The Law of Shared Hydrocarbon Resources and the Question of Shared State Responsibility for Environmental Harm Arising from Their Cooperative Management

This thesis deals with the law of shared hydrocarbons – a body of general rules of international law governing the management of two categories of shared, common hydrocarbon resources: (a) hydrocarbon resources situated in maritime areas of overlapping claims, and (b) hydrocarbon resources straddling maritime boundaries between neighboring States. This thesis examines the rights and obligations of coastal States that share hydrocarbon resources. It also addresses the issue of shared State responsibility in the context of shared hydrocarbons with particular emphasis on harm to the marine environment originating from activities undertaken in cooperation with respect to these resources

United States Jurisdiction over the 200-Mile Maritime Zone

This Article examines the issue of the United State\u27s exertion of jurisdiction over the continental shelf, with specific focus on the recent Department of Interior opinion, which provides that the Department has leasing authority with respect to the mineral resources of the outer Continental Shelf, as defined by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. The authors examine the two sources of law that determine the extent of United States jurisdiction and control over the seabed, customary international law and treaties and conventions binding upon the United States. The authors conclude that the United States\u27 exercise of jurisdiction under this opinion is consistent with the Exclusive Economic Zone doctrine, as well as the Continental Shelf Convention

The Silver Anniversary of the United States’ Exclusive Economic Zone: Twenty-Five Years of Ocean Use and Abuse, and the Possibility of a Blue Water Public Trust Doctrine

Sustainably managing marine ecosystems has proved nearly impossible, with few success stories. Ecosystem management failures largely stem from the traditional sector-by-sector, issue-by-issue approach to managing ocean-borne activities—an approach that is fundamentally unable to keep pace with the dynamics of coupled human, ecologi cal and oceanographic systems. In the United States today there are over twenty federal agencies and thirty-five coastal states and territories operating under dozens of statutory authorities shaping coastal and ocean policy. Among marine ecologists and policy experts there is an emerging consensus that a major overhaul in U.S. ocean governance is necessary. This Article suggests that the public trust doctrine—an ancient legal concept that is already incorporated in U.S. state coastal laws—can uniquely provide a unifying concept for U.S. federal ocean governance. Though the public trust concept can be located in the legal systems of many countries, it robustly manifests in the United States, where it has historically protected the public’s rights to fishing, navigation, and commerce in and over navigable waterways and tidal waters. In its most basic form, the doctrine obliges governments to manage common natural resources, the body of the trust, in the best interest of their citizens, the beneficiaries of the trust. Today the public trust doctrin e is integral to the protection of coastal ecosystems and beach access in many states and has even made its way into state constitutions. It would be simple, and seemingly logical, to assume that the same fiduciary responsibility of states to protect public trust uses of their waters extends to all marine resources within the United States’ 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). However an artificial line has been drawn around state waters, and the legal authority and responsibility of the U.S. government to protect public trust resources in the vast space of its EEZ (the largest of any country on earth) have never been fully and expressly established. Securing the place of the public trust doctrine in U.S. federal oceans management would be valuable, given the immense pressure to exploit EEZ resources, the failure of the current regulatory approach, improved scientific understanding of the interconnected nature of ocean ecosystems, and the growing demand for sustainable management of ocean resources. This Article will outline the development of states’ public trust doctrines; discuss the expansion of U.S. sovereignty over its neighboring ocean waters during the twentieth century; analyze possible avenues for expanding the doctrine to federal waters; and consider how a federal public trust doctrine could clarify some specific emerging issues in U.S. oceans management. At the heart of our analysis lie three questions: (1) does a federal public trust doctrine exist; (2) if so, can we rightfully extend it to include the entirety of the U.S. ocean waters; and (3) could the doctrine provide the missing catalyst for federal agencies to manage the use of U.S. ocean resources in a coordinated, sustainable fashion

Using Text Mining to Evaluate the Integrative and Adaptive Elements of Water Resource Institutions for Songkhla Lake Basin, Thailand

