global governance of oceans

Question 1

UNESCO

Answer 1

• formed on 16/11/1945
• 194 member states
• the main aims are to contribute to the building of a culture of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information
• has got legal power
• shared sovereignty

Question 2

NATO

Answer 2

• formed on 04/04/1949
• 31 members (e.g. UK, France)
• the main aim is to safeguard the freedom and security of all its members by political and military means
• legal power
• shared sovereignty

Question 3

UN

Answer 3

• formed on 24/10/1945
• 193 member states (e.g. Germany, Brazil, Israel)
• main aims are the maintenance of international peace and security, the promotion of the well-being of the peoples of the world, including the protection of human rights and international cooperation to these ends (deliver humanitarian aid, support sustainable development and climate action)
• is legally binding
• shared sovereignty

Question 4

EU

Answer 4

• formed on 01/11/1993
• 27 member states (e.g. Denmark, Spain)
• the main aims are to promote peace, its values and the well-being of its citizens, offer freedom, security and justice without internal borders, while also taking appropriate measures at its external borders to regulate asylum and immigration and prevent and combat crime
• pooled sovereignty
• more advise and steer

Question 5

G7/G8

Answer 5

• formed in 1976
• members: France, United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy and Canada
• lacks legal power

Question 6

G20

Answer 6

• formed 26/07/1999
• 19 member countries (e.g. China, Canada) and the EU
• the main aims are to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigation and sustainable development
• lacks legal power - more advise and steer

Question 7

G77

Answer 7

• formed 15/06/2964
• main aims are to maintain the independence and sovereignty of all developing countries, to defend the economic interests of member countries by insisting on equal standing with developed countries in the global marketplace, to establish a united front on issues of common concern

Question 8

economic reasons as to why we need to govern the world’s oceans

Answer 8

• the high value of goods being transported on the oceans has allowed modern day piracy to flourish
• the oceans produce $3trillion of goods and services every year, providing a much needed boost for the global economy
• by utilising the oceans, the increased trade routes have allowed for economies to flourish through importing and exporting goods
• the economic activity zone helps to govern the world’s oceans by defining the boundaries where a nation has the right to extract resources
• some nations may have access to their own EEZ, but the waters are not as rich in resources

Question 9

political reasons as to why we need to govern the world’s oceans

Answer 9

• factortame, a decision made by EU courts ruled that British courts could not stop spanish vessels from fishing in british waters
• CITES has helped to create international uniformity with regulations regarding some of the most damaging activities for the oceans, e.g. whaling
• established laws determine that trade has restrictions on imports, e.g. the illegal trade in drugs
• UNCLOS has defined 4 separate zones that all nations must abide by territorial waters, contiguous zone, EEZ and international waters
• the decision from the factortame case could be argued to have undermined a country’s sovereign rights to determine what activity takes places in its own waters
• regulations such as the antartic treaty determine that no oil rigging of resource extraction should take place

Question 10

defence reasons as to why we need to govern the world’s oceans

Answer 10

• the creation of territorial waters and a contiguous zone allows nations to protect their own borders, this is especially true for island nations
• criminal gangs use the oceans for people smuggling, with many of these people being sold to work in the sex trade

Question 11

environmental reasons as to why we need to govern the world’s oceans

Answer 11

• coral reefs are dying and some areas of the oceans are called oxygen starved dead zones with no marine life for up to 100 miles
• governing the oceans has led to the development of numerous trade routes, this has increased the number of vessels in the oceans leading to an increase in litter and oil spillages
• many of the world’s great whales are under threat from human induced extinction, governing the world’s oceans will help to conserve endangered species

Question 12

global commons

Answer 12

• global commons is a term typically used to describe international, supranational and global resource domains in which common pool resources are found
• global commons include the earth’s shared natural resources, such as the high oceans, the atmosphere, outer space and the Antarctic

Question 13

supranational organisations

Answer 13

• an international organisation or union in which member states transcend national boundaries or interests to share in the decision making
• collective voting on issues pertaining to the wider grouping
• e.g. the eu, un
• individual nations will strive to establish political dominance internationally, supranational organisations help to reduce this
• international policy is still dominated by core nations (i.e. USA, UK, China, Japan), supranational organisations help to give a voice to smaller nations

Question 14

exclusive economic activity zone

Answer 14

an area of coastal water and seabed within a certain distance of a country’s coastline to which the country claims exclusive rights for fishing, drilling and other economic activities

Question 15

UNCLOS

Answer 15

• the united nations convention on the law of the sea
• established in 1982
• it lays down a comprehensive regime of law and order in the world’s oceans and seas establishing rules governing all uses of the oceans and their resources.

