黄海区域治理机制研究（英文版）.pdf

Table of Content Acronyms Executive Summary 1. General Information . 1 1.1 Global Problem and Regional Solution . 1 1.2 Relevant Information of YSLME Phase I 2) leveraging existing successful partnerships to promote new, innovative, practical new partnerships; 3) mobilising all stakeholders to assess the implementation of SDG 14 related challenges, opportunities and actions; 4) sharing experiences in achieving the SDG 14; and 5) providing feedback on SDG 14 for the high-level political forum on sustainable development. In 2017, UNDP and GEF jointly released “Making Waves: Community Solutions, Sustainable Oceans” and “Sea, My Life: Protecting Ocean, Sustaining Future”. The successful governance experiences of countries in marine conservation and sustainable development are summarised from 2 levels of community and country respectively, and relevant policy recommendations for promoting sustainable development of the ocean and seas are put forward. 1.2 Relevant Information of YSLME Phase I 2) eutrophication; 3) plankton community changes; 4) fishing effort exceeding ecosystem capacity to provide provisioning services; 5) problems grandviewcn.co 2 of sustainability in mariculture; 6) habitat loss and degradation; 7) jellyfish blooms; and 8) climate change related issues. The YSLME Strategic Action Programme (SAP) used an innovative “ecosystem-based approach” to manage the complicated relationships between the environmental stresses and the resulting problems. The ecosystem-based approach uses scientific knowledge to guide appropriate management actions that preserve the ecosystem function of the YSLME. The goal of the YSLME SAP is to preserve the “Ecosystem Carrying Capacity” (ECC) which is defined as the capacity of the ecosystem to provide its ecosystem services. These services are vital for the welfare of communities surrounding the Yellow Sea. They include 1) provision services such as fisheries and mariculture, 2) regulating services such as regulation of climate change and water quality, 3) cultural services such as tourism, and 4) supporting services such as nutrient cycling and primary production. For effective implementation of the regional SAP, the YSLME Project Phase II was approved by the GEF in July 2014. It consisted the following objectives: 1) implementing the strategic action programme for the YSLME; 2) restoring ecosystem goods and services; and 3) consolidating a long-term regional environmental governance framework. The approval of YSLME Phase II (2014) lagged significantly behind the signing of SAP (2009) due to procedural reasons to UNDP and GEF, as well as the DPR Korea issues. In July 2018, the Chinese government announced a moratorium on all reclamation approvals, and strictly assessed the eco-environmental impacts of former reclamation projects, to enhance the protection of coastal wetlands in nationwide including Yellow Sea. This project took only 2.5 years from formal launch to finish. Admittedly, it was a huge challenge for most of representatives just participated in the project to form a common management mechanism to serve the Yellow Sea region. 1.3 Current Regional Conditions, Including Environmental and Geo-Political Problems Facing the Yellow Sea 1.3.1 Environmental Problems Since the end of the first phase of the YSLME Project, although there was delays of the phase II, China and RO Korea have made various efforts to implement their signed SAP to alleviate environmental pressure in the Yellow Sea, including reducing nutrient discharges, reducing fishing efforts, extending the closed fishing season and developing sustainable mariculture. In order to protect fishery resources in the Yellow Sea, in 2018, the Chinese government extended the closed fishing season in the Yellow Sea area by one month, to a period of four months (from May 1st to September 1st) and strengthened the law enforcement efforts in Yellow Sea. In July 2018, the Chinese government announced a moratorium on all reclamation approvals to enhance the protection of coastal wetlands in nationwide including Yellow Sea. The RO Korea government has also carried out a large number of relevant demonstration activities for the SAP. grandviewcn.co 3 However, the Yellow Sea is a shelf edge sea and the environmental impact is even more pronounced in the broader context of global climate change. Some new environmental problems or changes have arisen in recent years in Yellow Sea, such as the harmful marine organism blooms (red tide, green tide, gold tide and jellyfish blooms). The green tide caused by macro green algae is a kind of marine ecological disaster occurring off the coast of many coastal countries in the world. From 2007 to 2018, the green tide formed by large green algae (Ulva prolifera) broke out in the south Yellow Sea every year. It largely damages to tourism, ecological environment and mariculture along the coast of Shandong and Jiangsu Provinces in China, and inevitably, its severity becomes a focus of social concerns. The gold tide is also marine ecological disaster caused by the fulminant proliferation of the floating state of Sargasso. Similar to the green tide, the gold tide also causes a series of ecological environment problems imposing a negative impact on tourism and mariculture. In recent years, the gold tide phenomenon formed by Sargasso has shown an upward trend in the world and has the potential to develop into a global disaster problem of algal blooms. In the Yellow Sea, the threat of gold tide is gradually emerging. 1.3.2 Geopolitical status quo During the Phase I of the YSLME Project, DPR Korea did not participate in the full project activities, but attended the most Project Steering Committee (PSC) meetings as an observer. With the efforts of all stakeholders, PR China, DPR Korea and RO Korea jointly participated in the preparation of the regional SAP and the Project Document ofr the phase II of the YSLME Project. However, due to United Nations Security Councils several resolutions， the DPR Korea failed to participate in the projects second phase. Since 2018, the DPR Korea has made major adjustments to its national policy, and the national strategic direction has been adjusted to “full economic development”. Over the past years, mutual trusts among all the coastal countries of the Yellow Sea have gradually consolidated. It is appropriate that suitable cooperative and management mechanism for the Yellow Sea would be established to facilitate appropriate co-operation, to further build up mutual trusts and to contribute to regional peace and stability. grandviewcn.co 4 2 Regional Ocean Governance Mechanism Existed in the Global Agreements and Programmes As agreed upon gradually by most of the countries and the international communities, the integrity and interaction of world ocean call for an integrated protection of its environment and resources. Based on this understanding, since 1960s, a large number of global programmes and agreements have been developed and entered into force in the area of marine environment protection, in order to provide a global framework for all the nations to address specific marine environmental problems with a global feature. Except the obligations imposed to countries as members, these global programmes and agreements have advanced requests for countries to build regional governance mechanism to respond to the governance need as well. The two coastal countries in the YSLME region, PR China and RO Korea have already signed and adopted many of these international agreements and engaged in many of these global programmes, therefore, the two countries have responsibilities to develop a regional governance mechanism in implementing these global agreements and programmes. 