The study was based on the use of text mining to evaluate the integrative and adaptive elements of water resources for related and relevant institutions in the Songkhla Lake Basin, Thailand. The results were able to show some very interesting patterns like being able to determine the basic statistics of the sets of institutions under review including the degree of fragmentation and gaps, institutional priorities and their capacity to support the element of integrative and adaptive resource management. The major outcome of this work is its ability to prove that the quality of the legal operating documents for state natural resource governance can be quantitatively analysed using the tool and the application of appropriate equations to determine the inherent policy weaknesses, degree of actors vested interests as well as determine the measures of their suitability for enhancement of resources governance

The Law of the Seabed

The Law of the Seabed offers a timely analysis of the most pressing legal questions raised by the use and protection of natural resources on and underneath the world’s seabeds. Readership: University students, lecturers, academics/researchers, governments, law-makers, negotiators, international organisations, NGOs, lobby organisations, practitioners, commercial and in-house lawyers

Investigating the feasibility of establishing a South African marine cadastre.

Master of Science in Land Surveying. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard College 2015.Human interaction with the marine environment is increasing at a rate at which marine management systems cannot keep pace. The land cadastral systems are deemed to be well-established and understood thanks to hundreds of years of development. Meanwhile, as marine technological innovations advance and population density in coastal areas grows, human interaction with the oceans is evolving, making existing systems in place for their management seem out-dated. In South Africa, the declaration of Project Phakisa to unlock the oceans economy, which has been relatively untouched, acknowledges the potential benefits that can be extracted from the sea. A land cadastral system consists of graphically depicted boundaries that have been surveyed, and a register that assigns any rights, restrictions and responsibilities to the area enclosed by such surveyed boundaries. Management of marine property rights is not dissimilar to the land cadastre insofar as there being parallel survey and registry components. Internationally, marine cadastre initiatives are being researched and implemented to update marine management systems while there is recognition for convergence of land and sea based spatial data infrastructures. This study explores the need for the development of a seamless cadastre across the land-sea interface for South Africa by assessing the perceptions of stakeholders that deal in land and/or marine environments. The study investigates access to land versus marine spatial data, legal and technical aspects, components and features of a possible marine cadastre. By adopting a case study strategy using both qualitative and quantitative inquiry approaches, the rendered results presented later in the dissertation have increased reliability resulting from the processes of data triangulation. The main findings indicate that the spatial and accompanying registration component of the land-based cadastral system is sufficient to form the cornerstone of land administration in SA. The literature review and canvassing of persons related to the geospatial fraternity indicates, via analysis of a questionnaire and interviews, shortcomings in good ocean governance. Although a marine cadastral system is feasible for SA, it is beset with spatial, technical, legislative and institutional issues that need ironing out. The unification of the land and possible marine cadastral systems would enable a single land-sea spatial data infrastructure that would mute the effects of an uncertain land-sea interface

Exploring the Last Frontiers for Mineral Resources: A Comparison of International Law Regarding the Deep Seabed, Outer Space, and Antarctica

The nations of the world have begun to tap three resource areas--the deep seabed, outer space, and Antarctica. These areas are unique insofar as no nation can claim them exclusively as its own. As a result, these three areas raise unique international questions. Not only are they largely undisturbed, but these areas are also the testing ground for recently developed international treaties that attempt to usher in a new era of international cooperation. This Note examines both the exploration and exploitation of mineral resources in the deep seabed, outer space, and Antarctica. The physical nature of each area, the resources available to humankind, the technological and economic feasibility of future explorations, and the environmental concerns surrounding mineral resource development will be examined. Within each section, the author discusses the treaty systems governing each environment, focusing particularly on the most recent attempts to formulate policy. The historical development, structure, and current status of these latest attempts are examined. By comparing the development, successes, and failures of the treaty systems, this Note attempts to highlight past experiences to suggest a system that will better serve the world community in the next century