WJEC Focus 3.2.

6
Eduqas Focus 2.2.6

Global Governance
of the Earth’s Oceans
Laws and agreements
 Which laws and agreements regulate the use of oceans?

Learning objectives:

To understand the main laws and agreements regulating the use of the Earth’s
oceans in ways that promote sustainable economic growth and geopolitical
stability.

Starter: What do you understand by the term ‘sovereignty’?

the authority of a state to govern

itself or another state
 Which laws and agreements regulate the use of oceans?

Find out more:

Watch the video below to start finding out about the laws that govern
international waters.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mALhZGbopR8

A Chinese coast guard ship in disputed waters in the South China Sea.
 Which laws and agreements regulate the use of oceans?

Follow up:

Watch the video again, but this time, answer the following questions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mALhZGbopR8

Questions

1. What are international waters (high seas)?

2. How many miles off the coast do territorial waters extend?
3. Which zone extends 200 nautical miles (NM) from the shore?
4. What does the EEZ apply to?
5. What does UNCLOS stand for?
6. What is ‘universal jurisdiction’?
7. Under what circumstances might universal jurisdiction be useful?
8. Why is there an ongoing dispute regarding the South China Sea?
 Which laws and agreements regulate the use of oceans?

UNCLOS – United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

Since the 17th century, the principle of limiting the rights of a country to a
narrow belt (3 nautical miles) around their coastline has been accepted. The
remainder of the oceans were free for all to use.

However, during the 20th century, concerns were growing around the
pressures and potential conflicts regarding the use of the oceans’
resources.

Between 1945 and 1967, a number of countries, including the USA, Chile,
Argentina and Egypt made changes to their claims regarding the waters
around them, mainly to exploit or protect minerals and fish stocks.

Question: What is the difference between a statute mile and a nautical mile?

1 nautical mile = 1.1508 statute miles

 Which laws and agreements regulate the use of oceans?

There were many concerns that

technological advances, political
disputes, claims and counter-
claims regarding ocean
resources were reaching crisis
point. By 1967, only 25 nations
still adhered to the 3 NM
principal.

During this period, the UN held

several conferences to develop
treaties which stipulated rights
and responsibilities with respect Delegates at UNCLOS I (source: www.legal.un.org)
to the use of the world’s oceans.
The first of the conferences were held in 1956, resulting in four treaties being
agreed in 1958, known as UNCLOS I.
 Which laws and agreements regulate the use of oceans?

A second conference was held in 1960

(UNCLOS II), but no new agreements
were reached.

In 1967, Arvid Pardo, Malta's

Ambassador to the United Nations,
made an electrifying speech to the
General Assembly. He called for
international regulations to ensure peace
at sea, to prevent further pollution and to
protect ocean resources.

A comprehensive treaty was discussed between 1973 and 1982 (UNCLOS III),
where 160 sovereign states bargained, argued and traded rights and
obligations regarding the waters around their nations and states. This
conference adopted the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on
the 10th December 1982. The law was signed by 117 nations and came into
force in 1994.
 Which laws and agreements regulate the use of oceans?

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea contains twelve
key provisions:

1. Setting limits
2. Navigation
3. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
4. Continental shelf
5. Deep seabed mining
6. The exploitation regime
7. Technological prospects
8. The question of universal participation in the convention
9. Pioneer investors
10. Protection of the marine environment
11. Marine scientific research
12. Settlement of disputes
The convention also sets the limit of various areas which lie in proximity of
coastal states. These areas are measured from a carefully defined baseline
(mean low water mark along the coast).
 Which laws and agreements regulate the use of oceans?

Zone Distance from Significance of zone

baseline
Internal waters Landward of Coastal states have the right to set laws and use
baseline resources. Foreign vessels have no right of passage.