2.1 Regional Governance Mechanism under Global Agreements on Marine Environment Protection and Sustainable Use of Natural Resources Considering the marine environmental problems of the YSLME identified in the TDA and SAP, the following international conventions and agreements will be discussed: United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) The Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (1972 London Convention) and its 1996 Protocol The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its Cartagena Protocol and Nagoya Protocol The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention) United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries 2.1.1 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea The UNCLOS is the international agreement that defines the rights and responsibilities of nations with respect to their uses of the worlds oceans. UNCLOS specified the parties obligation on living resources and marine environment protection mainly in Part 5 Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), Part 7 High Seas and Part 12 Protection and Preservation of the Marine Environment. As the “constitution” of the ocean, the UNCLOS specifies clearly that States shall cooperate on a regional basis to: 1) formulate and elaborate international rules, standards and recommended practices and procedures for the protection and preservation of the marine environment; 2) notify other States of imminent danger of pollution; 3) jointly grandviewcn.co 5 develop and promote contingency plans for responding to pollution incidents; 4) undertake programmes of scientific research and encourage the exchange of information and data through establishing regional marine scientific and technological research centres, establishing appropriate scientific criteria for the formulation and elaboration of rules, standards and recommended practices and procedures etc.1 2.1.2 The Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (1972 London Convention) and Its 1996 Protocol The London Convention applies to the deliberate disposal at sea of wastes or other matter from vessels, aircraft, platforms and other man-made structures at sea, as well as to the deliberate disposal at sea of vessels, aircraft, platforms or other man-made structures themselves. It requires that Contracting Parties issue a permit for the dumping of wastes and other matter at sea, and generally prohibits the dumping of certain hazardous materials. Its 1996 Protocol prohibits incineration at sea and the export of wastes and other matter for the purpose of ocean dumping. 1972 London Convention and its Protocol also emphasised the importance of regional effort to this international framework by encouraging Contracting Parties with common interests in marine environment protection in a given geographical area to enter into regional agreements, taking into account characteristic regional features. The Contracting Parties shall endeavour to act consistently with the objectives and provisions of such regional agreements, and shall co-operatively seek to develop harmonised procedures to be followed by Contracting Parties and to improve monitoring and scientific research.2 2.1.3 Convention on Biological Diversity The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) recognised for the first time in international law that the conservation of biodiversity is “a common concern of humankind” and is an integral part of the development process. The Convention has three main goals including: the conservation of biological diversity; the sustainable use of its components; and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources. It also covers the rapidly expanding field of biotechnology through its Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, addressing technology development and transfer, benefit-sharing and biosafety issues. The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from Their Utilisation is a supplementary agreement which provides a transparent legal framework for the effective implementation of the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic resources. 1 UNCLOS, Art. 197-201 2 1972 London Convention, Art. 8 grandviewcn.co 6 It addresses the importance of, and the need to promote, international, regional and global cooperation among States and intergovernmental organisations and the non-governmental sector for the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of its components. It creates a global cooperation structure with major functions including: 1) decision-making mechanism, 2) sustainable financial mechanism and 3) conflict resolving mechanism. The decision-making mechanism is carried out through Conference of the Parties by adopting agreements, protocols, amendments to the convention, adopting financial budget and operational rules of procedure, reviewing the implementation of Convention. The Conference of the Parties is composed of both full members and observers with a different right to vote on different issues. In the sustainable financial mechanism, major sources of financial supports come from the governments of the participating countries, developed country Parties, voluntary Parties and sources. The conflict resolving mechanism is carried out by negotiation, mediation, or by arbitration or submission of the dispute to the International Court of Justice on written agreement from both sides of the dispute.3 Besides, the CBD also recognises the important role that local government or community plays in respecting, preserving and maintaining knowledge, innovations and practices of traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and promoting their wider application. 4 It encourages government to support local populations to develop and implement remedial action in degraded areas where biological diversity has been reduced.5 The CBD included marine and coastal biological diversity into its account and encouraged all parties to take integrated marine and coastal area management (IMCAM) as a tool to promote the conservation and utilization of marine and coastal biodiversity. On COP 4, ecosystem approach and precautionary approach were introduced to deal with the activities that have negative effect on marine and coastal biodiversity. On COP 10, issues of unsustainable fishing, ocean fertilization, ocean acidification and anthropogenic underwater noise and their negative effects were discussed. IMCAM, Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) were recommended as tools to manage marine biodiversity. On COP 14, parties were invited to identify the Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs) within their jurisdictions and implement assessment on those areas. 2.1.4