scientific research. The scope and nature of China's marine scientific research have been expanded and diversified since the late 1970s because of the growing importance of the ocean for the “Four Modernization “ programs. More and more programs have been designed and executed to find fishing resources, search for offshore oil and gas, promote maritime defense, help alleviate the marine pollution problems, reinforce China's territorial claim in the South China Sea, participate in Antarctic scientific research, and to better understand the whole marine environment. This article first examines China's attitude toward the legal regimes of marine pollution and marine scientific research. It depicts China's marine scientific research activities from the early 1950s. Finally it suggests that more scientific research programs will be designed in support of China's ocean development plans in the future.     

The Precautionary Principle and Marine Environmental Protection: Slippery Shores,Rough Seas,and Rising Normative Tides

Law and policy implications of the precautionary principle in the field of marine environmental protection are explored in this paper in a three-part analysis. First, seven slippery aspects of the precautionary principle are highlighted, including confusion in terminology, definitional variations, definitional generalities, the spectrum of precautionary measures available, ongoing philosophical tensions and competing socioeconomic interests, debate over who should be responsible for making precautionary decisions, and limited interpretation by international tribunals. Second, the rather feeble precautionary responses to the tempestuous issues of climate change, hazardous chemicals, and overfishing are described. Third, the potential for the precautionary principle to synergize with human rights norms, such as the emerging right to a healthy environment, and other principles of sustainable development is discussed.     

A Government's Perspective on Safeguarding Biodiversity: The Seychelles Experience

The Seychelles has undergone major socio-economic and political changes during the past four decades. Tourism and fisheries, being the mainstay of the country's economy, have positively impacted upon and influenced the form of institution framework and policies in the management of the environment and biodiversity. The Department of Environment, the organization responsible for biodiversity conservation, has changed its core functions over the years to accommodate its obligations under international conventions and again more recently because of a major economic reform program. The creation of several authorities and agencies has resulted in new challenges but at the same time opened up new opportunities. Despite all these changes, the government, with the support of international and local stakeholders, has persevered to safeguard its biodiversity.     

Trends in health research ethics in the Philippines during the American Colonial Period (1898‐1946)

Research involving human participants has been conducted in the Philippines since the beginning of the Spanish colonial period. Such studies are expected to adhere to internationally accepted ethical guidelines. This paper discusses trends in clinical research ethics in the Philippines during the American colonial period (1898‐1946). Specifically, studies were assessed on: 1) their observance of ethical protocols, including review; 2) identification of inclusion and exclusion criteria in the selection of participants; 3) use of vulnerable subjects; and 4) practice of the informed consent process. Only the informed consent process had a significant logistic correlation with progression of years. Recruitment of vulnerable groups was common during this period; children and prisoners were the most common participants. Trends in medical ethics in the Philippines reflected those in the United States prior to the publication of the Nuremberg Code, which served as a milestone in the protection of human welfare in clinical research.     

Period and cohort dynamics in fertility norms at the onset of the demographic transition in Kenya 1978-1998

A characteristic of African pre-transitional fertility regimes is large ideal family size. This has been used to support claims of cultural entrenchment of high fertility. Yet in Kenya fertility rates have fallen. In this paper this fall is explored in relation to trends in fertility norms and attitudes using four sequential cross-sectional surveys spanning the fertility transition in Kenya (1978, 1984, 1989 and 1998). The most rapid fall in the reported ideal family size occurred between 1984 and 1989, whilst the most rapid fall in the total fertility rate occurred 5 to 10 years later, between 1989 and 1998. Thus these data, spanning the fertility transition in Kenya, support the traditional demographic model that demand for fertility limitation drives fertility decline. These data also suggest that the decline in fertility norms over time was partly a period effect, as the reported ideal family size was seen to fall simultaneously in all age cohorts, and partly a cohort effect, as older age cohorts reporting higher ideal family sizes were replaced by younger cohorts reporting lower ideal family sizes. These data also suggest that a new fertility norm of four children may have developed by 1989 and continued until 1998. This is consistent with, and perhaps could have been used to predict, the stall in the Kenyan fertility decline after 1998.     

Regimes of chlorophyll‐a in the Coral Sea: implications for evaluating adequacy of marine protected areas

Spatial management of the highly dynamic pelagic realm, and the highly mobile species it supports, requires dynamic processes to be incorporated into reserve design. To achieve this, planners need information on how these processes vary across space and time, and how this variation relates to species of conservation interest. This study presents a new method of quantifying variability that captures both between‐ and within‐year changes in variables of interest. We applied this method to remotely‐sensed chlorophyll‐a in the Coral Sea to find five distinct regimes of variation that serve as surrogates for assemblages of species of conservation interest. We performed a gap analysis to determine protection of the regimes both internationally and nationally within Australia's network of marine reserves in the Coral Sea. We also identified key areas for protection within each regime, in terms of chlorophyll‐a variability and species associations, and examined their protection status. Depending on conservation objectives, reserve systems that span multiple national jurisdictions and a rezoning of Australian national waters might be necessary to meet protection requirements for the regimes and for key areas within them. The current suspension and review of the Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve management plans and the recent proclamation of New Caledonia's as yet unzoned Coral Sea Nature Park offer planners an opportunity to incorporate dynamic processes into conservation planning for the Coral Sea. The method we present can be applied at other locations for time‐series of any variable/s of interest, aiding the spatial management of dynamic features in both marine and terrestrial contexts.     

Norway's law of the sea policy in the 1970s

Abstract

The Norwegian government has stated that creating a new international law of the sea is a foreign policy matter of the highest political priority in the period 1978–1981. A reasonable explanation might be the close correlation that normally exists between the political significance and the economic importance of issues and the area on which they impinge. As to Norway, it should suffice to point to the fact that the country ranks fifth among the merchant marine nations of the world, takes the fifth largest fish catch, and has sovereignty over the biggest continental shelf in Europe. Against this background, the author discusses the hypothesis that economic factors are the guiding hand in Norwegian ocean policy. However, the conclusion reached is that economic factors play a rather modest role in explaining this policy and that the reasons behind it are to be found at the intersection between economic interests, security policies, jurisdiction, the protection of resources and the environment as they are reflected in the rather peculiar situation of the North.