Managing Oceans And Migration-CS Flashcards
Bolivia and Chile land dispute
Background
-Under International law, countries with no sea coast have a right of access to and from the ocean via transit states for the purpose of enjoying the freedom of the ‘High Seas’.
-This freedom can be difficult and expensive to uphold.
Problems:
-Bolivia lost its coastline to Chile in the 19th Century War
-Most of Bolivia imports and exports through Chile via lorry; this can cause delays due to inspections and poorly maintained roads.
-e.g a strike in 2014 by Chilean customs officers caused a queue of 20km in lorries in Bolivia. - Bolivia’s GDP would be higher if it had direct access to the sea. Now the poorest countrie in South America and blames it on being landlocked
Solutions:
-Bolivia has applied to the international Court of Justice to be given ‘Sovereign access to the sea”.
Syria-forced migration background
-some 12 million Syrians have been uprooted by the conflict since 2011
-The Syrian civil war had forced 2.7 million Syrians to register as refugees outside the country between 2011 and May 2014
-Most of the refugees remain within neighbouring countries, with only a few tens of thousands given homes in the European countries that have supported the Syrian opposition
-the regime of president Badgar al-assad has so far shown little interest in compromise
-the conflict threatens to further draw in the region as forces on both sides have escalated hostaliases
Syria-forced migration solutions
-The failure of international efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis, along with ongoing failures to stabilise Iraq or achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace, has led the West’s allies in the region to question the willingness and ability of the US to offer the kind of security they would like.
-Direct military intervention by Western countries appeared less likely than ever, given the UK parliament’s refusal to authorise British participation in airstrikes
-The US and Europe have subsequently focused their efforts more on diplomacy and humanitarian assistance,
-The US and European countries have sought to work with Russia to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Syria
-although Russia and usa recently announced a new agreement to support a ceasefire in Syria, the deal is fraught with difficulties
-desoife the geopolitical mess, immediate steps can be taken to tackle the refugee crises -world leaders should push for and facilitate the negotiation of a nationwide cessation of hostaliases
South china sea background
-China has repeatedly made territorial claims on parts of the South China sea that are contested by other states
-China claims jurisdiction over the South China sea despite the proximity of other states to this area of water
-Under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, coastal states may claim an “Exclusive Economic Zone” of up to 200 nautical miles. States have the sole rights to natural resource extraction within their own EEZs, but must also allow innocent passage through these zones according to UNCLOS. Because of their proximity, some states in maritime Asia claim EEZs that are overlapping
-The South China Sea is the site of several ongoing EEZ disputes between neighbours. However, in some areas, sates have agreed to jointly fish or develop an area despite an ongoing EEZ dispute.
South china sea-Spratly islands
- China’s argument is based on its ownership claim of several island groups and their surrounding eez but this policy is contested by China’s neighbours
- the are competing claims on some of the islands some of the islands are little more than rocks, which China has artificially enlarged
- for example, in 2014 China began constructing an airport on reclaimed land on fiery cross reef
-China also put people on some of these islands
South china sea-9 dash line
-a historical claim used in the 15th century
-is a set of line segments on various maps that accompanied the claims of the People’s Republic of China
-China claims everything inside it as its own, ignoring protests from neighbouring countries. Last year its coastguard spent longer patrolling key reefs along the line than ever before.
-Australia rejected China’s maritime claims over the South China Sea and wrote to the United Nations Thursday, stating that there was “no legal basis for China to draw straight baselines connecting the outermost points of maritime features or ‘island groups’ in the South China Sea”.
-in another substantial statement, the US government had also rejected nearly all of China’s claims over the South China Sea
South china sea- Cabbage strategie
-Whenever there is a conflicted small island, the Chinese military and paramilitary forces are sent to overwhelm the islands and lay siege to the surrounding islands with military ships, fishing boats along with other kinds of paramilitary vessels
-the tactic as being just like a cabbage, where the islands are wrapped with layers of Chinese vessels which block the entry or exit of another country’s navies
Why is the south China sea valuable to China?
-important energy pathway
-Chinese energy security depends on the passage of oil tankers through these waters the eez around these islands may harbour oil and gas reserves to
- 10% of world’s fishes
- contains significant proved and probable oil reserves, and countries in the region are eager to extract these.
- is a critical world trade route and a potential source of hydrocarbons, particularly natural gas, with competing claims of ownership over the sea and its resources
China actions have heightened regional tensions
-China has begun to question the right of US ships and aircraft to sail and flight in the disputed areas
- Philippines arrested 10 Chinese fisherman
- Indonesian navy fired and arrested Chinese fisherman
-In the last several decades there have been multiple interstate incidents-vehicle collisions, armed clashes, close military encounters and other standoffs-in maritime Asia. Incidents have clustered around the Spratly Islands
China’s visa free travel positives
- easier access for tourists, simplified travel procedures, and increased tourism revenue.
