Comments

This paper is draft contribution for: The World Ocean in Globalisation: Challenges and Responses, edited by Davor Vidas and Peter Johan Schei, Forthcoming Martinus Nijhoff, 2010. This paper may also be referenced as [2009] UNSWLRS 42.

Abstract

The high seas cover more than 50% of the planet’s surface. The last thirty years have seen unparalleled expansion of human activities and impacts on the oceans and on the high seas in particular. At the same time there is evidence of the impacts of the increased intensity of existing human activities; increases in maritime transportation, marine pollution, particularly from land based sources, such as garbage, as well as traditional fishing techniques. These issues, which affect waters both inside and outside national jurisdiction, pose governance issues. This chapter seeks to set out the key risks that high seas areas face, the plethora of bodies with regional and sectoral jurisdiction but also the lacunae – the regulatory and governance gaps that exist.

Disciplines

International Law | Law of the Sea

Date of this Version

October 2009