Abstract
On-going discussions about property rights and exploitation of natural resources in outer space have an international dimension. Even though this is a topic driven by space faring nations, it is time that emerging space faring countries also become involved and advance their way of thinking to develop new approaches to property rights. In this regard, African traditional concepts related to property rights may be a good source of inspiration insofar as they have always striven to achieve a balance between natural resource exploitation and preservation of the environment, since this balance and harmony within the community have been vital for the survival of the whole group.
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Notes
- 1.
Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies of 27 January 1967 (Status of ratification as of 1.1.2019: 109 states).
- 2.
Art. I-2 OST.
- 3.
Art. I-1 OST.
- 4.
Art. II OST.
- 5.
Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies of 18 December 1979.
- 6.
Twelve years after the OST.
- 7.
Art. 11-2 MOON.
- 8.
Art. 11-3 MOON.
- 9.
Art. 11-5 MOON.
- 10.
Status of ratification as of 1.1.2019: 18 states, i.e. Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Saudi-Arabia, Turkey, Uruguay and Venezuela. Four further states have signed, but not yet ratified: France, Guatemala, India, and Romania.
- 11.
Even though the MOON was adopted by consensus at the UN General Assembly, in their statements on UNCOPUOS some delegations such as the U.S. refer to four core treaties, indicating that the Moon treaty does not belongs to the “core” of UN space treaties.
- 12.
U.S. Congress, 2015, H.R.2262 – U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act, https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2262/text (accessed 14.05.2019).
- 13.
Art. I-2 OST.
- 14.
The harvesting and exploitation may have less adverse effects on Earth environment, less pollution etc.
- 15.
International Institute of Space Law (IISL): Position Paper On Space Resource Mining Adopted by Consensus by Board of Directors on 20 December 2015.
- 16.
See United Emirates or Luxembourg, the latter has actually adopted similar national regulations ‘Loi du 20 juillet 2017 sur l’exploration et l’utilisation des ressources de l’espace’, http://legilux.public.lu/eli/etat/leg/loi/2017/07/20/a674/jo (accessed 14.05.2019).
- 17.
Siyabona Africa, San, http://www.krugerpark.co.za/africa_bushmen.html (accessed 30.5.2019).
- 18.
Siyabona Africa, San, http://www.krugerpark.co.za/africa_bushmen.html (accessed 30.5.2019).
- 19.
Alasdair Harris, “To live with the Sea”, Development of the Velondriake Community—Managed Protected Area Network Southwest Madagascar, Madagascar Conservation & Development, Vol. 2, Issue 1, 2007, p. 43, available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/26589494_To_live_with_the_Sea_Development_of_the_Velondriake_Community_-_Managed_Protected_Area_Network_Southwest_Madagascar.
- 20.
See further: Annette Froehlich/André Siebrits, Space Supporting Africa, Volume 1: A Primary Needs Approach and Africa’s Emerging Space Middle Powers, Springer 2019.
- 21.
This workshop was organized by Secure World Foundation partnering with the South African National Space Agency (SANSA), https://swfound.org/events/2019/workshop-on-socioeconomic-benefits-of-space-resources-utilization-african-perspectives?mc_cid=73d16ec2a2&mc_eid=cf325dc2f2.
- 22.
Space in Africa, Insight – African Perspectives on the Space Resources Dialogue (Press Release from SWF), 6 June 2019, https://africanews.space/insight-african-perspectives-on-the-space-resources-dialogue/.
- 23.
During the 58th Legal Subcommittee (LSC) session of UNCOPUOS, Vienna, 1-12 April 2019, a working paper by Belgium and Greece was presented on ”Proposal for Working Methods and Work Plan of the Working Group on Legal Aspects of the Exploration, the Utilization and the Exploitation of Space Resources”, A/AC.105/C.2/2019/CRP.26.
- 24.
Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, 58th session, Vienna, 1-12 April 2019, Report of the Legal Subcommittee, A/AC.105/1203.
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Froehlich, A. (2020). African Traditional Concepts for Property Rights in Outer Space. In: Froehlich, A. (eds) Space Fostering African Societies. Southern Space Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32930-3_17
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