Marine Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation: The Application and Future Development of the IMO’s Particularly Sensitive Sea Area Concept

298 Pages·2007·4.04 MB·English

by  Dr. Julian Roberts (auth.)

Marine Environment Protection
and Biodiversity Conservation
Julian Roberts
Marine
Environment
Protection
and Biodiversity
Conservation
The Application and Future Development
of the IMO’s Particularly Sensitive
Sea Area Concept
With16Figuresand8Tables
123
Dr.JulianRoberts
VisitingFellow
CentreforMaritimePolicy
UniversityofWollongong
WollongongNSW2522
Australia
[email protected]
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Forward
Despite the wide ranging implications of decisions made on Particularly Sensitive
Sea Areas by the International Maritime Organization, the PSSA concept has not
received a great deal of academic interest. Dr Julian Roberts’ timely book there-
fore brings significant value-added to the issue.
He provides us initially with an introduction to the whole complex legal
framework of marine environmental protection and the regulation of shipping.
Then he looks at the development of the PSSA concept within the IMO and the
1991 PSSA Guidelines and the work of the three sessions of the Legal Experts
Group convened by the University of Hull Law School, that I chaired in the early
nineteen-nineties.1 He then provides a detailed examination of the requirements
for PSSA designation and looks in detail at the way that these have been applied
by the IMO Committees. The heart of his work however is in the chapters (5 and
6) where he fully develops a critique of the way the concept has been applied in
practice. Here he suggests that the guidelines have not always been applied rigor-
ously or even logically and the procedures employed sometimes lack scientific
and procedural rigour. In particular, he argues that designation for “iconic” pur-
poses only is a dangerous path to follow, as without “associated measures” provid-
ing specific restrictions on navigation, such designation risks undermining the
credibility and utility of the concept. His small study of mariners confirms that the
PSSA concept is still not widely known or fully understood.
The final part of the book examines the way that other marine environmental
protection regimes – whether based on a treaty regime or a programmatic ap-
proach (as with the UN Habitats regime) - have taken a strategic approach to plan-
ning. His analysis of regional shipping congestion areas and his overlaying of
those with areas of ecological sensitivity is particularly poignant and provides
some very useful ammunition for new strategic thinking in this area.
Although the PSSA concept is more than fifteen years old, no one else has at-
tempted such a comprehensive review or presented it with such clarity and rigour.
His recommendations for ways forward are thoughtful and practical. I am pleased
to recommend this work, originally presented as a doctoral thesis at the University
of Wollongong, to a wider readership.