Question 16

contiguous zone

Answer 16

the contiguous zone is an area seaward of the territorial sea in which the coastal state may exercise the control necessary to prevent or punish infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration and sanitary laws and regulations

Question 17

territorial waters

Answer 17

a belt of coastal waters extending 12 nautical miles from a country’s coast

Question 18

international waters

Answer 18

• international waters are bodies of water that are outside a country’s territorial waters, they have no sovereignty
• universal jurisdiction allows a state’s jurisdiction over crimes against international law even if the crimes did not occur on that state’s territory, and regardless of the victim or perpetrator’s nationality
• activities that all countries can do in international waters are freedom to navigate, fishing, overflight, laying cables and pipelines and research
• the conflict in the south china sea: China lays claim to a number of islands and therefore their territorial waters. neighbouring states (e.g. Taiwan, Vietnam) say that China’s claims overlap their own territory and many international countries (e.g. USA) say that a large portion of the south china sea constitutes as international waters

Question 19

what is a chokepoint

Answer 19

• chokepoints are strategic, narrow passages that connect two larger areas to one another
• when it comes to maritime trade, these are typically straits or canals that see high volumes of traffic because of their optimal location

Question 20

the risks of chokepoints

Answer 20

• structural risks: as demonstrated in the recent suez canal blockage, ships can crash along the shore of a canal if the passage is too narrow, causing traffic jams that can last for days
• geopolitical risks: because of their high traffic, choke points are particularly vulnerable to blockades or deliberate disruptions during times of political unrest

Question 21

facts and figures about global shipping

Answer 21

• world trade is dominated by the BRIC group:
• the value of global trade has risen by 2% per year since 1945 (with the exception of 2008 and 2009)
• ten nations account for more than half of global trade
• the majority of trade originating in developed countries take place with other developed countries due to the large number of affluent consumers
• consumer markets have expanded in emerging economies as spending power has grown among their citizens, China’s annual meat consumption per capita rose from 4kg to 52kg between 1990 and 2010
• although its growth is now slowing, China is still the world’s number one exporter of goods; the slowdown of China’s demand has led to a ‘cooling off period’ of the global economy

Question 22

facts and figures about containerisation

Answer 22

• more than 600 million containers are moved across the oceans annually
• container ships have increased in size over time - the average ship size increased by 90% in the past 2 decades
• a slowdown in the economy can result in over capacity of ships as shipping companies overestimate the growth of global trade, this has resulted in ships sailing at a capacity where they make a loss - this has happened due to a slowdown of the economy, as well as the shortening of supply chains as MNCs reshore operations as a result of rising cost and risk

Question 23

suez canal

Answer 23

• its between Israel and Egypt, connecting the mediterranian sea to the indian sea via in the red sea
• enable a more direct
• the suez canal is owned by the suez canal authority, meaning everyone can use it
• it spends up shipping routes, which reduces the cost for businesses
• issues that may arise: piracy, oil leaks/spills, chance of blockages, questions of ownership
• is in a volatile region (i.e., Babel Mandeb): shipping traffic has decreased by 66% because of attacks on ships, attacks from Houthi rebels from Yemen

Question 24

panama canal

Answer 24

• connects the atlantic ocean with the pacific ocean
• it is owned by the panama government and the isthmian canal commission
• halves the time it takes to go the route
• reduces the time it takes to go from new york to san francisco (large trade hubs)

Question 25

the suez canal blockage 2021

Answer 25

• it was blocked for 6 days by a large ship called the ever given
• cost about 12% of global trade
• cost more that $1billion

