Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

The European Union and the establishment of marine protected areas in Antarctica

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper examines how the EU can best use its powers to establish marine protected areas (MPAs) in Antarctica. It first discusses the EU’s role in Antarctic governance and legal basis for the EU’s actions, with particular focus on the pending Joined Cases C-625/15 and C-659/16 at the Court of Justice of the European Union. Secondly, the paper analyses the negotiation process of the EU’s MPA proposals in the Southern Ocean within the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. Thirdly, it provides suggestions regarding the EU’s potential actions that might help achieve proposed Antarctic MPAs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. According to European Environment Agency: MPAs are geographically distinct zones for which conservation objectives can be set. They are often established in an attempt to strike a balance between ecological constraints and economic activity so that the seas may continue to allow for goods and services to be delivered; marine reserves are MPAs where human impact is kept to a minimum, e.g. extraction is not permitted; MPA networks are a collection of individual MPAs or reserves operating synergistically, at various spatial scales, and covering a range of protection levels, designed to meet objectives that individual MPAs cannot achieve. See Marine Protected Areas in Europe’s Seas, An Overview and Perspectives for the Future, European Environment Agency Report, No 3/2015, 8.

  2. Article IV, Antarctic Treaty provides that: “No acts or activities taking place while the present Treaty is in force shall constitute a basis for asserting, supporting or denying a claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica or create any rights of sovereignty in Antarctica. No new claim, or enlargement of an existing claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica shall be asserted while the present Treaty is in force.” This is so-called agree to disagree, which freezes any sovereign claim in Antarctica.

  3. Agreement on the European Economic Area, which entered into force on 1 January 1994, brings together the EU Member States and the three EEA European Free Trade Association (EFTA) States: Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, in a single market, referred to as the “Internal Market”. www.efta.int accessed 7 October 2018.

    European Union—Australia Partnership Framework, A strategic partnership built on shared values and common ambition https://eeas.europa.eu/sites/eeas/files/partnership_framework2009eu_en.pdf accessed 7 October 2018.

  4. Article IX.2 of the Antarctic Treaty that only consultative parties—“parties that have demonstrated their interest in Antarctica by “conducting substantial research activity there”—are allowed to take part in decision-making processes.

  5. Article XXIX (2), CAMLR Convention: “This Convention shall be open for accession by regional economic integration organizations constituted by sovereign States which include among their members one or more States Members of the Commission and to which the States members of the organization have transferred, in whole or in part, competences with regard to the matters covered by this Convention”.

  6. Competence is the term used in the Lisbon Treaty to describe the power the EU has to draw up policies and laws. The EU may introduce policies and laws only in relation to those areas that are set out in the treaties. The competences of the EU are divided into three categories: (1) the EU has exclusive competence (Article 3 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)) (only the EU can act); (2) competences are shared between the EU and the member states (Article 4 TFEU) (the member states can act only if the EU has chosen not to); (3) the EU has competence to support, coordinate or supplement the actions of the member states (Article 6 TFEU)—in these areas, the EU may not adopt legally binding acts that require the member states to harmonise their laws and regulations.

  7. It reads, “The function of the Commission shall be to give effect to the objective and principles set out in Article ii of this Convention. To this end, it shall: 1 (f) formulate, adopt and revise conservation measures on the basis of the best scientific evidence available, subject to the provisions of paragraph 5 of this Article; 2 (g) the designation of the opening and closing of areas, regions or sub-regions for purposes of scientific study or conservation, including special areas for protection and scientific study”.

  8. In January 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping gave a speech “Establishing Common Future for Humankind” at the United Nations Office in Geneva where he emphasized that the deep seabed, Polar Regions, outer space and the Internet are “Strategic New Frontiers” for international cooperation (China Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2017).

  9. Council Regulation (EC) 1005/2008 establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing [2008] OJ L286; Council Regulation (EC) 1010/2009 laying down a detailed rule for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1005/2008 [2009] OJ L280.

References

  • Aichi Biodiversity Target (Target 11). (2010). Convention on Biological Diveristy COP 10 Decision X/2, Strategic Plan for Biodiveristy 2011-2020. https://www.cbd.int/decision/cop/default.shtml?id=12268. Accessed November 2, 2018.

  • Antarctic Treaty, adopted 1 December 1959, entered into force 23 June 1961, 402 UNTS 71.

