When the words sea, ocean or maritime are considered, one must notice the 70, 80, 90 rule: “Over 70 percent of the world’s surface is composed of water, over 80 percent of the world’s population lives on the seaside and over 90 percent of the world’s trade has been performed over shipping.” As the world’s population and commerce network due to globalization have gradually increased, the dynamism on and around the oceans has likewise increased accordingly, leading to critical problems like resource depletion, marine pollution, etc.
Governance of Seas and Oceans attempts to raise awareness among decision makers dealing with the future of planet, on the concept of ecosystemic approach by delineating the threat that the oceans are facing, and the steps that need to be taken with the help of sustainable environment management and elementary foundations in the long term. The study that provides the basis of the book was carried out by André Monaco, Research Director at the French National Research Center (CNRS), and Patrick Prouzet who has been conducting research on the ecosystemic approach at the French Ifremer Institute, on the request of the publisher Wiley-ISTE. It is the 7th book of the ‘Oceanography and Marine Biology’ series and consists of 8 chapters.
The first Chapter explains the historical development of international sea law and how the ‘heritage of mankind’ concept is achieved by restricting the increasing claims of the government on maritime. It also explicates terms like maritime zone, international water, territorial sea, contiguous zones, exclusive economic zone and high seas, etc. to be better understood in the following chapters.
Chapter two indicates how international shipping volume and the number of marine vessels have increased over the past years and how the amount of money in this sector has increased accordingly. It is emphasized that this will also increase the marine threat which will consequently affect both people and seas. Therefore, the agreements standing to protect the seas from human pressure have been discussed, along with the ones to protect people, ship owners and crews from marine threats as well.
Chapter three focuses on the protection of seas from pollutants such as garbage, waste water and chemical products disposed from ships. It provides information on eliminating the contamination and amending the loss caused by the accident. The Conventions on International Marine Organization (IMO) and Marine Pollution (MARPOL) which have crucial importance in avoiding pollution are clarified as well.
Chapter four contains information about the measures taken by the EU for a sustainable fishing industry which is increasing day by day. Chapter fıve explains the effective usage of marine renewable energy resources, how to establish offshore platforms without causing any harm to the environment, and removing them in the same way after they are properly used. Chapter six mainly focuses on the “Marine Protection Areas” issue. This issue appears in the middle of the 20th century and involves almost 2.1 percent of the total surface of the world’s seas. Chapter seven and eight explain that the problems which have emerged locally but affect marine environments globally, like waste, pollution, piracy and migration, can only be solved by cooperation and leadership between the main actors. It also suggests the way to cooperate efficiently.
Consequently, subjects like trade, energy, economic resources, transportation and the environment which are mentioned in the book are included in the scope of maritime security. The U.S. presumes that Maritime Security is terrorist act oriented, while NATO takes a piracy oriented approach and the EU takes a comprehensive approach toward the issue, indicating that “The maritime environment is a precious heritage that must be protected.” The authors are from an EU country and also take a comprehensive approach to the issue. Moreover, they are optimistic about the future and trust the positive effects of the increasing number of countries which have become a part of international conventions, particularly International Sea Law. However, the non-observant claims of some countries regarding international conventions have been incrementally proceeding as days pass. The reason for this disregard is that maritime activities are the key resources of profit for regional and global economies, often more so for developing countries. From this point of view, the terms “fishing, maritime transport, extraction of genetic resources, offshore oil and gas, pollution, scientific research, carbon sequestration and climate change” are difficult to be apprehended, especially by developing countries that depend mainly on maritime activities for subsistence. Therefore, the matters of discussion for the next decade will likely be between the environmental concerns of developed countries and the industrial interests of developing countries. The book Governance of Seas and Oceans offers useful information for the readers on green theory, sustainability, climate change, environment, maritime security and sea law, even though it mainly focuses on the environmental concerns and ignores the ambitions of countries.
