For ages, the oceans which covers more than 70 percent of planet earth have been and will continue to a major source of food, energy and livelihoods to humanity. Today, no part of the oceans or part of it remains unaffected by human influence. Human influence at sea has brought a lot of threats to ships, ports and people.
The threats in the maritime space include but not limited to illegal and unreported fishing, unsustainable and destructive fishing practices, pollution from land -based and ship – based sources and ocean noise. Others include collisions between marine life and ships, the extraction of oil and gas, and the mining of minerals among others. All these lead to ocean warming, ocean acidification and decreasing oxygen levels. All of these in turn have negative impact on marine life. And human activities increase due to globalization, threat to the ocean space have also been significantly compounded across the world. When an assessment of maritime threats that have characterized the oceans is carried out, one can only advocate for effective ocean governance.
What is ocean governance, and how are oceans governed? There are several definitions of ocean governance. “Ocean governance is the conduct of the policy, actions, and affairs regarding the world’s oceans.” Ocean governance can be seen as the most recent phase in the evolution of the international law of the sea. And it is among the key drivers and elements in the current ongoing process to help maritime nations including Nigeria to conserve and sustainably use marine biological diversity beyond national jurisdiction.
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The oceans are governed through the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention. This is the constitution that governs activities at sea. The treaty divides the sea into different zones. First, we have the 12 nautical mile zone which is basically the coastal waters or territorial waters belonging to a state. This is followed by the contiguous zone which is 24 nautical miles from the base of the coastline. Beyond the contiguous zone is the high sea. All maritime activities including fisheries beyond the territorial waters of a coastal nation are regulated by international agreements.
It must be stressed that there is a link between maritime security and ocean governance. Effective maritime security provided by individual coastal states will go a long way in ensuring ocean governance.
Ocean governance is very crucial in international discourse as it attempts to manage the ocean and its resources in a manner that ensures its health, productivity, and resilience. The complexity of the marine environment, maritime threats and overlapping jurisdiction lead to a dense and confusing policy environment.
The UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 demands that maritime nations find ways and means to “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, sea and marine resources for sustainable development.” The sustainability of our oceans is under severe threat as we can see today with plastic/marine pollution, ocean warming, acidification and illegal and unreported fishing around the world. The livelihoods of over 3 billion people who rely on the oceans for their survival is at risk just as half of the countries globally are reported to have adopted specific measures to support small scale fisheries. It is sad to note that “dead zones”- areas of water that lack sufficient oxygen to support marine life -are rising at alarming rate. To tackle all these maritime threats require collaborative efforts of all maritime nations as no nation can do it alone. In order to make SDG 14 actionable, the United Nations have sought the participation of “all stakeholders” through partnerships in order to achieve all the 10 targets and 10 target indicators. These targets include sustainable fishing, protection and restoration of ecosystems, reduction of marine pollution, and the increase in economic benefits for using sustainable fishing practices among others.
It must be stressed that there is a link between maritime security and ocean governance. Effective maritime security provided by individual coastal states will go a long way in ensuring ocean governance.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has a significant role to play in improving safety and security of international shipping, and the prevention of pollution from ships’ movements- both of which are important for the actualization of SDG 14. The IMO has a significant role to play in ensuring that maritime vessel movements do not upset the maritime environment and remains energy efficient.
The management and regulation of fishing practices is the responsibility of the coastal state and these are elements under the realm of coastal management. Marine experts strongly believe that SDG 14 comprises the backbone of ocean governance and environmental security as the realization of 38 percent of all SDG targets is dependent upon ocean sustainability. In this author’s view, the key challenge with respect to all forms of international cooperation including ocean governance is that of enforcement. This is why the governance of marine areas beyond national jurisdiction becomes uncontrollable. What then is the solution? Enforcement of maritime laws by all agencies saddled with the responsibility of doing so by the constitution of the country. Thank you.
This article was originally published in this column on February 8, 2022.