  • Aronson, R. B., Thatje, S., McClintock, J. B., & Hughes, K. A. (2011). Anthropogenic Impacts on marine ecosystems in Antarctica. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1223(1), 82–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Australian Antarctic Division, Revised East Antarctic Marine Protected Area Proposal, 16 October 2014. http://www.antarctica.gov.au/news/2014/revised-east-antarctic-marine-protected-area-proposal. Accessed October 7, 2018.

  • Australian Antarctic Division, A Proposal for a Marine Protected Area in the East Antarctic Planning Domain, 15 August 2018. http://www.antarctica.gov.au/law-and-treaty/ccamlr/marine-protected-areas. Accessed October 7, 2018.

  • Bowman, M., Davies, P., & Redgwell, C. (2010). Lyster’s international wildlife law (2nd ed., pp. 346–375). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • British Antarctic Survey, Impacts of Climate Change. https://discoveringantarctica.org.uk/challenges/sustainability/impacts-of-climate-change/. Accessed October 7, 2018.

  • British Antarctic Survey, South Orkneys Marine Protected Area. 20 November 2009. https://www.bas.ac.uk/media-post/south-orkneys-marine-protected-area/. Accessed October 7, 2018.

  • Brooks, C. M. (2013). Competing values on the Antarctic high seas: CCAMLR and the challenge of marine-protected araes. The Polar Journal, 3(2), 277–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, C. M., (2017). Why are talks over an East Antarctic marine park still deadlocked? The conversation. https://theconversation.com/why-are-talks-over-an-east-antarctic-marine-park-still-deadlocked-86681. Accessed October 7, 2018.

  • Brooks, C. M. (2019). Geopolitical complexity at the bottom of the world: CCAMLR’s ongoing challenge of adopting marine protected areas. In N. Liu, C. Brooks, & T. Qin (Eds.), Governing marine living resources in the polar regions. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, C. M., Crowder, L. B., Curran, L. M., Dunbar, R. B., Ainley, D. G., Dodds, K. J., et al. (2016). Science-based management in Decline in the Southern Ocean. Science, 354(6309), 185–187.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, C. M., et al. (2018). Antarctic fisheries: Factor Climate Change into their management. Nature, 558, 177–180.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • CCAMLR. (2002). Report of the XXI Meeting of the Commission.

  • CCAMLR-SM-II. (2013). Report of the second special meeting of the commission.

  • CCAMLR-XXV, Report of the 25th meeting of the commission 2006, 24.

  • CCAMLR-XXVI, Report of the 26th meeting of the commission 2007, 32.

  • CCAMLR-XXVIII, Report of the 28th meeting of the commission 2009, 21.

  • CCAMLR-XXXI, Report of the 30th meeting of the commission 2011, 13.

  • CCAMLR-XXXI, Report of the 31st meeting of the commission 2012, 34.

  • CCAMLR-XXXIII, Report of the 33rd meeting of the commission 2014, 45.

  • CCAMLR-XXXV, Report of the 35th meeting of the commission 2016 (pp. 52–53).

  • CCAMLR-XXXV/18, Proposal on a conservation measure establishing the Weddell Sea Marine Protected Area (WSMPA); see also, Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Germany’s Proposal for a Marine Protected Area in Antarctica, 17 January 2018. https://www.bmel.de/EN/Forests-Fisheries/Marine-Conservation/_Texte/CCAMLR.html. Accessed October 7, 2018.

  • CCAMLR, Conservation Measure 91-03. (2009). Protection of the South Orkney Islands Southern Shelf. https://www.ccamlr.org/en/measure-91-03-2009. Accessed October 7, 2018.

  • CCAMLR, Conservation Measure 91-04. (2011). General framework for the establishment of CCAMLR marine protected areas. https://www.ccamlr.org/en/measure-91-04-2011. Accessed October 7, 2018.

  • CCAMLR, Conservation Measure 91-05. (2016). Ross sea region marine protected area. https://www.ccamlr.org/en/measure-91-05-2016. Accessed October 7, 2018.

  • CCAMLR-XXXVI, Report of the 36th meeting of the commission 2017, pp. 83–84.

  • China Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (2016). List of results of the 8th round of China-US strategic and economic .http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/web/ziliao_674904/1179_674909/t1370469.shtml. Accessed October 7, 2018 (in Chinese).

  • China Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (2017). Common future for humankind—Speech at United Nations Headquarter in Geneva. 18 January 2017. http://www.mfa.gov.cn/web/zyxw/t1431760.shtml. Accessed October 7, 2018 (in Chinese).