Territorial waters Up to 12 NM This area includes the airspace above water and the
land below the sea. Foreign flag ships have the right
of innocent passage*. However, submarines must
travel on the surface.
Contiguous zone Up to 24 NM In this area coastal states have the rights to waters
and airspace for the purposes of enforcing
immigration, customs laws, taxation and immigration.
Exclusive Up to 200 NM Coastal states have the exploitation rights to all
economic natural resources. Foreign nations have rights to
zones (EEZs) waters and airspace, subject to agreements, and can
lay submarine pipes and cables.
Continental shelf Up to 350 NM Coastal states have the right to harvest mineral and
non-living material in the subsoil of its continental
shelf, to the exclusion of others.
* Innocent passage exists as long as the passage does not affect good order, peace and security of
the sovereign state.
Which laws and agreements regulate the use of oceans?

Baseline – mean low

water mark

Continental shelf
Land

Internal
Waters

Where do you think these labels

should appear on the map? Click the Labels
1. Land button to reveal?
2. Internal waters
3. Baseline – mean low water mark Labels
4. Continental shelf
 Which laws and agreements regulate the use of oceans?

Baseline – mean low

water mark

Continental shelf
Land

Internal
Waters

C Exclusive Economic Zone – up to 200 nautical miles

Which letter on the map
matches each of these D International waters (outside Territorial waters)
statements?
Click on each statement A Territorial waters – up to 12 nautical miles
to reveal.
B Contiguous Zone - up to 24 nautical miles
Which laws and agreements regulate the use of oceans?

A Territorial waters Up to 12 nm
B Contiguous zone Up to 24 nm
C Exclusive economic Up to 200 nm
zones (EEZs)
D Continental shelf Up to 350 nm

More detail on these zones can be found on the NOAA website here:
http://www.gc.noaa.gov/gcil_maritime.html
 Which laws and agreements regulate the use of oceans?

Part XI and 1994 agreement

The International Seabed Authority (ISA) was established by the UNCLOS in

order to regulate and control seabed exploration and mining outside territorial
waters and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ).

Question: What rights do landlocked countries have under UNCLOS?

According to Article 125 of UNCLOS:

Land-locked States shall have the right of access to and from the
sea through the territory of transit States by all means of
transport. The terms for exercising freedom of transit shall be
agreed between the land-locked States and transit States.Transit
States shall have the right to take all measures necessary to
ensure that the rights and facilities provided for land-locked
States shall in no way infringe their legitimate interests.

Question: Do you think all landlocked states enjoy these freedoms?

 Which laws and agreements regulate the use of oceans?

Sustainable Development Goals

The UN’s seventeen Sustainable Development Goals were introduced in 2015.

They replace and extend the earlier Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
which were a set of targets agreed in 2000 by world leaders. The SDGs provide a
‘roadmap’ for human development by setting out priorities for action. There is a
strong emphasis on helping protect the oceans thanks to Goal 14:

Goal 14 – Life below water

Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources

Watch this clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3nnyj998BI
 Which laws and agreements regulate the use of oceans?

What are the primary aims of Sustainable Development Goal 14?

To significantly To sustainably To minimise and To effectively

reduce marine manage and address the regulate
pollution of all protect marine impacts of harvesting and
kinds – and coastal ocean end overfishing
particularly from ecosystems to acidification and destructive
land based avoid significant through scientific fishing
activities adverse impacts cooperation practices

To restore fish To prohibit To increase the To provide

stocks in the certain forms of economic access for
shortest time fisheries benefits to small-scale
feasible, to subsidies which developing artisanal fishers
levels that can contribute to countries from to marine
produce overfishing, the sustainable resources and
maximum unregulated and use of marine markets
sustainable yield illegal fishing resources

Further information relating to SDG 14 can be viewed via the UN website here:
http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/oceans/
 Which laws and agreements regulate the use of oceans?

