scholarly journals Evolution or Revolution? Evaluating the Territorial State-Based Regime of International Law in the Context of the Physical Disappearance of Territory Due to Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise

2016 ◽  
Vol 53 ◽  
pp. 66-118
Author(s):  
CATHERINE BLANCHARD
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
International Law ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Legal Scholarship ◽  
Territorial State ◽  
Legal Literature ◽  
One Step ◽  
International Legal System

AbstractThe threat of the permanent physical disappearance of the territory of states no longer belongs to the mythical realm, and the situation is particularly imminent for small island developing states. While most international legal scholarship has so far focused on issues stemming from territorial disappearance, this article goes one step further. It questions the appropriateness of the classical notion of the territorial state — a socio-cultural and politico-legal entity evolving on a defined territorial area — as the basis for an international legal system faced with new realities created by climate change, sea-level rise, and globalization. After examining the current rules on statehood within the context of the physical disappearance of states’ territories and looking into the solutions suggested in the legal literature to address territorial loss, this article assesses a new way of understanding statehood by exploring theoretical lenses through which a new model of statehood could be contemplated.

scholarly journals The Vulnerability of Health Infrastructure to the Impacts of Climate Change and Sea Level Rise in Small Island Countries in the South Pacific

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 117863292110208
Author(s):  
Subhashni Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Marshall Islands ◽  
World Health ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Medical Facilities ◽  
Medical Infrastructure

Anthropogenic climate change and related sea level rise will have a range of impacts on populations, particularly in the low lying Pacific island countries (PICs). One of these impacts will be on the health and well-being of people in these nations. In such cases, access to medical facilities is important. This research looks at the medical facilities currently located on 14 PICs and how climate change related impacts such as sea level rise may affect these facilities. The medical infrastructure in each country were located using information from a range of sources such as Ministry of Health (MoH) websites, World Health Organization, Doctors Assisting in South Pacific Islands (DAISI), Commonwealth Health Online, and Google Maps. A spatial analysis was undertaken to identify medical infrastructure located within 4 zones from the coastline of each country: 0 to 50 m, 50 to 100 m, 100 to 200 m, and 200 to 500 m. The findings indicate that 62% of all assessed medical facilities in the 14 PICs are located within 500 m of the coast. The low-lying coral atoll countries of Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Tokelau, and Tuvalu will be highly affected as all medical facilities in these countries fall within 500 m of the coast. The results provide a baseline analysis of the threats posed by sea-level rise to existing critical medical infrastructure in the 14 PICs and could be useful for adaptive planning. These countries have limited financial and technical resources which will make adaptation challenging.

The Impact of Climate Change on States

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 115-132
Author(s):  
Łukasz Kułaga
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
International Law ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
The State ◽  
Fundamental Change ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Impact Of Climate Change ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The increase in sea levels, as a result of climate change in territorial aspect will have a potential impact on two major issues – maritime zones and land territory. The latter goes into the heart of the theory of the state in international law as it requires us to confront the problem of complete and permanent disappearance of a State territory. When studying these processes, one should take into account the fundamental lack of appropriate precedents and analogies in international law, especially in the context of the extinction of the state, which could be used for guidance in this respect. The article analyses sea level rise impact on baselines and agreed maritime boundaries (in particular taking into account fundamental change of circumstances rule). Furthermore, the issue of submergence of the entire territory of a State is discussed taking into account the presumption of statehood, past examples of extinction of states and the importance of recognition in this respect.

Climate Change, Sea Level Rise and Protecting Displaced Coastal Communities: Possible Solutions

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony George Puthucherril
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Coastal Zone Management ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Coastal Communities ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Small Island Developing States ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Technological Support

Climate change and sea level rise are realities that are upon us and which will profoundly impact the lives and basic rights of millions of coastal residents all over the world. As the law stands both at the international and at certain national levels, the basic human rights of the climate displaced are not adequately protected. This paper identifies two possible displacement scenarios, based on the continued availability/non-availability of land in the face of sea level rise and other climate change impacts; namely, the sinking Small Island Developing States phenomeon, where land disappears and there is no surplus land to support habitation, and all other cases, where the coastal land is battered severely but it can be re-utilized through appropriate adaptation measures or even if coastal frontage land disappears there is still land available inland. On this basis, the paper proposes three possible solutions: (1) bilateral or regional treaties to facilitate resettlement of the inhabitants of sinking Small Island Developing States, (2) appropriate coastal climate change adaptation implemented via integrated coastal zone management and (3) creation of new arrangements under the international climate change regime to provide financial assistance and technological support to respond to both situations. Even though the primary focus of this paper is on coastal communities in South Asia, the lessons that it offers are relevant to other coastal contexts as well.

