Analysis and Potential Alternatives for the Disputed South China Sea from Ocean Governance in the Polar Regions

Sovereignty claims over insular features and maritime jurisdiction in the South China Sea have been disputed for decades, and a governance regime to address ocean-related issues is urgently needed. This article first introduces the notion of a regime, and examines details of cooperation mechanisms in the Polar Regions. Lessons that can be applied to the South China Sea include that both soft and hard law regimes work to bring States concerned together to cooperate on the “commons” issues even when military conflicts or sovereignty disputes still exist. Consensus among bordering States would be necessary to make the South China Sea a “zone of peace.” Mechanisms that accommodate the various sovereignty claims and freeze existing and new claims to, as well as to prohibit military activities in, the South China Sea are recommended. Lastly, if a cooperative mechanism were to be established in the future, the Arctic regime would be more applicable to the South China Sea than the Antarctic regime due to their geographic nature. Thus, only States bordering the South China Sea should have voting and decision-making rights in the cooperative mechanism. As always, the political will of all parties is paramount to the success of such an endeavor.     

In Political Seas: Engaging with Political Ecology in the Ocean and Coastal Environment

The world’s oceans and coasts are awash in a sea of politics. The marine environment is increasingly busy, changing, and a site of degradation, marginalization, injustice, contestation and conflict over declining resources and occupied spaces at local to global scales. Themes of political ecology, such as power and politics, narratives and knowledge, scale and history, environmental justice and equity, are thus salient issues to understand in ocean and coastal governance and management. This subject review examines research on these themes of political ecology in the ocean and coastal environment and reflects on how the insights gained might be applied to governance and management. Political ecology provides important insights into: the influence of power in ocean management and governance processes; the manner in which narratives, knowledge, and scale are used to legitimize and shape policies and management efforts; the effects of historical trajectories on present circumstances, options, and practices; and the nature of inequities and environmental injustices that can occur in the marine environment. Moreover, ocean and coastal researchers, practitioners, and decision makers ought to engage with the political processes and injustices occurring in the ocean. Moving from critical insights to constructive engagements will ensure that political ecology helps to plant seeds of hope in the Anthropocene ocean.     

Challenges in Collaborative Governance for Coastal Restoration: Lessons from the Caernarvon River Diversion in Louisiana

In an effort to restore deteriorating coastal wetlands in Breton Sound, Louisiana, a diversion of Mississippi River water into the estuarine ecosystem has been operated at Caernarvon, Louisiana, since 1991. The diversion was implemented after a relatively long collaborative planning process beginning in the 1950s. The Caernarvon Interagency Advisory Committee, an official panel of stakeholders, considers scientific aspects of the freshwater inflow and stakeholder inputs in developing an operational plan, which internalizes stakeholder conflicts, while accomplishing goals of restoring the coastal ecosystem. Even though fishery representatives are committee members, local oyster fishers filed lawsuits in federal and state courts from 1994 through 2005, claiming damages to their oyster beds. These lawsuits were initially successful in state courts but were reversed by the Louisiana Supreme Court. The federal suits were unsuccessful. Following these lawsuits, voters in Louisiana in 2000 amended the State Constitution to protect coastal restoration projects against lawsuits reflecting increase in overall statewide support. Increasing scientific knowledge has contributed significantly to diversion operation. For better collaborative governance, efforts to increase common understanding among stakeholders will be needed, and a process to compensate interests of stakeholders suffering from impacts of restoration projects at an earlier stage should be institutionalized.