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

Introduction:

Watch this clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIYC6iIoevM

Questions

1. When was the CITES agreement signed?

2. What was the agreement designed to cover?
3. The agreement looks for a balance between what things?
4. Trade covered by CITES in the1970s mainly concerned leathers, skins and
plants. However, today it also includes what kinds of products?
5. In 2010, how many species did the CITES agreement cover?
 Which laws and agreements regulate the use of oceans?

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

Watch this clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9eHLhq5zgk

Questions

1. What is the objective of CITES?

2. What makes CITES unique?
3. What are some of the challenges facing CITES?
4. What partnerships does CITES have?
5. How does CITES work with other MEAs?

Glossary:
MEAs – Multilateral Environmental Agreements
 Which laws and agreements regulate the use of oceans?

The Convention on International Trade in

Endangered Species

Commonly known as CITES, The Convention on

International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora is an international
agreement which came into force in 1975, after
being originally drafted in 1963.

Currently 183 countries have signed up to the

agreement. Although taking part is voluntary, the
countries who have signed up are legally obliged
to implement the convention in their own
countries.
At the time of the draft in 1963, the idea of regulating the wildlife trade on an
international basis was a new concept. As the trade in wildlife is often international,
there was a desire amongst many to co-ordinate and regulate this trade in order to
protect and conserve threatened species and ensure sustainability.
 Which laws and agreements regulate the use of oceans?

CITES is run using a licensing system whereby the import and export of all
species listed in the agreement must be authorised.

All those species covered are listed in three appendices, according to the level
of protection and control required.

Appendix 1 – Trade is only permitted in exceptional circumstances, as these

species are threatened with extinction.

Appendix 2 – Trade in these species is controlled, although these species are

not threatened with extinction.

Appendix 3 – Species protected in one or more countries.

CITES website https://cites.org/

 Which laws and agreements regulate the use of oceans?

Can CITES come to nature’s rescue?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jznps4qyxi4

Does the issue of Is it fair that countries

Bluefin tuna and like Tuvalu have not
Japan (highlighted been forced to sign up?
at 03:07 in the
programme),
illustrate that CITES
is set up to fail?

Should all countries

be forced to join?

Illegally caught Bluefin tuna on sale in Japan

 Which laws and agreements regulate the use of oceans?

Additional information and resources:

Other presentations regarding UNCLOS, maritime zones and jurisdictions can be

viewed here:

http://www.slideshare.net/justinordoyo/united-nations-convention-on-the-law-of-the-sea-
unclos

http://www.slideshare.net/roesroesmana/maritime-zone-and-jurisdiction

Sample essay

Will UNCLOS I-III reduce the likelihood of conflict?

http://www.slideshare.net/BenMoss12/unclos-essay
 Which laws and agreements regulate the use of oceans?

Sources:

http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_historical_perspective.htm#Key
provisions

http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_overview_convention.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Convention_on_the_Law_of_the_Sea

http://www.gc.noaa.gov/gcil_los.html

http://www.gc.noaa.gov/gcil_maritime.html

https://cites.org/eng

http://www.slideshare.net/isitokayyoumine/unclos-33376367

http://dev.ulb.ac.be/ceese/ABC_Impacts/glossary/unclos.php

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DUkQ1wE2--6xeKO2gq733DsfnVFvN1nEtn_B3U-ii54/edit
 Acknowledgements

Slide 3
Chinese coast guard ship in Vietnamese waters (p. 3) - HOANG DINH NAM / Getty Images
Slide 6
Delegates at UNCLOS I - 1 March 1958 - United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea,
meeting of the Fifth Committee, Geneva, Switzerland.
Slide 7
Creative Commons
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Arvid_Pardo.png
Continental Europe at English Wikipedia [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-
SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Arvid_Pardo_painting.jpeg
Continental Europe at English Wikipedia [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-
SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Slide 10
Territorial waters map - © Arctic Portal; http://bit.ly/2rkUmyq
Slide 18
Creative Commons
https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidooms/2963247173/sizes/l/in/photostream/