The 2001 UNESCO Underwater Cultural Heritage Convention and Taiwan's Domestic Legal Regime

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) adopted the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (the UCH Convention) on November 2, 2001. The Convention created a comprehensive legal framework for the preservation, protection, and management of underwater cultural heritage. This article illustrates that the UCH Convention not only supplements, but also substantively amends, the relevant rules contained in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. This article, using the domestic legislation of Taiwan as an example, demonstrates some of the difficulties of implementing the UCH Convention into national law.     

Historic Salvage Law Revisited

Litigation involving the R.M.S. Titanic highlights the critical need for a more stable legal regime to protect shipwrecks, their cargo, and other aspects of underwater cultural heritage. The general maritime law, as articulated by admiralty courts in the United States, has begun to qualify salvage awards in terms of compliance with archaeological standards. Salvage law, however, does not provide language and rules readily applicable to historic wreck and related material. We are, therefore, in a period of transition between a heavy reliance on the common law of "treasure" salvage and the development of a truly general, universal regime to govern underwater heritage. At the center of this development is the Draft UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Heritage, based upon the Buenos Aires Draft Convention of the International Law Association. The emerging regime of conventional law provides authority, bases of jurisdiction and other forms of international cooperation, to enforce a set of rules for protection and scientific management of heritage. Critical issues await further negotiations, including the definition of protected heritage, an accommodation of commercial salvage interests within the prescribed conservation and management standards, the status of warships, and the terms of coastal state jurisdiction within the permissible limits of the 1982 UNCLOS.     

Can the United States Establish the Outer Limits of Its Extended Continental Shelf Under International Law?

Although most provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea are regarded customary international law and the United States views most of its provisions as such, the outsider status of the United States causes problems in some areas, especially concerning the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles. This article asks whether it is possible for the United States to establish the outer limits of its continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles in line with international law without becoming a state party to the convention, and if that is possible, how could the United States proceed?     

Defining the coast and sentinel ecosystems for coastal observations of global change

The detection, attribution and prediction of global and large scale regional change are goals for the Global Observing Systems of the United Nations. Coastal areas are particularly sensitive to global change, but there is a variety of limitations to universal coverage of observations. The coastal module of the Global Terrestrial Observing System (C-GTOS) considers sentinel ecosystems to address these goals for the terrestrial, wetland and freshwater ecosystems of the coast. Sentinel ecosystems for observing systems are a limited number of well understood systems that have substantial datasets and are observed in a sustained fashion, forming an early warning and core system for broader regional and global change. A necessary step in the development of C-GTOS is the examination of current definitions of coastal areas by anticipated users and information providers, and identification of potential coastal networks and sites. We applied the sentinel system framework to the selection of C-GTOS observation sites from several international programs using various global delineations of coastal areas. Delineations were based on the most common definitions of the coast adopted by potential C-GTOS users and information providers, and included mapped areas of various distance from the coastline, coastal areas of low elevation, and a seaward boundary matching the Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ). Decreases in the number of sites within each international program occurred with each definition marking area closer to the coastline. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands demonstrates the greatest percentage of coastal sites by any definition. The process of choosing specific sentinel sites for C-GTOS continues from this initial screening, and is the next step towards the development of an in situ site network supporting the observation of global and large scale change. An erratum to this article is available at .     

The Impact of the Law of the Sea Convention on Conflict and Conflict Management in the South China Sea

This article examines the impact of the UN Law of the Sea Convention on conflict behavior and management in the South China Sea during four periods: during its negotiation (1973–1982); from its signing to the entry into force (1982–1994); from then until the China-ASEAN Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (1995–2002); and from the setting of a timeline for outer limits of continental shelf submissions to the events following the 2009 submissions (2003–2013). Ambiguous effects were found. On the one hand, the Convention has generated or exacerbated conflict by raising the stakes, failing to resolve key legal issues, and encouraging overlapping zone claims. On the other hand, it has provided obligations, language, and techniques for conflict management and resolution. The conflict-enhancing impact was found to have been more substantial than the peace-promoting effects. Nevertheless, the balance has shifted toward more emphasis on conflict management and also some utilization of the Convention's peacemaking potential. If this long-term trend continues and the Convention is more rigorously respected and applied, the Convention may in the end be found to have contributed to regional peace.     

简述《2020年后全球生物多样性框架》谈判进展

《生物多样性公约》(简称《公约》)第十五次缔约方大会(COP15)第二阶段会议上将审议通过正在编制的2020年后全球生物多样性框架(简称“框架”)。该框架具有里程碑意义, 对未来全球生物多样性保护、经济和社会发展有重要指导作用。由于生物多样性的持续丧失, 只有通过变革式的转型, 才能实现到2050年人与自然和谐发展的美好愿景。框架以变革理论为基础, 拟制定雄心勃勃又务实平衡的生物多样性保护目标。生物多样性与人类息息相关, 目标的制定将对人类社会的生产、消费等产生重大影响。由于《公约》机制和框架磋商的复杂性等多种原因, 仅极少数人完整地了解框架的内容和谈判进程。经过框架不限成员名额工作组(以下简称“OEWG”) 4次会议的磋商, 框架结构和要素已基本确定, 其中最受关注的是22个2030年行动目标, 包括减少对生物多样性的威胁(行动目标1‒8)、通过可持续利用和惠益分享来满足人的需求(行动目标9‒13)和执行工作和主流化的工具和解决方案(行动目标14‒22) 3个部分。本文介绍了OEWG第四次会议磋商的框架草案中行动目标的谈判进展, 对框架中30 × 30目标、资源调动等核心议题进行了分析, 从而为管理部门、科研机构、企业、社会组织、从事生物多样性教育和保护的广大工作者等社会各界了解全球生物多样性治理对国际经济秩序的重塑提供视角和方法上的参考, 从而更好地把握参与科技、贸易、投资、制造等领域国际竞争的环境政治动态与方向, 促进人与自然和谐共生, 共建地球生命共同体。     