Developing future sea level services for Small Island Developing States

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svetlana Jevrejeva ◽  
Judith Wolf ◽  
Andy Matthews ◽  
Joanne Williams ◽  
David Byrne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Caribbean Region ◽  
Caribbean Islands ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
And Sea Level

<p>The Caribbean islands encompass some of the most vulnerable coastlines in terms of sea level rise, exposure to tropical cyclones, changes in waves and storm surges. Climate in the Caribbean is already changing and sea level rise impacts are already being felt. Considerable local and regional variations in the rate, magnitude, and direction of sea-level change can be expected as a result of thermal expansion, tectonic movements, and changes in ocean circulation. Governments in the Caribbean recognise that climate change and sea level rise are serious threats to the sustainable development and economic growth of the Caribbean islands and urgent actions are required to increase the resilience and make decisions about how to adapt to future climate change (Caribbean Marine Climate Change Report Card 2017; IPCC 2014).</p><p>As part of the UK Commonwealth Marine Economies (CME) Programme and through collaboration with local stakeholders in St Vincent, we have identified particular areas at risk from changing water level and wave conditions. The Caribbean Sea, particularly the Lesser Antilles, suffers from limited observational data due to a lack of coastal monitoring, making numerical models even more important to fill this gap. The current projects brings together improved access to tide gauge observations, as well as global, regional and local water level and wave modelling to provide useful tools for coastal planners.</p><p>We present our initial design of a coastal data hub with sea level information for stakeholder access in St. Vincent and Grenadines, Grenada and St Lucia, with potential development of the hub for the Caribbean region. The work presented here is a contribution to the wide range of ongoing activities under the Commonwealth Marine Economies (CME) Programme in the Caribbean, falling within the work package “Development of a coastal data hub for stakeholder access in the Caribbean region”, under the NOC led projects “Climate Change Impact Assessment: Ocean Modelling and Monitoring for the Caribbean CME states”.</p>

scholarly journals Impact Assessment of Storm Surge and Climate Change-Enhanced Sea Level Rise on Atoll Nations: A Case Study of the Tarawa Atoll, Kiribati

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audrius Sabūnas ◽  
Takuya Miyashita ◽  
Nobuki Fukui ◽  
Tomoya Shimura ◽  
Nobuhito Mori
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Storm Surge ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Impact Of Climate Change ◽  
Exposed Population ◽  
The Impact

The Pacific region consists of numerous Small Island Developing States (SIDS), one of the most vulnerable to flooding caused by compound effects of sea level rise (SLR) and storms. Nevertheless, individual studies regarding the impact assessment for SIDS, such as the low-lying Kiribati, remain scarce. This study assessed the impact of climate change-induced storm surge and SLR compounding effects on Tarawa, the most populous atoll of Kiribati, the largest coral atoll nation. It projected the impact using a combined dynamic surge and SLR model based on the IPCC AR5 RCP scenarios and 1/100 and 1/50 years return period storm events. This approach allows estimating the inundation scope and the consecutive exposed population by the end of the 21st century. The results of this study show that the pace of SLR is pivotal for Tarawa, as the sea level rise alone can claim more than 50% of the territory and pose a threat to over 60% of the population under the most intense greenhouse gas emissions scenario. Furthermore, most coasts on the lagoon side are particularly vulnerable. In contrast, the contribution of extreme events is generally minimal due to low wind speeds and the absence of tropical cyclones (TC). Despite this, it is clear the compound effects are critical and may inescapably bring drastic changes to the atoll nations by the end of this century. The impact assessment in this study draws attention to the social impact of climate change on SIDS, most notably atoll islands, and evaluates their adaptation potential.

scholarly journals The Impact of Sea-Level Rise on Tourism Small Islands a Case Study of Wenzhou Island during the Pre-COVID-19 Pandemic Period

CONVERTER ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 236-241
Author(s):  
Yichia Lin, Wenlung Chang, Wongchai Anupong
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Resource Planning ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Small Islands ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Tourist Attractions ◽  
The Impact

During the COVID-19 pandemic period, island tourism experienced a severe impact. Island tourism is a thriving tourism model, but it is greatly affected by the SLR (sea level rise) due to climate change. Small island tourism must to face flooding problems that cause sea-level rise. GIS can be used to plan and monitor land use. This case study uses GIS (Geography information system) pre-COVID-19 pandemic period to predict flooding at different scales. After three different scales of digitization processing, it is found that: Overall, the flood area is located in the northern part of the island. The relationship is consistent, that is, the flood season is directly proportional to the peak tourist season. Sea level rise will cause changes in tourist attractions on the island; residents' daily lives will face major changes. This study provides a small amount of inundation scale predictions at different scales; hopes to be helpful for the island’s tourism resource planning and residents’ adaptation. To avoid add climate change refugees and rational use of tourism resources on lack nature resource small islands.

