Global Ocean Governance: Challenge of Change events material... · Baltic Sea Governance: Challenge of Change . Sunil Murlidhar SHASTRI . University of Hull . Waterpraxis Seminar

Baltic Sea Governance: Challenge of Change Sunil Murlidhar SHASTRI University of Hull Waterpraxis Seminar Vilnius, Lithuania 11-12 January 2012

“There is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things”

- Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1532)

“First they laugh at you, then they ignore you, then they fight you, then you win” “Be the change you want to see”

- Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

Government and Governance • Government implies the making and enforcement of

decisions by a centralised formal authority

• Governance connotes a process in which there is close cooperation among actors (stakeholders) to achieve the desired objective

• Governance is the new buzzword in the development discourse

• Public sector management, transparency, legal framework, accountability and information are the key components of governance

• Selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, leadership (Standards in Public Life in the UK)

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Some key questions

• What are the uses/resources? – Rationae materiae

• Who has access to them? – Rationae personae

• Where/when are they exploited? – Rationae loci

• How to distribute them in an equitable manner? – Ex equo et bono

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Uses and Resources of the Sea

• Shipping and Navigation

• Resources: Living and Non-living

• Waste Disposal

• Strategic Uses

• Leisure and Tourism

• Pipelines and Cables

• Marine Scientific Research

• Biodiversity

• Conservation

• Habitat Management

• Climate Control

• Illegal uses


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Further boost to the interest

• Socio-economic necessity – Roti, kapda aur makan

• Political and cultural aspirations – Post-war Neo-independent countries

• Scientific discovery and technological possibility – Knowledge, exploitability and usability

• Wide-eyed science fiction – Writings of popular science, imagination

• (Pragmatism) – Rachel Carson and more recently, the IPCC


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Problems (opportunities?)

• Pressures on resources

• People’s aspirations

• Population and demographic patterns

• Powers: interest groups

• Political perceptions

• Poverty and prosperity

• Pollution: inevitable consequence

• Press

• Progress?


“The global ocean is our great laboratory for the making of a new international order, based on new forms of international cooperation and organisation, on a new economic theory, on a new philosophy”

-Elisabeth Mann Borgese (1918-2002)

The Baltic Sea

• Enclosed and Coastal Sea

• Numerous rivers draining into it

• 9 surrounding nation States

• Perhaps the largest body of brackish water

• Susceptible to freezing?

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Governance of the Baltic – Global Influences

• 1972 Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (LDC)

• 1973 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships (MARPOL) 1978

• 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

• 1992 Convention on Biodiversity (CBD)

• 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC)

• 1995 Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities (GPA)


Baltic Governance – Regional Influences


• 1970s UNEP’s Regional Seas Programme

• 1970 EU Common Fisheries Policy (several reviews)

• 1992 Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic (OSPAR Convention) – excludes the Baltic (and the Mediterranean)

– 1972 Oslo Convention and the 1974 Paris Convention

• 2000 EU Water Framework Directive

• 2008 EU Integrated Maritime Policy

• (2009 UK Marine and Coastal Access Act)

Baltic Governance


• 1973 Convention on Fishing and Conservation of the Living Resources in the Baltic Sea and the Belts

• 1974 Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea (The Baltic Convention)

– Influenced UNCLOS and the UNEP’s RSP – Superseded by the 1992 Baltic Convention – Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission

(HELCOM) is the Administering Body

• 1994 Agreement on Small Cetaceans in the North Sea and Baltic (under the 1979 Bonn Convention) ASCOBANS

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Impetus

Environment is in a SLUDGE

• Slightly

• Less

• Unsustainable

• Development of the

• Global

• Environment


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Transforming Principles to Jus Cogens

• Common concern

• Sustainable development

• Precautionary polluter pays principle

• Self-regulation

• Biodiversity conservation

• Intergenerational equity

• Integration and consensus

An overarching ecosystems approach


UNCLOS and UNCED

• “Two mighty rivers that will change the future of global governance” (not just ocean or environmental governance)

• Two successive Secretary Generals of the UN, Boutros Boutros Ghali and Kofi Annan have alluded to this in their valedictions

• Their predecessor Javier Perez de Cueller was personally credited with bringing the UNCLOS back on course

• UNICPOLOS is an initiative to wrest the best from the multitude of global agreements

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My Approach: The MasterClass – Seven Pillars of Ocean and Environmental Governance

• Science and technology of resources

• Geopolitical economy of resources

• Institutions and organisations

• Legislation and implementation

• Role of the civil society

• Financial initiatives

• Education and awareness


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My involvement

• The work I do with organisations, local to global, in the area of ocean and environmental governance

• Contribution to discussions on the UK Marine Bill and EU Maritime Policy, among others

• Promoting better governance through numerous speaking engagements such as this one

• Involvement with range of Stakeholder Dialogues on marine and coastal issues


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Stakeholders

• Principle: “Environmental issues are best handled with the participation of all concerned citizens” Rio, Declaratory Principle 10, 1992

• Definition: “Stakeholders are those individuals and/or groups that have a stake in a certain policy decision – they are impacting the decision or policy and/or are affected by it” Rio, AGENDA 21, 1992

• Stakeholders: “Women; Children and youth; indigenous people; NGOs; Local authorities; Trade unions; Business and industry; Science and technology; Farmers” Rio, AGENDA 21, 1992

“We don’t see change when it is happening; we see it only after it has happened”

-Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)

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Just do it!

“It is not the end of the problem but the solution must begin somewhere”


Thank you for listening!

Sunil Murlidhar SHASTRI E-mail: [email protected] Mobile: +44 7771 685414

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

Global Ocean Governance: Challenge of Change events material... · Baltic Sea Governance: Challenge of Change . Sunil Murlidhar SHASTRI . University of Hull . Waterpraxis Seminar