resources.
142 Such policies would have the power to turn Brazil into an “ocean
developmental state”, a topic that connects the economic dimension of the Blue
Amazon with that of science and technology.
9.2.3.3 Scientific and Technological Dimension
On the scientific and technological side, knowledge of the waters under Brazilian
jurisdiction is still limited, regardless of the perspective one looks at this dimension.
Despite the national policies, programs, plans and actions examined supra (such as
the REVIZEE), biodiversity within the Brazilian maritime spaces is poorly
researched and recorded, in comparison with other maritime states. The recent
discoveries of deep-sea corals thriving in the Amazon basin, Northern part of Brazil,
and extremely biodiverse and rich seamount around the volcanic islands of Trindade
and Martin Vaz, have called public authorities’ attention to the need to map out and
inventory the marine life off the Brazilian coast and its role in promoting national
socioeconomic development. When it comes to non-living resources, with the
growing demand for metals and minerals and rising prices for these materials,
interest in knowing more about the resources in the deep sea and explore what is
economically viable is surging.
143
The 2005 Marine Resources Policy was the embryo for the scientific programs
associated with the exercise of Brazilian jurisdiction at sea. The set of policies,
programs and actions coordinated by CIRM—analyzed supra—benefits, mainly,
scientific knowledge of the marine environment, its preservation, the rational use
of its resources and the training of qualified human resources. Of the groups of
actions and plans set in motion under the Marine Resources Policy framework, two
have not been mentioned thus far, which relate intimately to scientific research and
an enhanced comprehension of the Brazilian waters: the projects for managing the
São Pedro and São Paulo Archipelago—PROARQUIPÉLGAGO—and the Archipelago of Trindade and Martin Vaz—PROTRINDADE.
Both Archipelagoes are of a volcanic nature and were uninhabited until the
launching of the aforementioned projects, the objectives of which are to inhabit
key islands in both Archipelagoes for the purpose of enhancing scientific research in
the Atlantic region. Parallelly, the projects are also meant to adjust both island
formations to the regime of islands prescribed in Art. 121 UNCLOS.
144 In the
PROARQUIPELAGO, for instance, the CIRM initiated in 1996 a scientific project
aimed at keeping permanently at least four Brazilian researchers in a research station
on the Belmonte Island, so as to enable those scientists an in-situ lab for researching,
sampling, analyzing marine fauna and flora, as well as currents patterns, oceanic
142 Id. 106.
143 Martins (2007), p. 267.
144 For more on the legal status of the São Pedro and São Paulo Archipelago, see generally Ventura
and Mello Filho (2020) Forthcoming.
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9 The Environmental Dimension of the “Brazilian Blue...
142 Such policies would have the power to turn Brazil into an “ocean
developmental state”, a topic that connects the economic dimension of the Blue
Amazon with that of science and technology.
9.2.3.3 Scientific and Technological Dimension
On the scientific and technological side, knowledge of the waters under Brazilian
jurisdiction is still limited, regardless of the perspective one looks at this dimension.
Despite the national policies, programs, plans and actions examined supra (such as
the REVIZEE), biodiversity within the Brazilian maritime spaces is poorly
researched and recorded, in comparison with other maritime states. The recent
discoveries of deep-sea corals thriving in the Amazon basin, Northern part of Brazil,
and extremely biodiverse and rich seamount around the volcanic islands of Trindade
and Martin Vaz, have called public authorities’ attention to the need to map out and
inventory the marine life off the Brazilian coast and its role in promoting national
socioeconomic development. When it comes to non-living resources, with the
growing demand for metals and minerals and rising prices for these materials,
interest in knowing more about the resources in the deep sea and explore what is
economically viable is surging.
143
The 2005 Marine Resources Policy was the embryo for the scientific programs
associated with the exercise of Brazilian jurisdiction at sea. The set of policies,
programs and actions coordinated by CIRM—analyzed supra—benefits, mainly,
scientific knowledge of the marine environment, its preservation, the rational use
of its resources and the training of qualified human resources. Of the groups of
actions and plans set in motion under the Marine Resources Policy framework, two
have not been mentioned thus far, which relate intimately to scientific research and
an enhanced comprehension of the Brazilian waters: the projects for managing the
São Pedro and São Paulo Archipelago—PROARQUIPÉLGAGO—and the Archipelago of Trindade and Martin Vaz—PROTRINDADE.
Both Archipelagoes are of a volcanic nature and were uninhabited until the
launching of the aforementioned projects, the objectives of which are to inhabit
key islands in both Archipelagoes for the purpose of enhancing scientific research in
the Atlantic region. Parallelly, the projects are also meant to adjust both island
formations to the regime of islands prescribed in Art. 121 UNCLOS.
144 In the
PROARQUIPELAGO, for instance, the CIRM initiated in 1996 a scientific project
aimed at keeping permanently at least four Brazilian researchers in a research station
on the Belmonte Island, so as to enable those scientists an in-situ lab for researching,
sampling, analyzing marine fauna and flora, as well as currents patterns, oceanic
142 Id. 106.
143 Martins (2007), p. 267.
144 For more on the legal status of the São Pedro and São Paulo Archipelago, see generally Ventura
and Mello Filho (2020) Forthcoming.
286
9 The Environmental Dimension of the “Brazilian Blue...