This volume titled The Marine Environment and United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life below Water was suggested by Indonesian Ambassador Arif Havas Oegroseno as the theme for the 41st Annual Conference of the Center for Oceans Law and Policy, University of Virginia School of Law. The Conference was co-hosted with Indonesia’s Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and was held May 17–18, 2017, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The book is almost entirely based on oral presentations given at the 41st Conference.
Fittingly, the first featured remarks on “The Marine Environment and UN Sustainable Goal 14” were made by Ambassador Arif Havas Oegroseno. He focused on concrete issues such as striking a balance between marine protection and sustainable uses, developing norms for governance gaps, accommodating the challenges facing small island States, and evading potential conflicts over resources, especially in disputed waters.
The next featured remarks were by Dr. Hasjim Djalal who for many years led an Indonesian team to Workshops on Managing Potential Conflicts in the South China Sea area. This highly influential “track two” process involving key participating authorities fostered many cooperative efforts and laid the foundation for a Code of Conduct in the region. The third featured remarks were by H.E. N. Hassan Wirajuda, former Foreign Minister of Indonesia, who earned an S.J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. His remarks addressed the future using a dialogue on sustainable development to advance regional and global order in the oceans. The final featured speaker was H.E. Satya N. Nandan who, among other prestigious posts, was Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Law of the Sea. The President of the Conference, Tommy Koh of Singapore, and Satya Nandan of Fiji, contributed as much as any two persons to the success of the Third U.N. Conference on the Law of the Sea. This article contains priceless reflections on those efforts.
Part 1 of the program dealt with “Conservation and Sustainable Use of Oceans and Their Resources”. The lead off speaker was Rena Lee, Senior State Counsel, Singapore Attorney-General’s Chambers. She reviewed recent U.N. activities and their synergic processes to overcome fragmentation in ocean governance. The next contribution was by International Tribunal for Law of the Sea Judge Liesbeth Lijnzaad. Her topic posed the question “Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity: Siamese Twins?”, which she answers that further clarity is required before inclusion in a multilateral treaty. Indonesian Professor Melda Kamil Ariadno spoke on achieving sustainable
Part 2 of the book discusses “Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction” starting with the “Action Goals” under the 2030 agenda on sustainable development. Professor Ronán Long, who now directs the Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute at the World Maritime University, co-authored this paper with Mariamalia Rodriguez Chaves of the Pew Charitable Trusts. They offer comprehensive, wide-ranging comments on the 2030 Agenda’s political impetus and added context to the implementation of international law for the international community. The second presentation was by Professor Robin Warner (ANCORS) on the elements of an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) for conservation and sustainable use of marine diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). Her article examines key features of the existing global and regional ocean governance framework in the southern hemisphere in light of ILBI. The third paper in Part 2 was presented by Kristine Dalaker Kraabel from the K.G. Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø. She covered the U.N. Preparatory Committee developing elements for the ILBI, particularly the proposed institutional arrangements pertaining to the “hybrid approach”. Two South Korean scholars, Dr. Su Jin Park of the Korea Maritime Institute, and Ki Hyeon Kim of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, examined legal aspects of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the ABNJ. They discussed the definition, designation process, monitoring review process and effectiveness of MPAs and their relation to existing relevant international instruments and frameworks. The last speaker on the ABNJ was A. Gusman Siswandi, Faculty of Law, Bandung, Indonesia. His presentation was on Marine Genetic Resources in the ABNJ from the perspective of developing countries. He urged a more integrated approach between sustainable development goals and relevant international instruments.
Part 3 is titled “Status of Deep Seabed Minerals” with a panel moderated by Alfonso Ascencio-Herrera, Legal Counsel and Deputy to the Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority (ISA). He contributed a paper that identified the work of the ISA and its relevance to Agenda 2030 Targets. The first major panel paper in this part was co-authored by Professor Seokwoo Lee of Inha University Law School, Korea and Director Hee Cheol Yang, Ocean Policy Institute, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Korea. They reviewed efforts to enhance deep seabed activities and domestic Korean law on exploration for exploitation of resources in the deep seabed area. Dr. Tomohiko Fukushima of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology then spoke on the role of science for environmental impact evaluation resulting from ocean mining. The author elaborated on a more deliberate process of decision-making. The fourth presentation on deep sea minerals was by Steven Potter, Esq., who principally focused on the ISA’s current process in finalizing the exploitation regime regulations and stakeholder concerns in the revised draft thereof.
Part 4 is titled “Marine Pollution and Coastal Ecosystems”. The first paper is by Director Brahmantya Satyamurti Poerwadi and Abdul Muhari of Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries. These co-authors described the impact of marine debris on marine habitats and the practical activities in the national action plan to deal with the problems. Professor Stephen A. Macko, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, next provided a detailed review of a broad range of pollutants whose heightened levels will reduce coastal diversity and productivity and result in a reduction of food resources. He urged greater public awareness of these sources and the detrimental effects of these materials. The third paper was given by Professor Chie Kojima of Musahino University, Tokyo who offered a human rights perspective on marine pollution. She advocated for the potential of UNCLOS to safeguard human rights by protecting coastal ecosystems from land-based marine pollution.
Part 5 addresses “Climate Change and the Oceans”. The first paper in this part by Karen N. Scott of the University of Canterbury, New Zealand is on ocean acidification and sustainable development Goal 14. She posed the question whether sustainable development was a goal but not a target? Her reply was no specific actions, including targets to limit ocean acidification had been established and she concluded with a number of proposals for reform. The second paper by J. Ashley Roach discussed the on-going work of two International Law Association (ILA) Committees, one on Baselines and another on Sea Level Rise. He discussed the legal issues raised at ILA meetings with respect to sea level rise on maritime zones, maritime boundaries and proposed solutions. Next, Dr. Elise Johansen from the K.G. Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea focused on climate change and the Arctic. She explained how opportunities for economic growth in the region must be balanced against environmental risks and examined the regulatory framework’s capability to deal with climate