Europe, especially through its South-eastern and Mediterranean borders. The
management of the migration crisis is a complex process that requires significant
capacities and cooperation/coordination amongst several stakeholders (humanitarian aid and civil protection actors, EU and UN agencies, NGOs involved on
day-to-day management of the migration crisis, national authorities).
(d) Unfortunately, we are currently witnessing an exacerbation of interstate conflicts. In Europe, sovereign tendencies and the crisis of multilateralism are
tangible evidence, but elsewhere too we are not witnessing any steps forward
on the path of cooperation. Concerning in particular the Law of the Sea, the
question of the South China Sea is the best (but not the only) example. Unilateralist interpretations of institutions such as the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
or the right of innocent passage are increasing, as are, unfortunately, unilateral
initiatives that are contrary to UNCLOS as well as the United Nations Charter
and international customary law. Once again, the hope is that cooperation,
especially through joint initiatives for the exploitation of living or mineral
wealth, can be affirmed for the benefit of local communities as well as of the
entire international community. For example, we must ask whether the delimitation of marine spaces is always necessary or if, in the interest of coastal
communities, another option could be more appropriate as a first choice, namely
the joint exploitation of resources or, if this is difficult, cooperation on specific
issues such as the protection of the marine environment, marine scientific
research, the fight against terrorism, without prejudice to States’ respective
claims. Delimitation does not make much sense, in other words, when it
comes to delimiting resources rather than communities. Unfortunately, the desire
to assert sovereign power imposes other priorities. The old unilateralist ethics of
the “creeping jurisdiction” that historically underlies the Law of the Sea, in our
opinion, must today give way to the demands of co-operation imperatives that
are functionally necessary for the common interests of the international community, including optimal management of resources, safeguarding navigation and
international trade, preservation and protection of the marine environment,
management of migratory flows, the fight against piracy, terrorism and transnational crime.
(e) Protection of marine resources is an emerging key priority at global level, with
food security in much of the developing as well as developed world dependent
on stopping the decline in fish stocks driven by overfishing and climate change.
It is estimated that about one-fifth of all fish taken from our oceans have been
fished illegally or lack any control, as a result of widespread illegal, unreported
and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The economic development and welfare of island
and coastal nations world-wide is threatened both by IUU fishing and illegal
trafficking of every sort. Illegal fishing also exacerbates the problem of
overfishing, because IUU vessels frequently operate in marine protected areas
(MPAs) where a total fishing ban has been imposed. Indeed, as in marine nursery
areas, within MPAs fishing activities are often banned all year round. In the past
decade Satellite-based maritime surveillance has proven its potential to contribute efficiently to maritime surveillance, but there is much scope for improvement
1 Introduction
3
management of the migration crisis is a complex process that requires significant
capacities and cooperation/coordination amongst several stakeholders (humanitarian aid and civil protection actors, EU and UN agencies, NGOs involved on
day-to-day management of the migration crisis, national authorities).
(d) Unfortunately, we are currently witnessing an exacerbation of interstate conflicts. In Europe, sovereign tendencies and the crisis of multilateralism are
tangible evidence, but elsewhere too we are not witnessing any steps forward
on the path of cooperation. Concerning in particular the Law of the Sea, the
question of the South China Sea is the best (but not the only) example. Unilateralist interpretations of institutions such as the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
or the right of innocent passage are increasing, as are, unfortunately, unilateral
initiatives that are contrary to UNCLOS as well as the United Nations Charter
and international customary law. Once again, the hope is that cooperation,
especially through joint initiatives for the exploitation of living or mineral
wealth, can be affirmed for the benefit of local communities as well as of the
entire international community. For example, we must ask whether the delimitation of marine spaces is always necessary or if, in the interest of coastal
communities, another option could be more appropriate as a first choice, namely
the joint exploitation of resources or, if this is difficult, cooperation on specific
issues such as the protection of the marine environment, marine scientific
research, the fight against terrorism, without prejudice to States’ respective
claims. Delimitation does not make much sense, in other words, when it
comes to delimiting resources rather than communities. Unfortunately, the desire
to assert sovereign power imposes other priorities. The old unilateralist ethics of
the “creeping jurisdiction” that historically underlies the Law of the Sea, in our
opinion, must today give way to the demands of co-operation imperatives that
are functionally necessary for the common interests of the international community, including optimal management of resources, safeguarding navigation and
international trade, preservation and protection of the marine environment,
management of migratory flows, the fight against piracy, terrorism and transnational crime.
(e) Protection of marine resources is an emerging key priority at global level, with
food security in much of the developing as well as developed world dependent
on stopping the decline in fish stocks driven by overfishing and climate change.
It is estimated that about one-fifth of all fish taken from our oceans have been
fished illegally or lack any control, as a result of widespread illegal, unreported
and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The economic development and welfare of island
and coastal nations world-wide is threatened both by IUU fishing and illegal
trafficking of every sort. Illegal fishing also exacerbates the problem of
overfishing, because IUU vessels frequently operate in marine protected areas
(MPAs) where a total fishing ban has been imposed. Indeed, as in marine nursery
areas, within MPAs fishing activities are often banned all year round. In the past
decade Satellite-based maritime surveillance has proven its potential to contribute efficiently to maritime surveillance, but there is much scope for improvement
1 Introduction
3