Straits used for international navigation

Abstract

This article summarizes our perspective of U.S. and Soviet interactions during a joint physical oceanography experiment. One author (RHH) was involved in early instrumentation and logistic work with the Soviets beginning in 1970, and was U.S. executive manager for the program from 1976–84. One author (CAC) was the National Science Foundation program manager responsible for administering the program. The experiment began with a preliminary meeting of Soviet and American oceanographers in 1973 and activities concluded with the publication of an atlas (see n. 9) in 1986. The intervening years included a variety of joint scientific activities which spanned a broad spectrum from theory and numerical modeling to at‐sea experiments. The total cost of U.S. activities as part of this program was about $25 million.     

《生物多样性公约》资金问题分析及对我国履约的启示

资金议题一直是《生物多样性公约》关注的热点, 资金机制和资源调动也一直是每届缔约方大会(COP)的常设议题。然而由于资金问题涉及各方政治意愿, 发达国家和发展中国家间存在较大分歧。中国作为最大的发展中国家和COP15主席国, 在资源调动中扮演着重要角色, 需要对资金问题开展更多研究。在这种背景下, 本文阐述了公共资金投入、资金使用效率与效力、对生物多样性有害的资金投入、利益相关方的参与等《生物多样性公约》资金问题重点要素; 分析了是否强调多渠道增资、是否建立新的资金机制、是否取消全部生物多样性有害补贴、具体筹资目标等谈判主要分歧; 提出了加大生物多样性财政资金投入、加强相关部门间资金协同管理, 利用各类金融工具撬动社会资本的生物多样性投入, 降低生物多样性损害风险、加强生物多样性信息披露, 充分发挥市场机制作用、创新融资路径等建议, 以期为中国生物多样性资源调动提供参考。     

Microorganisms, Australia and the Convention on Biological Diversity

The Convention on Biological Diversity arose as an international agreement for the conservation and continued exploitation of Earth's biological diversity (biodiversity). It directly affects those involved in conservation, exploitation and investigation of biodiversity in all its forms, as well as affecting the viability of all life. Australia is one of more than 170 countries that have ratified the Convention. Its involvement in this Convention will be considered in terms of the National Strategy for the Conservation of Biological Diversity with a focus on the coverage of microorganisms within this strategy. Microorganisms represent a major part of the biodiversity on Earth but, as yet, remain relatively unknown. Among those microorganisms that have been described, many, originating from a range of countries, have been deposited in culture collections worldwide. The Convention contains articles that impact on ex situ collections, although precise protocols are not set out therein. An international code of conduct is now being formulated to ensure ongoing access to and exchange of microorganisms in the interests of sustainable development in industrialised and developing nations.     

承载力评估在区域人口配置中的应用：以常州为例

从城市生态系统承载力的空间差异性出发,集成GIS空间评价技术和系统动力学（SD）模型,确定城市区域适度总人口规模和各分区人口数量,提出人口分区定量配置新思路和技术集成方法,并将该方法应用于300万人口城市--常州.结果表明： 通过构建常州市区人口、经济、土地与环境的系统动力学模型和多情景模拟分析,在同时满足城市经济发展与环境保护需求下,常州市区远景（2050年）总人口约400万;基于城市承载力空间差异评价进行常州市区总人口的空间配置,将形成240万人的主城及5个15～40万人新城的空间格局,研究结果可为国土开发管理中人口与经济的空间分配提供科学依据.     

The rights of children: public policy statement

Children, who are vulnerable at the start of existence, are a concern shared by nations and cultures. The importance of children's conditions has led 192 out of 194 countries to ratify the UN General Assembly's Convention on the Rights of the Child. The United States has not yet ratified the convention, despite having exercised influence on the drafting of its provisions. Given the global importance of nurturing and protecting children, the Society for Medical Anthropology strongly and emphatically supports that the convention be ratified, and that the U.S. government submit the convention for approval by the U.S. Senate.     

China's U-Shaped Line in the South China Sea Revisited

Despite its existence on the Chinese maps for more than six decades, the U-shaped line, as a traditional maritime boundary line of China in the South China Sea, has never received a wide recognition in the world community, much less by the other claimant states in the South China Sea. The U-shaped line is a legal conundrum not only for China but also for the world community, particularly after the map with the U-shaped line, together with China's Notes Verbale with respect to the claims to the outer continental shelves made by Malaysia and Vietnam, were submitted to the UN Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf in May 2009. This article discusses China's recent practice relating to the U-shaped line as well as the external factors that affect the validity of the line and tries to unravel the legal puzzle posed by the line.