INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

ON

IMPACTOFCLIMATECHANGEONSUSTAINABILITYOFCOASTALECO SYSTEM 1011November2011

Venue: Satyabama University, Chennai

SPEECH

Good Morning to you all. My sincere thanks to the organizers for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the deliberations expected to happen here at this very important

International Conference on Marine Systems. I am sure aspects of climate change and several
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other important cross-cutting sectors will draw your attention with reference to emerging trends in science and management for improve decision making. Let me start by congratulating the organizers for the timeliness of the Conference. We are all familiar with the fact that the Durban

Conference is round the corner. Countries around the world are developing their National Action Plans to tackle impacts of climate change. Priorities for expeditious management are also determined by emerging economic challenges. This is therefore a golden

opportunity to revisit some of the emerging

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trends

in

the

management

of

resources

including economic, human capital and natural wealth with a clear understanding of the opportunities to streamline environmentally and ethically sound governance. As a

practitioner of principles of justice and equity, I am tempted to deliberate on some of the crosscutting aspects of law and its implications for governance with a special emphasize on

preventive and remedial aspect. Before I go any further, I must say that I am aware of the spread and depth of expertise and knowledge on marine systems, you as experts have and have gathered here at the Conference.
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acknowledge

your

competence

and

preparedness to grow further in the areas of science, technology, management, socio-

economic issues, institutional arrangements and capacity building of communities for sustainable development. I am also sure you will deliberate also on the need for improved understanding of the i. Role of oceans in climate change ii. Effects of climate change on marine and coastal ecosystems including the biotic and the abiotic components with implications for inclusive development of communities and
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resources;

economic

considerations

and

management of externalities, forecasting iii. Processes to gather and exchange

information based on empirical evidences of resource quality and the science of

perturbations for improved decision making on preventive and remediation strategies iv. Architecture of duly integrated policies, plans, programmes and projects considering economic and environmental imperatives & v. Implications of the management principles embodied in the Manado Ocean Declaration, developed in Indonesia in 2009.

I wish to emphasize the legal interface of environmental management and the need for integrated and sustainable development. These two principles are central to growth. The third most important dimension is about equity and justice to the poor families who must be

enabled to have their share in fruits of development with continued increase in their income to live a quality life. In the context of marine systems four

important dimensions become important. 1. In-spite of the fact that water covers most part of our earth, the ocean appears to be
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least protected. This paradox persists despite their role in managing green house gases. Poor management of ocean systems quite obviously results in a wide range of impacts at the micro and the macro levels. Scientific evidences about the impacts appear to be growing. In this context, addressing global

climate change with respect to ocean system calls for a dynamic synthesis of domestic and international law especially because

significant portions of the ocean systems lie beyond the jurisdiction of any single state. 2. The basic legal framework for protection and preservation of the marine environment
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is set out in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC 1982). The convention highlights the customary

international law obligation on all states to not cause damage to the environment;

especially so to other states of areas beyond their own respective jurisdiction. 3. The scientific basis of environmental laws emphasizes the fact that the potential of substances to generate negative

environmental impacts is of greater relevance then the impacts that are obvious at certain points of time and space. It is therefore critical to understand this potential in a
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holistic manner and guide preventive action on the basis of the precautionary measures. 4. Public Leadership (elected and non-elected members around of the Public world active Governance will and have to system) become for

increasingly environmental

responsible and

protection

equitable

growth with focus on poor families and youth. Further the leadership has to be empowered to understand the causes and consequences of environmental impacts in addition to the legal principles of corrective action. As a practitioner of law, the case of the Pacific Island State of Palau attracted my
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attention in this context. You may like to recognize the fact that countries around the world that suffer the impacts of climate change are rallying around the principles of the no harm rule, as an extension of the opportunities provided by the United Nations' Law of the Sea Convention(LOSC). Some of the salient aspects include the following: The Pacific Island State of Palau recently announced it will approach the

International Court of Justice (ICJ), for advice about countries responsibility to avoid emissions that cause climate change

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damage elsewhere in the world. This will be the first case on the international

dimensions of climate change. A few years ago Tuvalu threatened to drag Australia and the United States into a legal process over impacts of climate change. These efforts are emerging and are yet to reach their logical conclusions. However, these are important indications of the nature of litigation of based on the

management

trans-boundary

environmental impacts of consequence at the regional and the global level.

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 The no harm rule is a rule of customary international law. It declares that a State has a duty to prevent, reduce and control the risk of environmental harm to other States. The LOSC contains a wide definition of pollution, and greenhouse gases from human sources could fit within it. The rule was developed and applied in the famous 1941 Trail Smelter decision about air pollution from a copper smelter in Canada. The pollution impacts were felt in the USA, implicated in farmland and crop damage. The arbitral tribunal ordered

Canada to pay compensation to the US.

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 The no harm rule has since been applied in other cases and is included in

agreements, including the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. According to the no harm rule, it is not necessary to exhibit / demonstrate actual as a breach of the rule. An increase in the risk of harm is adequate enough. This is to however be significant. The Maldives too is concerned about the impacts of global warming on its coasts. As we all know, Maldives organized an

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underwater

Cabinet

meeting

to

emphatically protest. In this context, I wish to say that I am inspired by the Climate Justice Programme, which is a collaboration of lawyers and campaigners from around the world. They encourage, support, and track developments regarding enforcement of law to tackle challenges posed by climate change. This forum recognizes the fact that significant progress has indeed been made in the field of international it is environment important to

agreements.

However

strengthen scientific research that will provide stronger evidences of the linkages between
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causes

and

effects

and

help

differentiate

natural and artificially induced variations. It is equally important to enable policy changes based on scientific evidences, supported by well informed public action. The United Nations General Assembly in 2010 has reiterated its concern over the current and projected adverse impacts of climate change on the marine environment and has taken note of the increasing recognition of vulnerability and the irreversible nature of the impacts on marine organisms.

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The new research centre that is set to emerge here may like to focus on the scientific aspects of the impacts with special reference to the micro and macro climate features of the coastal areas. It enhances scientific activity for a better understanding of the effects of climate change on the marine environment, biodiversity and changes in the structure and the function of marine systems. This is also true of the

oceans-atmosphere interface using state-of-art tools and techniques. Form a sustainable development perspective, the federal Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) should be recognized as one of the
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primary statutes that can foster adaptation to climate change at the state and local levels. As state and local governments consider future climate change policies and strategies, coastal zone management role. for It programs is all will play to an

important incentives

important

create with

stakeholders

participative approach. I am also happy to inform that National Council is organizing in an International with ICAR,

Conference

collaboration

Government of India on Climate Change, Sustainable Agriculture and Public Leadership between 7th to 9th February 2012 at National
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Agricultural Science Centre (NASC), New Delhi is one of the important steps in this direction and collective effort and I take this opportunity to welcome all of you to participate in this event. I invite scholars and research scientists to contribute their papers.

I also wish to extend a special thanks to Dr. Jeppiaar, Chancellor of Satyabama University and Prof. R. V. Rama Rao of IDPS for taking this initiative in the right direction and also for inviting me to participate in this very important meet.

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I wish the Conference all the success.

JAI HIND Date: 11th November 2011 Justice B P Singh Former Judge of Supreme Court of India and President - NCCSD
& ECPFO

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