that marine environmental governance deals with the policies, institutions and
stakeholders that actively participate in governing activities linked to the ocean.
Those activities may include management, conservation, protection, exploration,
research, exploitation etc. In this sense, “governance” is associated with policymaking and planning, as well as with law-making and law-enforcement of marine
environmental norms.
Thus, a study on the domestic legal framework for the marine environment of the
continental shelf could not start without first the analysis of the status of marine
environmental policies in Brazil, documents which set out the most basic norms for
marine environmental protection. The study of Brazilian policies, institutions and
actors managing maritime regions should pave the way for the discussion on
the consistency of the Brazilian legal framework with international rules, as well
as the adequateness (and completeness) of that body of national laws to manage the
continental shelf, its environment and resources in a sustainable manner.
To start with, some facts on the Brazilian maritime spaces are due, despite the risk
of having the reader bored. The Brazilian coastline is exceptionally long, stretching
out for over 7491 km along the South Atlantic Ocean.
21 If the deeply indented
features of that coast are considered, it then extends to more than 9000 km long,
washing no less than 17 (out 27) Brazilian states.
22 It is a convex coast, without
maritime boundary delimitation disputes with neighboring countries [Uruguay and
France], neither adjacent nor opposing. Overall, the country enjoys approximately
3.5 million km
2 of maritime spaces within national jurisdiction, numbers which,
together with Brazil’s geographic position, grant the country an important political
and strategic status in the South Atlantic region, if one can speak of the South
Atlantic as a “region”.
23
The maritime spaces under national jurisdiction are given immense economic,
geopolitical, scientific and environmental relevance. Maritime trade is responsible
for over 90% of the Brazilian commercial balance and the ocean represents hope for
oil and gas self-sufficiency, as well as socioeconomic development.
24 Offshore
21 CIA, The World Fact Book, entry Coastlines.
22 See generally Short and Klein (2016).
23 The adoption of a functional definition of ‘South Atlantic Ocean’ takes into account that the
geographical definition does not match with the geo-strategic comprehension of the region. Note
that there are two possible uses of the expression “South Atlantic Ocean”, especially in international
political studies: the geographic and the geo-strategic notion. The geographic one is provided by the
IOC, International Oceanographic Organization, according to whom the coastal states bordering the
South Atlantic Ocean are, in geographical descending order: Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, from
the American continent, and Gabon, Congo (Brazzaville), the Democratic Republic of Congo
(Kinshasa), Angola, Namibia and South Africa, from the African continent. The geostrategic
concept is based on geographical proximity, cultural affinities, socio-economic patterns, institutional characteristics and political comprehension. It equals the “central Atlantic”, between tropic of
Cancer and the Ecuador Line, and the South Atlantic strictu sensu. For more, see Ribeiro
(2017), p. 740.
24 From 2007, when petroleum and natural gas were discovered in the pre-salt layers, until 2010, a
set of laws proposed by the Lula da Silva presidency imposed a stricter system of oil exploitation:
252
9 The Environmental Dimension of the “Brazilian Blue...
stakeholders that actively participate in governing activities linked to the ocean.
Those activities may include management, conservation, protection, exploration,
research, exploitation etc. In this sense, “governance” is associated with policymaking and planning, as well as with law-making and law-enforcement of marine
environmental norms.
Thus, a study on the domestic legal framework for the marine environment of the
continental shelf could not start without first the analysis of the status of marine
environmental policies in Brazil, documents which set out the most basic norms for
marine environmental protection. The study of Brazilian policies, institutions and
actors managing maritime regions should pave the way for the discussion on
the consistency of the Brazilian legal framework with international rules, as well
as the adequateness (and completeness) of that body of national laws to manage the
continental shelf, its environment and resources in a sustainable manner.
To start with, some facts on the Brazilian maritime spaces are due, despite the risk
of having the reader bored. The Brazilian coastline is exceptionally long, stretching
out for over 7491 km along the South Atlantic Ocean.
21 If the deeply indented
features of that coast are considered, it then extends to more than 9000 km long,
washing no less than 17 (out 27) Brazilian states.
22 It is a convex coast, without
maritime boundary delimitation disputes with neighboring countries [Uruguay and
France], neither adjacent nor opposing. Overall, the country enjoys approximately
3.5 million km
2 of maritime spaces within national jurisdiction, numbers which,
together with Brazil’s geographic position, grant the country an important political
and strategic status in the South Atlantic region, if one can speak of the South
Atlantic as a “region”.
23
The maritime spaces under national jurisdiction are given immense economic,
geopolitical, scientific and environmental relevance. Maritime trade is responsible
for over 90% of the Brazilian commercial balance and the ocean represents hope for
oil and gas self-sufficiency, as well as socioeconomic development.
24 Offshore
21 CIA, The World Fact Book, entry Coastlines.
22 See generally Short and Klein (2016).
23 The adoption of a functional definition of ‘South Atlantic Ocean’ takes into account that the
geographical definition does not match with the geo-strategic comprehension of the region. Note
that there are two possible uses of the expression “South Atlantic Ocean”, especially in international
political studies: the geographic and the geo-strategic notion. The geographic one is provided by the
IOC, International Oceanographic Organization, according to whom the coastal states bordering the
South Atlantic Ocean are, in geographical descending order: Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, from
the American continent, and Gabon, Congo (Brazzaville), the Democratic Republic of Congo
(Kinshasa), Angola, Namibia and South Africa, from the African continent. The geostrategic
concept is based on geographical proximity, cultural affinities, socio-economic patterns, institutional characteristics and political comprehension. It equals the “central Atlantic”, between tropic of
Cancer and the Ecuador Line, and the South Atlantic strictu sensu. For more, see Ribeiro
(2017), p. 740.
24 From 2007, when petroleum and natural gas were discovered in the pre-salt layers, until 2010, a
set of laws proposed by the Lula da Silva presidency imposed a stricter system of oil exploitation:
252
9 The Environmental Dimension of the “Brazilian Blue...