Marine boundaries and good governance of marine spaces
Abstract
In consideration of the fact that marine spaces have been recognized to be valuable and are under stress from human population and activities, terms such as “ocean governance” have become “buzz words”. Many authors have recognized the need for the good governance of marine spaces but their work focuses mainly on the United Nations convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and is presented mainly from the perspective of economic development, national security and sustainable development. The importance of marine boundaries is dealt with, but mainly focuses on those boundaries specified by UNCLOS and their conformity to specifications set out by UNCLOS. Even then, the impact of the quality of those boundaries upon the governance of marine spaces is not explicitly dealt with in any depth.
In Canada many academic, legal, government and other works have addressed the need to clarify the complexities surrounding federal and provincial jurisdiction in marine spaces, and therefore have addressed the need to accurately determine the positions of federal and provincial coastal and marine boundaries. The issues dealt with have focused mainly on the legal definition of boundaries and the rights associated with them. By implication, the governance of marine spaces is alluded to but specific focus on the relationship between marine boundaries and governance has been not forthcoming until quite recently. This thesis explicitly addresses issues associated with the relationship between marine boundaries (and marine boundary information) and the good governance of marine spaces. From this perspective, some solutions to (and recommendations in relation to) the problems facing marine boundaries and good governance of marine spaces are offered.