-It promotes cultural exchange and boosts the local economy
China’s visa free travel negitives
-Limited visa-free entry points and durations may restrict travel options.
-Some countries may not be eligible for visa-free travel, requiring a traditional visa application.
-may not allow for certain activities like work
-has limitations on the duration of stay, usually up to 15 days, which may not be sufficient for some travellers.
Singapore pirates solutions
-Automation has reduced crew headcounts, making it harder to maintain a vigilent watch on board.
-A 500,000 ton oil tanker that used to have 35 crew members only has 15 today
-dummies on deck to make it look like more crew members are standing watch
- training crew for handling pirate attacks
-good attitude towards surveillance and knowing what to do if your under threat -Shooting back Is a discussed solution. Sources who spoke with CNBC were split on the use of guns abroad ships
-firearms are illegal in commercial vessels in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia
-Sheer number of merchant ships make it impossible to put professional security teams in all of them.
Why is piracy happening in Singapore
-Indonesia is a target rich area, with lots of vessels
-30% of the world’s shipping moves through the strait of Malacca and the Singapore strait each year. This includes most trade between China and Europe and nearly all the crude oil that moves from the Persian gulf to the big Asian economies like China and Japan
-The number of attacks are on the rise. There was 125 pirate attacks in reported in the region in 2013 but the number has tripped since 2009
-US merchant marine estimates that global Piracy costs ships roughly $6bba year
Background for the Singapore pirates attack on ai Marue
-Ai Marue was overtook by a speedboat on June 14th off the coat of Malaysia
-7 men with guns broke into the tankers and tied up crew members and bashed the ships communications equipment
-The attackers began stealing cargo
-Total haul was estimated at $650,000
-pirates of southern Asia Are often highly organised crime enterprises that gather intelligences, coordinate attacks and work in discrete teams
Great barrier reef background
-The world’s largest coral reef system is home to 30 species of whale and dolphins and 1625 species of fish
-successful protection of the reef has been achieved through a network of players acting together to reinforce that this reef needs special protection
Great barrier reef protection
-Australian unis research how to best converse the reef
-Tourist industries put pressure on government to ensure reef managed sustainably for economic and social benefits
-Australian government pledged to second £600 million in 2016 to improve water quality around the reef
-Global media raise awareness of the need to protect the reef. BBC filmed a series on it
-UNESCO has put the great barrier reef on world heritage list inspiring others to protect it
Great barrier reef problems
-In 2016, sea temperatures in the northern section of the reef rose 2-3°C above the normal peak of about 30°C, because of the strong El Niño weather system and a continuing trend towards global warming.
-two-thirds of corals in one part of the reef have died as a result of coral bleaching in overly warm water
-Many of the players who support the Great Barrier Reef think Australia’s government is not doing enough to curb domestic coal production and to tackle climate change.
-Ocean pollution has multiple human and physical causes, including rising affluence and ocean currents.
Great barrier reef straiges
-Strategies have been introduced at varying scales to try to reduce ocean pollution
-governments must stop mismanaging waste.
-Recycling needs to become the social norm for all people and societies.
-The Coral Nurture Program uses the skills of tourism personnel who work on the reef to collect broken coral fragments, attach them to underwater frames where they will grow faster and then out-plant them on the reef.
Great barrier reef-adpoting coral
-For $50 you can join the coral crusade and adopt a coral
-The team to planted 25,000 new corals on the Great Barrier Reef in 2021, in one of the most sustainable ways to encourage coral populations to flourish. -After 6-12 months of growing under the care of scientists and volunteers, the coral grafts from the nursery are re-attached to the reef
- The Reef Restoration Foundation’s program sees coral grow in an underwater nursery, from tiny finger-sized babies to large-scale coral colonies.
Newfoundland cod fishery china -Overexploitation of Marine ecosystems
- as a result of Global trade, prosperity has risen in emergent countries
- more emerging countries
-this put increased pressure on ocean resource
-rising affluence in China result in more people dieting that’s rich in meat and fish - In the oceans the result is a growing list of endangered species EG sea turtles
- In Chinese culture, shark fin soup is traditional choice at weddings. excessive hunting of a particular fish species such as tuna leads to a series of system impacts. sharks can no longer catch enough tuna and numbers fall. organisms lower down the food chain may increase.
- If fishing decreases the original balance may be restored
- however, overfishing causes permanent loss in some areas
Newfoundland codfishery-the collapse
-collapse of cod fishery in Canada in 1992 put 40,000 people out of work caused by overfishing and incompetent management
-catcbing fish faster then they can grow
- A system threshold was eventually crossed which led to the collapse of entire fish stock and it never recovered
