regarding its integration in Law enforcement sectors, such as IUU fishing and
monitoring of illegal fishing vessels.
(f) The degradation of the marine environment also presents crucial security challenges in terms of disruption of national economies, potential displacement of
people, degeneration of national identities and the crucially important aspect of
loss of lives. The rising of sea levels, sea water acidification and global warming
require scientific research and capacity building, effective and robust legislation/
regulations, tailored incentives, education and communication plans as well as
the creation of robust partnerships among academia, industry, public institutions
and regulatory bodies. Advanced monitoring systems are crucial to understand
the dynamics of the planet and the changes that are taking place.
(g) The deep sea represents the world’s largest environment; nevertheless, and
though largely unexplored, it provides for one of the highest levels of biodiversity on our planet and for a wide variety of ecosystem services. Some of these
ecosystem services are unique, irreplaceable, and play a key role in sustaining
human well-being. Unfortunately, due to technological development and the
depletion of shallow-water resources, deep sea ecosystems are being increasingly exploited and, unexpectedly, greatly affected by anthropogenic stressors
and climate change. In addition, once impacted, the costs for the restoration of
deep-sea ecosystems are much higher than those estimated for shallow-water
ones.
These are only some of the “Global Challenges” presently at stake. Indeed, while
the present global socio-economic situation and its ongoing trends do not allow for
inefficiencies and fragmented approaches, and even though in recent years the
dialogue between scholars and decision-makers has significantly progressed, there
are still numerous barriers and bottlenecks that need to be progressively removed,
notably cultural differences and institutional barriers. In general, scientists construct
theories and refine conceptual models over time based on rigorous methodological
approaches to withstand the highest degrees of public scrutiny and criticism, while in
the world of decision-making, science is just one point of view, frequently not the
most influential, and the need for decisions is immediate. The time has come to
overcome these barriers. This would have several and very relevant added values:
speed up the process, streamline resources, promote socio-economic development,
assure use and advancement of knowledge, encourage more robust decisions,
provide more resources to research and innovation. Stakeholders and civil society
will benefit greatly from such cooperation. AssIDMer was established, in 2001,
exactly for this purpose. The idea is to promote research activities on issues relating
to the Law of the Sea by academics, civil servants and legal practitioners. The
objective is to set up an independent institution in order to develop a dynamic
legal community of lawyers involved in matters regarding the Law of the Sea and
to promote cooperative links among experts all around the globe. In expanding its
efforts to contribute to the development of the international Law of the Sea,
AssIDMer values research, symposia and publications such as this prolific and
highly noteworthy volume.
4
G. Cataldi
monitoring of illegal fishing vessels.
(f) The degradation of the marine environment also presents crucial security challenges in terms of disruption of national economies, potential displacement of
people, degeneration of national identities and the crucially important aspect of
loss of lives. The rising of sea levels, sea water acidification and global warming
require scientific research and capacity building, effective and robust legislation/
regulations, tailored incentives, education and communication plans as well as
the creation of robust partnerships among academia, industry, public institutions
and regulatory bodies. Advanced monitoring systems are crucial to understand
the dynamics of the planet and the changes that are taking place.
(g) The deep sea represents the world’s largest environment; nevertheless, and
though largely unexplored, it provides for one of the highest levels of biodiversity on our planet and for a wide variety of ecosystem services. Some of these
ecosystem services are unique, irreplaceable, and play a key role in sustaining
human well-being. Unfortunately, due to technological development and the
depletion of shallow-water resources, deep sea ecosystems are being increasingly exploited and, unexpectedly, greatly affected by anthropogenic stressors
and climate change. In addition, once impacted, the costs for the restoration of
deep-sea ecosystems are much higher than those estimated for shallow-water
ones.
These are only some of the “Global Challenges” presently at stake. Indeed, while
the present global socio-economic situation and its ongoing trends do not allow for
inefficiencies and fragmented approaches, and even though in recent years the
dialogue between scholars and decision-makers has significantly progressed, there
are still numerous barriers and bottlenecks that need to be progressively removed,
notably cultural differences and institutional barriers. In general, scientists construct
theories and refine conceptual models over time based on rigorous methodological
approaches to withstand the highest degrees of public scrutiny and criticism, while in
the world of decision-making, science is just one point of view, frequently not the
most influential, and the need for decisions is immediate. The time has come to
overcome these barriers. This would have several and very relevant added values:
speed up the process, streamline resources, promote socio-economic development,
assure use and advancement of knowledge, encourage more robust decisions,
provide more resources to research and innovation. Stakeholders and civil society
will benefit greatly from such cooperation. AssIDMer was established, in 2001,
exactly for this purpose. The idea is to promote research activities on issues relating
to the Law of the Sea by academics, civil servants and legal practitioners. The
objective is to set up an independent institution in order to develop a dynamic
legal community of lawyers involved in matters regarding the Law of the Sea and
to promote cooperative links among experts all around the globe. In expanding its
efforts to contribute to the development of the international Law of the Sea,
AssIDMer values research, symposia and publications such as this prolific and
highly noteworthy volume.
4
G. Cataldi