Question 26

global governance of piracy

Answer 26

the geneva convention on the high seas (1958) article 15 states;
- piracy consist of any of the following acts:
(1) any illegal acts of violence, detention or any act of depredation, committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private ship or a private aircraft and directed:
- a.) on the high seas, against another ship or aircraft, or against persons or property on board, such ship or aircraft;
- b.) against a ship, aircraft, persons or property in a place outside the jurisdiction of any state

• in addition, articles 16-21 refer specifically to piracy

Question 27

piracy case study - somalia

Answer 27

• somalia, a country located on the horn of east africa, has been plagued by political turmoil
• referred to as a failed state, somalia’s government have little or no control over the country
• instead, the country is controlled by crime and those who carry out illegal acts; the most infamous example is the pirate activity carried out by somali nationals
• 54% of somalia’s working age population are unemployed leading to desperate attempts to find a source of income
• piracy in somalia emerged after 1991 collapse of dictator, major general Siad Barre’s government
• chinese commercial fishing vessels started exploiting the area and local fishermen started arming themselves, boarding boast and charging fines
• hijacking and kidnappings last an average of 6 month and the average ransom payment is over $5 million
• this brings in over $200 million to somalia annually
• pirates invest in fishing villages and this perpetuates the problem
• no government to enforce the rule of law
• in south islamist al-shabaab rebels impose sharia law and act as a defacto government, some evidence suggests this makes it harder for somali pirates to operate in the south, but some sources suggest pirates and al-shabaab have a working relationship

Question 28

what is being done about somali piracy (governance of priacy)

Answer 28

• 1982 un convention on the law of the sea bound 154 nations and the eu to: govern all aspects of ocean space, rule piracy as a universal crime, provide legal foundation to combat piracy
• un security council passed a series of measures targeting somali piracy
  -in 2008, us led resolution with 1,815 authorised states with navies to take action against pirates (with the agreement of somalia’s traditional federal government
• piracy cannot be solved by military action alone
• CPGPCS: contact group on piracy off the coast of somalia 2009 saw military cooperation, raised shipping self awareness and public information
• military cooperation included NATO, EU and us and independent ships from Australia, China, Russia and Pakistan
• most effective way is to stop at the source but ships cannot violate a country’s territorial waters and operate close enough to the coast to be successful
• Djibouti code of conduct: included 9 east african countries implementing aspect of resolution 1851 (Somalia has no functioning court and the Djibouti code of conduct conducts trials and punishes caught priates)
• transportation of pirates caught off the seychelles to tanzania for prosecution
• memoranda of understanding with kenya to try pirates in court
• individual companies often effective by employing security who are present at point of attack and can take measures to deter pirates such as maintaining high speed dangerous waters, increasing vigilance and using razor wire
• it worked because rates of piracy decreased massively, until 2023, when Houthi rebels started attacking ships, maintaining that there has to be an increase in efforts again
• superpower influence - maintains global influence over international forums (e.g., the US led efforts against Somali piracy)

Question 29

how can shipping flows be regulated

Answer 29

• unclos protects ‘the right of innocent passage’ through territorial waters so long as it not prejudicial to impeach good order or security of coastal state
• internationally recommended transit corridors have been identified in piracy hotspots
• this information is provided to tankers ad containers, it provides a designated route that ships can take that is safe

Question 30

what is piracy

Answer 30

• piracy is defined as the act as attacking a ship at sea in order to make financial gains from that acts
• $3 trillion of goods are transported on the world’s oceans
• 90% of ship takeovers occurred off the coast of somalia

Question 31

supernational organisation

Answer 31

• history dating back to the creation of the league of nations (pre curser to the un) aimed to establish a collaboration between countries
• political motive: individual nations will strive to establish political dominance internationally, supernational organisations help to reduce this
• international policy is still dominated by core nations (usa, uk, china, japan), supernational organisation help to give a voice to smaller nations
• supernational is an international organisation or union in which member states transcend national boundaries or interest to share in the decision making
• collective voting on issues pertaining the wider grouping, the eu and un are both supernational