International Governance of the Arctic Marine Environment - With Particular Emphasis on High Seas Fisheries

The Arctic is particularly affected by climate change; over the past few decades, temperatures in this area have risen twice as fast as the mean global rate. The most prominent effect of global climate change in the region is the melting sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, which enables a multitude of ocean uses to be initiated and extended, such as shipping, fishing and oil and gas extraction. Unlike in the Antarctic, there is currently no single comprehensive legal regime for governance of the Arctic. Instead, the region is regulated by a patchwork of international treaties, above all the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), various regional and sub-regional agreements, national laws and soft-law agreements. This treatise provides an evaluation of the governance regime that regulates the use of the Arctic marine environment and its readiness to protect these fragile ecosystems in light of the consequences of climate change.

List of contents

Introduction.- Environmental Situation in the Arctic.- International Governance of the Arctic Marine Environment.- Possible Ways for Enhancement.- Summary.

Summary

The Arctic is particularly affected by climate change; over the past few decades, temperatures in this area have risen twice as fast as the mean global rate. The most prominent effect of global climate change in the region is the melting sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, which enables a multitude of ocean uses to be initiated and extended, such as shipping, fishing and oil and gas extraction. Unlike in the Antarctic, there is currently no single comprehensive legal regime for governance of the Arctic. Instead, the region is regulated by a patchwork of international treaties, above all the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), various regional and sub-regional agreements, national laws and soft-law agreements. This treatise provides an evaluation of the governance regime that regulates the use of the Arctic marine environment and its readiness to protect these fragile ecosystems in light of the consequences of climate change.

Product details

• Authors: Lilly Weidemann
• Publisher: Springer, Berlin
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 30.09.2014
• EAN: 9783319044705
• ISBN: 978-3-31-904470-5
• No. of pages: 251
• Dimensions: 159 mm x 236 mm x 14 mm
• Weight: 427 g
• Illustrations: XIV, 251 p.
• Series: Hamburg Studies on Maritime Affairs; Hamburg Studies on Maritime Affairs
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Law > International law, foreign law; B, Climate Change, Environmental Policy, International Law, The environment, Environmentalist thought & ideology, Law and Criminology, Environmental law, Environmental Law/Policy/Ecojustice, Law of the Sea, Earth System Sciences, Law of the Sea, Air and Outer Space, Environment law, Climate Change Management and Policy, International Environmental Law, Public international law: environment