David Freestone, Washington, DC

1 See Kristina Gjerde and David Freestone (eds.), Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas: an
Important Environmental Concept at a Turning Point. (Special Issue of International
Journal of Marine and Coastal Law), 1994, Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague.
Acknowledgements
This book is the outcome of a PhD research project undertaken over a four year
period at the University of Wollongong. The research was largely undertaken on a
part time basis, while I worked for the New Zealand Maritime Safety Authority.
While undertaking any research under such circumstances can be demanding, this
drawback was more than compensated for by the unique circumstances I found
myself in, as a New Zealand delegate to the IMO for five years. In this capacity, I
actively participated in developments that are the focus of this research. This, I be-
lieve contributes to a more insightful study of this aspect of the IMO’s work.
Achieving the completion of this thesis, within the existing time frame, would
not have been possible without the guidance and support of my two supervisors
and mentors, Professor Martin Tsamenyi and Professor John Morrison. Their con-
structive comments and suggestions and above all their friendship throughout the
process, gave me constant support and encouragement to continue the research
and to explore areas that I had not fully considered.
A large number of other people have provided invaluable assistance throughout
the duration of this research. Moreover, the undertaking of this research has led to
the establishment of a number of friendships which I hope will endure well be-
yond the completion of my PhD. Special thanks must be made to both Lindy John-
son and Kristina Gjerde, who provided a constant sounding board for ideas and
who also provided comments and constructive criticisms on draft manuscripts.
Thanks are extended to Sian Pullen, Simon Walmsley and Alison Champion of
WWF-UK and to David Johnson of the Southampton Institute, for their thoughts
on the application of the PSSA concept; to Phillip Fox at the World Conservation
Monitoring Centre in Cambridge, for his assistance with the provision of GIS da-
ta; to Joquan Trinanes of NOAA for his assistance in obtaining and disseminating
vessel tracking data. Particular thanks are extended to the many staff of the New
Zealand Maritime Safety Authority who supported me in the undertaking of this
research and who made the regular visits to the IMO possible. Thanks also to all
those who assisted with the circulation and completion of the research question-
naire that formed part of this research, in particular, to David Wilcox of the South-
ampton Institute.
Above all, my deepest and sincerest thanks go to my wife, Janet, who provided
unquestioned, support and encouragement throughout the duration of this PhD,
who gave me the ability to complete this work, and who tirelessly proof read
chapter after chapter and rewrite after rewrite, until final completion of the thesis
was achieved. Without her undiminished support, this book would not have been
possible.
Julian Roberts, Wellington, New Zealand
Abstract
In the context of marine environment protection and biodiversity conservation, a
number of measures adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO)
can be viewed as implementing obligations and recommendations of the 1982 U-
nited Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Chapter 17 of Agenda 21 and the
1992 Convention on Biological Diversity respectively. Pre-eminent among these
measures is the particularly sensitive sea area (PSSA) concept; a tool that can be
applied in an integrated manner, irrespective of maritime jurisdictional bounda-
ries. However, despite the potential benefits that PSSA designation can deliver,
recent practice both within the IMO and by individual member States, has consid-
erably undermined confidence in this emerging concept, calling into question its
whole basis as an effective management tool.
Recent nominations by individual member States, for PSSA designation, have
had the effect of dividing the IMO community over the scope and application of
the PSSA concept, resulting in demands by several States to re-examine and con-
strain the concept. Some observers consider that the manner by which the IMO
considers and decides upon applications for PSSA designation has aggravated this
situation and have called for a review of the IMO approval process in its entirety.
That this should occur at a time when many observers and coastal State members
are increasingly realising the potential benefits of the PSSA concept is all the mo-
re cause for concern.
The focus of this book is on the events within the IMO that have led to this lack
of confidence arising. The central theme of the investigation is that the current si-
tuation can largely be attributed to the actions of certain member States, in their
interpretation and implementation of the PSSA concept, and to the current mecha-
nisms adopted by the IMO for reviewing and approving individual submissions
for PSSA designation. A number of specific issues can also be identified with the
PSSA Guidelines themselves.
This book presents an examination of coastal State practice with the PSSA con-
cept, and seeks to address how confidence in the measure can be restored, while
satisfying both coastal and maritime States’ interests. In undertaking this analysis,
the research provides evidence of the value of the PSSA concept, but also demon-
strates its limitations. In this regard, the book presents a ‘reality check’ which
seeks to rationalise some of the heightened expectations with the concept that are
apparent in the current debate.
Table of Contents
Forward.................................................................................................................V
Acknowledgements............................................................................................VII
Abstract................................................................................................................IX
List of Figures....................................................................................................XV
List of Tables..................................................................................................XVII
Acronyms and Abbreviations..........................................................................XIX
Chapter 1 Introduction........................................................................................1
1.1 Background..................................................................................................1
1.1.1 Shipping and Marine Protected Areas...............................................2
1.2 Problem Definition......................................................................................6
1.2.1 Research Questions............................................................................7
1.3 Contribution of this Book............................................................................8
1.4 Study Methods.............................................................................................9
1.4.1 Existing Literature...........................................................................10
1.4.2 Research Visits................................................................................10
1.4.3 Other Research Methods..................................................................11
1.5 Structure....................................................................................................11
Chapter 2 International Legal Framework for the Protection of the
Marine Environment..........................................................................................13
2.1 Introduction...............................................................................................13
2.2 International Instruments...........................................................................15
2.2.1 1958 Geneva Conventions...............................................................15
2.2.2 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment.................17
2.2.3 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea..........................20
2.2.4 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development......24
2.3 The Concept of Marine Protected Areas....................................................29
2.3.1 Defining Marine Protected Areas....................................................29
2.4 The Marine Protected Area Concept in International Law........................31
2.4.1 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea..........................32
