spotlight.
27 Yet, as this is no book on the history of Brazilian municipal law, it
suffices to analyze Brazil’s recent domestic policy and institutional architecture
ocean-wise. By recent, it is meant the official decisions and measures taken since
the beginning of UNCLOS negotiations, a treaty that attempted at managing all
recognized dimensions to the oceans (surface, airspace, depth, and subsoil), thus
setting a paradigmatic landmark in the history of the law of the sea.
One should keep in mind that the formulation of ocean public policies is a rather
recent phenomenon, as witnessed by the practice of states.
28 In other words,
domestic attention to the oceans is only a few decades old, as a result of the needs
and self-interests of coastal states, but also of international pressure via diplomatic
conferences and concerted calls from international organizations and NGOs for
stricter environmental protective standards to certain activities. Hence, considerable
analytical weight will be given to marine environmental governance in Brazil since
the early 1970s, in order to draw a picture of the Brazilian policy and institutional
panorama on the marine environment—a sort of “Brazilian Ocean Strategy”, similar
to the strategies adopted by other coastal states, such as Portugal.
29 Brazil’s official
policies regarding the marine environment can be traced back to 1973, when the
Special Secretariat for the Environment was established under the auspices of the
Ministry for Internal Affairs,
30 as a direct consequence of the 1972 Stockholm
Declaration and the already mentioned “prise de conscience environmentale” in
motion since the late 1960s. The combined work of the Secretariat and other organs
charged with the management of the oceans has produced a series of governmental
policies, plans and specific actions.
Public policies are usually the subject-matter of investigations in the fields of
political science, economics and public administration. In short, a public policy
emerges from concrete societal demands, or from the perception of a problem to be
solved by the governmental highest circles. The government then translates its
actions into plans and programs, which are in turn expected to produce enhancements for the citizens’ lives.
31 These results should be subsequently measured and
evaluated, so that the system can be permanently fed back and improved.
32 In
practically every definition of “public policy”, the elements “government”, “plan”,
“program”, “actions”, “choices”, “results” and “citizens” are to be found.
33
27 It was the case of the (failed) 1930 Hague Conference on the Territorial Sea, for the purpose of
determining an enlarged length for territorial waters, or the 1946 International Convention for the
Regulation of Whaling, to name but two examples of international discussions on the governance of
the seas.
28 Franckx (2009), p. 9.
29 See Ministério da Defesa Nacional, Estratégia Nacional Para o Mar, Portugal, 2006.
30 The Secretariat of the Commission was created by Decree no. 73.030/1973.
31 Souza (2006), p. 24.
32 The phases of “public policy cycle” are: identification of the problem, agenda setting, formulation, implementation, and policy evaluation. For more, see Serafim and Dias (2012), p. 128.
33 Souza (2006), p. 29.
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9 The Environmental Dimension of the “Brazilian Blue...
27 Yet, as this is no book on the history of Brazilian municipal law, it
suffices to analyze Brazil’s recent domestic policy and institutional architecture
ocean-wise. By recent, it is meant the official decisions and measures taken since
the beginning of UNCLOS negotiations, a treaty that attempted at managing all
recognized dimensions to the oceans (surface, airspace, depth, and subsoil), thus
setting a paradigmatic landmark in the history of the law of the sea.
One should keep in mind that the formulation of ocean public policies is a rather
recent phenomenon, as witnessed by the practice of states.
28 In other words,
domestic attention to the oceans is only a few decades old, as a result of the needs
and self-interests of coastal states, but also of international pressure via diplomatic
conferences and concerted calls from international organizations and NGOs for
stricter environmental protective standards to certain activities. Hence, considerable
analytical weight will be given to marine environmental governance in Brazil since
the early 1970s, in order to draw a picture of the Brazilian policy and institutional
panorama on the marine environment—a sort of “Brazilian Ocean Strategy”, similar
to the strategies adopted by other coastal states, such as Portugal.
29 Brazil’s official
policies regarding the marine environment can be traced back to 1973, when the
Special Secretariat for the Environment was established under the auspices of the
Ministry for Internal Affairs,
30 as a direct consequence of the 1972 Stockholm
Declaration and the already mentioned “prise de conscience environmentale” in
motion since the late 1960s. The combined work of the Secretariat and other organs
charged with the management of the oceans has produced a series of governmental
policies, plans and specific actions.
Public policies are usually the subject-matter of investigations in the fields of
political science, economics and public administration. In short, a public policy
emerges from concrete societal demands, or from the perception of a problem to be
solved by the governmental highest circles. The government then translates its
actions into plans and programs, which are in turn expected to produce enhancements for the citizens’ lives.
31 These results should be subsequently measured and
evaluated, so that the system can be permanently fed back and improved.
32 In
practically every definition of “public policy”, the elements “government”, “plan”,
“program”, “actions”, “choices”, “results” and “citizens” are to be found.
33
27 It was the case of the (failed) 1930 Hague Conference on the Territorial Sea, for the purpose of
determining an enlarged length for territorial waters, or the 1946 International Convention for the
Regulation of Whaling, to name but two examples of international discussions on the governance of
the seas.
28 Franckx (2009), p. 9.
29 See Ministério da Defesa Nacional, Estratégia Nacional Para o Mar, Portugal, 2006.
30 The Secretariat of the Commission was created by Decree no. 73.030/1973.
31 Souza (2006), p. 24.
32 The phases of “public policy cycle” are: identification of the problem, agenda setting, formulation, implementation, and policy evaluation. For more, see Serafim and Dias (2012), p. 128.
33 Souza (2006), p. 29.
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9 The Environmental Dimension of the “Brazilian Blue...