Antarctica and the Law of the SeaAntarctica and the Southern Ocean cover one-tenth of the earth's surface. In a legal and environmental sense, Antarctica represents the geography of hope. It is the freshest and most pristine of regions, governed by a legal regime that offers Antarctica and its circumpolar water the unique possibility of becoming the world's first global wilderness preserve. But in today's age of resource scarcity, Antarctica still provokes much political, economic and legal debate. Over the past decade, international attention has increasingly focused on the legal status of the continent, the potential for hydrocarbon exploitation offshore, and opportunities for harvesting circumpolar living marine resources. In this fascinating treatment, Christopher C. Joyner undertakes the first serious examination of the intimate relationship between Antarctica and the law of the sea. Using Antarctica as a case study, Joyner probes large conceptual issues of ocean law and politics. He uses the intricate details of oceanography and law to unravel the dynamics of the Antarctic Treaty System. In doing so, he examines how the changing importance of Antarctic issues has affected the development of the law of the sea for the region, the ways in which states define their national interests, and the accommodation through various negotations that have contributed to the development of law for governing the Southern Ocean. While the study of law for the Antarctic is provocative in itself, this work goes much farther. The study critically analyzes the region's biogeography, the condition of sovereignty on the continent, the lawfulness of asserting jurisdictional zones offshore, and various legal implications for Antarctica'scontinental shelf, local island groups, circumpolar deep seabed, and the Southern Ocean's high seas. Moreover, the special legal efforts by the international community to protect the Antarctic seas from marine pollution and to conserve its living marine resources are comprehensively appraised. Thorough, authoritative, and objectively reasoned, "Antarctica and the" "Law of the Sea" provides an insightful assessment of how law can progressively develop for a resource-rich region of the world's ocean. As such, it should appeal to a broad range of international lawyers and social scientists who are interested in international relations, political economy, environmental politics, and the law of the sea. |
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1982 LOS Convention activities agreement Annex Antarctic continental Antarctic Convergence Antarctic Minerals Antarctic Peninsula Antarctic Treaty System Antarctic waters Antarctica's continental applies Arctic Argentina Article asserted ATCPs baseline boundary CCAMLR Chile circumpolar waters claimant claims coastal sovereign Commission common heritage conservation measures Conservation of Antarctic continental margin continental shelf Continental Shelf Convention deep seabed delimitation dispute driftnet entered into force environmental exclusive economic zone exploitation exploration fisheries fishing geological geophysical governments harvesting Ibid ice islands ice sheet ice shelves icebergs international law international legal krill land legal regime legal status marine environment Marine Living Resources marine pollution marine resources MARPOL mineral resources nautical miles negotiations ocean space offshore paragraph political protection Protocol provisions regulations remains Ross Scientific Committee scientific research Sea Convention sea ice Seals seaward sector ships South latitude south of 60 Southern Ocean sovereignty in Antarctica species square kilometers territorial sea vessels Weddell Sea whales