  • China Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (2018). China-EU holds first round dialogue on the law of the sea and polar affairs. 30 January 2018. https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/web/wjb_673085/zzjg_673183/tyfls_674667/xwlb_/t1530173.shtml. Accessed October 7, 2018 (in Chinese).

  • Christian, C. (2017). France, Australia and the EU can lead in protecting Antarctica and Southern Ocean. http://sdg.iisd.org/commentary/guest-articles/france-australia-and-the-eu-can-lead-in-protecting-antarctica-and-the-southern-ocean/. Accessed October 7, 2018.

  • Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, adopted 20 May 1980, entered into force 7 April 1982, 1329 UNTS 175.

  • Council of the European Union, conclusion of the Chairman of the Permanent Representatives Committee of 11 September 2015.

  • Council of the European Union, Council conclusions EU Strategy on China, 18 July 2016.

  • Council of the European Union, EU-China Summit, Beijing, 16/07/2018. https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/international-summit/2018/07/16/. Accessed October 7, 2018.

  • Court of Justice of European Union, Commission v. Council (Case C-22/70) [1971] ECR 263, Para.19.

  • Court of Justice of European Union, Opinion of Advocate General Kokott delivered on 31 May 2018, Commission v. Council (Joint Cases C-626/15 and C659/16).

  • Cremona, M. (2009). Extending the reach of the AETR principle: Comment on commission v Greece (C-45/07). European Law Review, 34, 754–768.

    Google Scholar 

  • Directive 2008/56/EC establishing a framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy (Marine Strategy Framework Directive), [2008] OJ L 164/19.

  • Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, [1992] OJ L 206/7.

  • Editorial. (2018). Reform the Antarctic treaty. Nature, 558, 161. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-05368-7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • European Commission. (2016). Facts and figures on the common fisheries policy. https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/sites/fisheries/files/docs/body/pcp_en.pdf. Accessed November 2, 2018.

  • European Commission. (2017). European market observatory for fisheries and aquaculture products. The EU Fish Market. http://www.eumofa.eu/documents/20178/108446/The+EU+fish+market+2017.pdf. Accessed November 2, 2018.

  • European Commission Communication of 20 November 2008, The European Union and the Arctic Region, COM (2008) 763.

  • European Commission Communication of 15 October 2009, Developing the international dimension of the Integrated Maritime Policy of the European Union, COM. (2009). 536; Summary: Strategy to strengthen global governance of seas and oceans, 31 March 2010. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=LEGISSUM:pe0010. Accessed October 7, 2018.

  • European Commission Communication of 3 May 2011, Our life insurance, our natural capital: an EU biodiversity strategy to 2020, COM (2011) 244, Annex Target 4.

  • European Commission, Declaration on the Establishment of a Blue Partnership for the Oceans: towards Better Ocean Governance, Sustainable Fisheries and a Thriving Maritime Economy between the European Union and the People’s Republic of China, 16 July 2018. https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/eu-and-china-sign-landmark-partnership-oceans_en. Accessed October 7, 2018.

  • European Commission Joint Communication to the European Parliament and the Council of 26 June 2012, Developing a European Union Policy towards the Arctic Region: progress since 2008 and next steps, JOIN (2012) 19.

  • European Commission Joint Communication to the European Parliament and the Council of 27 April 2016, An integrated European Union policy for the Arctic, JOIN (2016) 21.

  • European Commission Joint Communication to the European Parliament and the Council of 22 June 2016, Elements for a new EU strategy on China, JOIN (2016) 30.

  • European Commission Joint Communication to the European Parliament and the Council of 10 November 2016, International ocean governance: an agenda for the future of our oceans, JOIN (2016) 49, 3.

  • European Commission, Questions and Answers on the Establishment of Marine Protected Areas in the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, 16 October 2013 .http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-13-902_en.htm. Accessed October 7, 2018.

  • European External Action Service. (2015). EU-China Dialogue Architecture. https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/china_en/18538/EU-China%20Dialogue%20Architecture. Accessed October 7, 2018.

  • European Union, EU Sanctions against Russia over Ukraine Crisis. 2 November 2018. https://europa.eu/newsroom/highlights/special-coverage/eu-sanctions-against-russia-over-ukrainecrisis_en. Accessed November 2, 2018.

  • FAO. (2018). The state of world fisheries and aquaculture 2018. In Meeting the sustainable development goals (p. 39). Rome.

  • Framework Agreement between the European Union and Australia (signed 7 August 2017, not yet in force).