Sea-Level-Rise Disaster in Micronesia: Sentinel Event for Climate Change?

2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark E. Keim
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Acute Onset ◽  
Complete Loss ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Partial Loss ◽  
Survey Tool ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTObjectives: To describe the impact of an acute-onset sea-level-rise disaster in 2 coral atoll populations and to generate hypotheses for further investigation of the association between climate change and public health.Methods: Households of Lukunoch and Oneop islands, Micronesia, were assessed for demographics, asset damage, food availability, water quantity and quality, hygiene and sanitation, and health status. Every fourth household on Lukunoch was randomly selected (n = 40). All Oneop households were surveyed (n = 72). Heads of each household were interviewed in the local language using a standard survey tool. Prevalence data were analyzed, and 95% confidence intervals were calculated.Results: A total of 112 total households were respondents representing 974 inhabitants. On Lukunoch, roughly half of all households surveyed reported at least a partial loss of their primary dietary staple and source of calories (taro and breadfruit). Six (15%) of 40 Lukunoch households surveyed (95% CI, 6%-30%) reported a complete loss of taro and four (10%) of the 40 households (95% CI, 3%-24%) reported a complete loss of breadfruit. On Oneop, nearly all households reported at least a partial loss of these same food staples. Twenty four (31%) of all 76 Oneop households reported a complete loss of taro and another 24 (31%) households reported a complete loss of breadfruit. One third of all households surveyed reported a complete loss. On Lukunoch 11 (28%) of 40 households, (95% CI, 15%-43%) reported damage from salination, but none were damaged to the point of a complete loss. Forty-nine (64%) of 76 Oneop households reported salination and five (6%) reported complete loss of their well.Conclusion: On March 5, 2007, an acute-onset, sea level rise event resulting in coastal erosion, shoreline inundation, and saltwater intrusion occurred in two coral atoll islands of Micronesia. The findings of this study suggest that highly vulnerable populations of both islands experienced disastrous losses involving crop productivity and freshwater sources. These findings reveal the need for effective public health research and sustainable interventions that will monitor and shape the health of small island populations predicted to be at high risk for adverse health effects due to climate change.(Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2010;4:81-87)

Sea Level Rise and Impacts on Maritime Zones and Limits

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Freestone ◽  
Davor Vidas ◽  
Alejandra Torres Camprubí
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Regional Pattern ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Regional Sea Level ◽  
International Legal System ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Global Mean ◽  
Regional Sea Level Change

As the oceans warm and ice melts, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (ipcc) in its Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) now predicts a global average sea level rise of up to one meter by 2100. AR5 also emphasizes that sea level rise will have “a strong regional pattern, with some places experiencing significant deviations of local and regional sea level change from the global mean change.” These predictions pose serious and possibly existential threats to the inhabitants of low-lying islands and coastal areas, and pose challenges for the international legal system to respond in an orderly and humane way to these novel situations. In 2012, the International Law Association (ila) established a new Committee to look specifically at these issues. This article looks at the work undertaken by the Committee to date regarding the law of the sea aspects of its mandate and identifies some considerations for its future work.

Islands Awash Amidst Rising Seas: Sea Level Rise and Insular Status under the Law of the Sea

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 391-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clive Schofield ◽  
David Freestone
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South China Sea ◽  
International Law ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
State Practice ◽  
The Face

Abstract This article considers the potential impacts of sea level rise on maritime zones with particular reference to impacts on islands. It considers the sea level rise predictions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; it outlines the existing legal framework for coastal baselines and insular features established by the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention. It highlights the work of the International Law Association Committee on International Law and Sea Level Rise, which in its 2018 report had identified the development of a body of State practice among the States and Territories of the South Pacific regarding the maintenance of existing maritime zone claims in the face of sea level rise. That practice is considered, together with the implications of the 2016 Tribunal Award on the South China Sea case on maritime zone claims based on islands.

International Law as an Adaptation Measure to Sea-level Rise and Its Impacts on Islands and Offshore Features

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 415-439
Author(s):  
Nilüfer Oral
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
International Law ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Current State ◽  
Legal Questions ◽  
International Climate

AbstractClimate change-induced sea-level rise will result in the partial or complete inundation of low-lying coastal areas and insular features. The consequences of this include the loss of baselines from which maritime zones are established. The loss of baselines raises a number of legal questions, in particular concerning the legal status of maritime entitlements and in some cases the potential loss of statehood. Solutions proposed include maintaining existing baselines or outer limits of maritime zones, or the construction de novo of artificial islands. This article examines the current state of international law under the international climate-change regime and the law of the sea in relation to adaptation and adaptive measures, such as maintaining of baselines, island fortification and the construction of artificial islands. In addition, the article explores the question as to whether measures such as maintaining baselines would constitute adaptive measures under the existing climate-change regime.

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