Abstract
The notion of ocean space stands for a holistic, system science approach combined with 4D thinking from the ocean, and the processes within it, towards the land. It is in fact a social-ecological concept that deals with sustainability challenges which are the consequence of the complex interactions between human activities and the marine environment at all scales. Ocean space is a critical player in the Earth System, it’s central to climate regulation, the hydrological and carbon cycles and nutrient flows, it balances levels of atmospheric gases, it’s a source of raw materials, and a sink for anthropogenic pollutants. On a human scale, it is impressively large. On a planetary scale, however, it’s insignificant, although it’s an ancient feature of the Earth.Sustainability in ocean space is still an emerging issue. Since the early seventeenth century the Grotian notion of Mare Liberum, has dominated the unsustainable, use of ocean resources. Grotius, main challenge was to warrant freedom of navigation, trade, fisheries and whaling for the Dutch Republic. He was not at all interested in sustainability. In the 1960s Arvid Pardo introduced the principle of the ‘Common Heritage of Mankind’, which is incorporated in the present international Law of the Sea. It is an ethical and even today, controversial concept.In this paper the global sustainability framework of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and regional European developments with regard to its shared Exclusive Economic Zone, are discussed. It is concluded that for sustainability in ocean space, a more up-to-date and integrated or holistic, approach is urgently needed.
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Further Reading
Borgese EM (1998) The oceanic circle. Governing the seas as a global resource. United Nations University Press, Tokyo/New York/Paris, 240 pp
Davor V, Schei PJ (eds) (2011) The world ocean in globalisation. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Leiden/Boston, 549 pp
Earle S (2009) The world is blue: how our fate and the ocean’s are one. National Geographic Books, Washington, DC, 303 pp
Gelpke N, Visbeck M (eds) (2010) World Ocean Review 2010: living with the oceans. Mare, Bremen, 232 pp. (Downloadable at: http://worldoceanreview.com/)
Pinet PR (2009) Invitation to oceanography. Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc., Ontario, 626 pp
Stel JH (2013) Ocean space and the anthropocene, new notions in geosciences? An essay. In: Mulder EWA, Jagt JWM, Schulp AS (eds) The Sunday’s child of Dutch earth sciences – a tribute to Bert Boekschoten on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Neth J Geosci – Geologie en Mijnbouw 92(2/3):194–211
Websites
NASA http://www.nasa.gov/
NASA-Aollo Project http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/
NOAA http://www.noaa.gov/
Oceans Compact http://www.un.org/depts/los/ocean_compact/oceans_compact.htm
Rio+20 http://www.uncsd2012.org/
UNCLOS http://www.unclos.com/
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Stel, J.H. (2016). Ocean Space and Sustainability. In: Heinrichs, H., Martens, P., Michelsen, G., Wiek, A. (eds) Sustainability Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7242-6_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7242-6_16
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