  • He, J. (2016). Enhancing Chinese law and practice to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and trade. Asia Pacific Journal of Environmental Law, 19(1), 4–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jabour, J., & Smith, D. (2018). The Ross Sea region marine protected area: Can it be successfully managed? Ocean Yearbook, 32, 190–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacquet, J., Blood-Patterson, E., Brooks, C. M., & Ainley, D. (2016). Rational use in Antarctic waters. Marine Policy, 63, 28–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kamphof, R., & Wessel, R. A. (2018). Analysing shared competences in EU external action: The case for a politico-legal framework. Europe and the World: a Law Review, 2(1), 43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu, N. (2017). The European Union’s potential contribution to the governance of high sea fisheries in the central Arctic Ocean. In N. Liu, E. Kirk, & T. Henriksen (Eds.), The European Union and the Arctic (pp. 284–285). Leiden: Brill.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, N., & Brooks, C. M. (2018). China’s changing position towards marine protected areas in the southern ocean: Implications for the future Antarctic governance. Marine Policy, 94, 189–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, N., & Maes, F. (2012). Legal constraints to the European Union’s accession to the international maritime organization. Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce, 43(2), 279–291.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manners, I. (2002). Normative power Europe: A contradiction in terms? Journal of Common Market Studies, 40(2), 235–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, A. M. M., Bush, S. R., & Mol, A. P. J. (2014). Power Europe: EU and the illegal, unreported and unregulated tuna fisheries regulation in the west and central Pacific Ocean. Marine Policy, 45, 138–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nalsh, T. (2017). What does the United Nations Paris climate agreement mean for Antarctica?: Implications for New Zealand’s future research priorities. Antarctic, 35(4), 46–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nilsson, J. A., Fulton, E. A., Haward, M., & Johnson, C. (2016). Consensus management in Antarctica’s high seas—Past success and current challenges. Marine Policy, 73, 172–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pew Charitable Trusts, Protection for the Weddell Sea, 1 October 2017. http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/assets/2017/10/gpc_protection_for_the_weddell_sea.pdf. Accessed October 7, 2018.

  • Press, A. J., Hodgson-Johnston, I., & Constable, A. J. (2019). The principles of the convention on the conservation of Antarctic Marine living resources: Why its commission is not a regional fisheries management organization. In N. Liu, C. Brooks, & T. Qin (Eds.), Governing marine living resources in the polar regions. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • SC-CAMLR-XXVIII. (2009). Scientific committee for the conservation of Antarctic Marine living resources. Report of the 28th meeting of the scientific committee (Vol. 8).

  • SC-CAMLR-XXXV. (2016). Report of the XXXV meeting of the CAMLR scientific committee.

  • SC-CAMLR-XXXVI. (2017). Report of the thirty-sixth meeting of the scientific committee.

  • Smith, D., McGee, J., & Jabour, J. (2016). Marine protected areas: A spark for contestation over ‘rational use’ of Antarctic marine living resources in the southern ocean? Australian Journal of Maritime and Ocean Affairs, 8(3), 180–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • State Council of P. R.China. (2018). China’s Arctic Policy. 26 January 2018. http://www.scio.gov.cn/zfbps/32832/Document/1618243/1618243.htm. Accessed November 2, 2018.

  • Tang, J. (2017). China’s engagement in the establishment of marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean: From reactive to active. Marine Policy, 75, 68–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Triggs, G. (2011). The Antarctic Treaty System: A Model of Legal Creativity and Cooperation. In P. A. Berkman, M. A. Lang, D. W. H. Walton, & O. R. Young (Eds.), Science diplomacy: Antarctica, science, and the governance of international spaces (pp. 39–49). Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Vanstappen, N., & Wouters, J. (2015). The EU and the Antarctic: Strange bedfellows? In K. Dodds, A. Hemmings, & P. Roberts (Eds.), Handbook on the politics of Antarctica (pp. 269–283). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wessel, R. A., & Blockmans, S. (2016). The legal status of influence of decisions of international organizations and other bodies in the European Union. In P. Eeckhout & M. Lopez-Escudero (Eds.), The European Union’s external action in times of crisis (p. 227). Oxford: Hart.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This is the resulting paper of the project “The European Union and the Conservation of Marine Living Resources in Antarctica”, funded by the EU Centre for Global Affairs Annual Grant Program 2017, University of Adelaide, Australia.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nengye Liu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Liu, N. The European Union and the establishment of marine protected areas in Antarctica. Int Environ Agreements 18, 861–874 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-018-9419-8

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-018-9419-8

Keywords

Navigation