2.4.2 Convention on Biological Diversity................................................32
2.4.3 International Biodiversity Conventions and Initiatives....................37
2.5 Conclusions...............................................................................................42
XII Table of Contents
Chapter 3 International Regulation of Shipping for the Protection of the
Marine Environment..........................................................................................45
3.1 Introduction...............................................................................................45
3.2 Nature of the Impacts of Shipping.............................................................47
3.2.1 Operational Discharges....................................................................47
3.2.2 Accidental Discharges.....................................................................48
3.2.3 Physical Harm..................................................................................51
3.3 The Establishment and Role of the IMO...................................................51
3.3.1 Background to the Organization......................................................52
3.2.3 Standard Setting...............................................................................56
3.4 Existing Instruments Administered by the IMO........................................59
3.4.1 International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea....................60
3.4.2 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution
from Ships........................................................................................61
3.5 Coastal State Versus Flag State Jurisdiction..............................................64
3.5.1 Flag State Obligations and Jurisdiction...........................................66
3.5.2 Coastal State Jurisdiction.................................................................68
3.6 Conclusions...............................................................................................80
Chapter 4 The Particularly Sensitive Sea Area Concept................................83
4.1 Introduction...............................................................................................83
4.2 PSSA Overview.........................................................................................84
4.3 Development of the PSSA Concept...........................................................88
4.3.1 1991 PSSA Guidelines.....................................................................90
4.3.2 Review of the 1991 Guidelines........................................................92
4.3.3 The Revised Guidelines - Resolution A.927(22).............................94
4.4 The PSSA Concept in International Law...................................................96
4.4.1 The Legal Basis of the PSSA Concept.............................................97
4.4.2 Relationship Between PSSAs and Marine Protected Areas...........103
4.4.3 PSSA Links to the CBD.................................................................107
4.5 Conclusions.............................................................................................109
Chapter 5 PSSA Designation and Implementation of the PSSA
Guidelines by the IMO......................................................................................111
5.1 Introduction.............................................................................................111
5.2 Submitting a Proposal for PSSA Designation.........................................112
5.2.1 PSSA Identification.......................................................................113
5.3 Protection of PSSAs................................................................................115
5.3.1 Special Discharge Restrictions......................................................116
5.3.2 Regulation of Navigation for Protection of the Environment........119
5.3.3 Application of Ships’ Routeing Measures.....................................120
5.3.4 Update of IMO Measures to Protect the Marine Environment......122
5.3.5 Case Study - Mandatory Area to be Avoided in New Zealand......122
5.3.6 Vessel Traffic Services (VTS).......................................................126
5.3.7 Ship Reporting Systems (SRS)......................................................129
5.3.8 To PSSA or not to PSSA?..............................................................131
Table of Contents XIII
5.4 Assessment and Approval of PSSA Proposals by the IMO.....................132
5.4.1 Consideration by MEPC................................................................134
5.4.2 Consideration by NAV and MSC..................................................136
5.4.3 Approval of a PSSA.......................................................................138
5.5 Conclusion...............................................................................................139
Chapter 6 State Practice: Application of the PSSA Concept.......................141
6.1 Introduction.............................................................................................141
6.2 The Western European PSSA..................................................................143
6.2.1 Background....................................................................................143
6.2.2 Existing Navigation Regime..........................................................146
6.2.3 Associated Protective Measures.....................................................147
6.2.4 Consideration by IMO...................................................................148
6.3 Extension of the Great Barrier Reef PSSA to Include the Torres Strait..150
6.3.1 Background....................................................................................150
6.3.2 Existing Navigation Regime..........................................................154
6.3.3 Associated Protective Measures.....................................................156
6.3.4 Consideration by IMO...................................................................157
6.4 The Baltic Sea..........................................................................................160
6.4.1 Background....................................................................................160
6.4.2 Existing Navigation Regime..........................................................163
6.4.3 Associated Protective Measures.....................................................164
6.4.4 Consideration by IMO...................................................................164
6.5 Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary................................................166
6.5.1 Background....................................................................................166
6.5.2 Existing Navigation Regime..........................................................169
6.5.3 Associated Protective Measures.....................................................170
6.5.4 Consideration by IMO...................................................................171
6.6 Analysing the Benefits of PSSA Designation..........................................172
6.6.1 Comprehensive Management Tool................................................173
6.6.2 Adoption of Additional Protective Measures.................................177
6.6.3 Approval of Exceptional Measures................................................177
6.6.4 Intrinsic Benefits of PSSA Designation.........................................185
6.7 Conclusions.............................................................................................192
Chapter 7 Issues Identified with the PSSA Concept Through an
Examination of State and IMO Practice.........................................................195
7.1 Introduction.............................................................................................195
7.2 Issues Identified with State Practice........................................................196
7.2.1 Defining the Scope of a PSSA.......................................................196
7.2.2 Linkage Between Vulnerability and APMs...................................199
7.2.3 Appropriate APMS........................................................................200
7.2.4 IMO Process..................................................................................201
7.2.5 Strategic Framework......................................................................204
7.3 Revision of the PSSA Guidelines............................................................204
7.3.1 PSSA Definition............................................................................207