Condominium Arrangements as a Legal Mechanism for the Conservation of the South China Sea Large Marine Ecosystem

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Lim ◽  
Nengye Liu
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
South China ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
Collaborative Management ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
The South ◽  
Governance Arrangement ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Large Marine Ecosystem

The South China Sea Large Marine Ecosystem is one of the world’s richest marine biodiversity areas. The sea area is however the site of increasing tensions between its ten coastal States, six of which have competing claims in the South China Sea. The expanding populations and economies of the coastal States have also resulted in the growing depletion of the Sea’s rich marine resources. Coordinated approaches are needed to protect the unique biodiversity and natural resources of the South China Sea at the appropriate ecological scale. The continuation of sovereignty disputes are detrimental to all coastal states as well as international economic interests of non-claimant states which arise as a result of the Sea’s status as a globally important trade route. This paper urges coastal states to adopt a far-sighted outlook which ensures long-term sustainable ecosystems, livelihoods and economies of the region. To do this, a shift in approach which emphasises collaborative management of marine ecosystems is required instead of a scramble for sovereignty to exclusively exploit living and non-living resources. This paper therefore explores how the shared governance arrangement of a condominium could facilitate the exercise of sovereignty for the shared benefit of all coastal States. The paper argues that the condominium approach would enable State parties to put aside thorny sovereignty disputes in favour of collaboration to protect the area’s important and unique biodiversity.

A Marine Biodiversity Project in the South China Sea: Joint Efforts Made in the SCS Workshop Process

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yann-huei Song
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
South China Sea ◽  
South China ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Marine Resources ◽  
The South ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Current State ◽  
Made In

AbstractThe South China Sea (SCS) is one of the world’s richest marine biodiversity areas, with abundant and diverse marine resources. In recent years, however, due to rapid economic development and population growth, marine biodiversity in the SCS is being lost. Beginning in 1991, the participants in the Informal Workshop on Managing Potential Conflicts in the South China Sea (the SCS Workshop) agreed to recommend to the relevant governments to explore areas of cooperation in the SCS, which include the study of marine biodiversity. As a result, in March 2002, a joint biodiversity project was carried out around the undisputed Indonesian Islands of Anambas in the SCS. Other joint biodiversity projects have also been proposed, but with no progress. This article studies the joint efforts made by the participating authorities in the SCS Workshop process to understand better the current state of marine biodiversity in the SCS.

Diversity and biogeography of picoplankton communities from the Straits of Malacca to the South China Sea

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-33
Author(s):  
Zhao-Yu Jiang ◽  
Fu-Lin Sun
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
South China Sea ◽  
South China ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
Rrna Genes ◽  
The South ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Open Sea ◽  
Straits Of Malacca

AbstractMarine picoplankton, including prokaryotic and eukaryotic picoplankton, drive many biogeochemical processes, such as carbon, nitrogen and sulfur cycles, making them crucial to the marine ecosystem. Despite the fact that picoplankton is prevalent, its diversity and spatial distribution from the Straits of Malacca (SM) to the South China Sea (SCS) remain poorly investigated. This work explores the phylogenetic diversity and community structure of picoplankton in relation to environmental factors from the SM to the SCS. To this end, the Illumina MiSeq sequencing technique was applied to 16S and 18S rRNA genes. The results showed significant differences in the dynamics of picoplankton between the open sea and the strait region. Proteobacteria and Cyanobacteria constituted a larger part of the prokaryotic group. Within Cyanobacteria, the abundance of Prochlorococcus in the open sea was significantly higher than that of Synechococcus, while the opposite trend was observed in the strait. Dinoflagellata, Cnidaria, Retaria, Tunicata, and Arthropoda dominated among the eukaryotic taxa. High-throughput sequencing data indicated that salinity, temperature and NO2-N were the key factors determining the prokaryotic community structure, while temperature and dissolved oxygen determined the eukaryotic community structure in the studied region. The network analysis demonstrated that the cooperation and competition were also important factors affecting the picoplankton community.

New islands will harm ASEAN's marine ecosystem

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
South China ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Land Reclamation ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
The South ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Island Populations ◽  
China Sea

Subject The environmental politics of artificial island-building in the South China Sea. Significance Recent satellite photography has illustrated China's land reclamation and island-building work in the disputed Spratly islands in the South China Sea. Artificial island-building is likely to facilitate increases in the permanent population of the area. This raises the question of island-building's environmental, social and industrial implications. Impacts Extracting any South China Sea oil and gas reserves could damage maritime ecology further. If artificial island populations grow, waste management could become a problem. Mutual need to protect fishing stocks could provide an avenue for multilateral discussion on maritime disputes.

Offshore Coral Reef Damage, Overfishing, and Paths to Peace in the South China Sea

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. McManus
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
South China Sea ◽  
South China ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
Collaborative Management ◽  
Giant Clam ◽  
The South ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Decadal Scale

Offshore coral reefs of the South China Sea are subject to complex overlapping sovereignty claims by up to six regional nations. Escalating tensions have led to widespread structural reinforcement of military outposts on many reefs via dredging and filling. Satellite images indicated at least 160 km2 of coral reef damage, including 17 km2 of essentially permanent damage from filling and channel/harbour dredging, and 143 km2 of decadal-scale damage from dredging for building materials and giant clam harvesting. This damage will exacerbate the growing regional overfishing problem. Options to lessen tensions include (1) the establishment of a Greater Spratly Islands Peace Park, and (2) the collaborative management of fisheries, the environment and mineral resources across the entire Sea. Both options require freezes on extant claims and activities in support of claims. No matter how it is achieved, regional peace would greatly enhance fisheries stability and economic growth among all claimant nations.

EARTH OBSERVATORY DATA FOR MARITIME SILK ROAD DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH EAST ASIA

2017 ◽  
Vol 79 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamad Shawkat Hossain ◽  
Mazlan Hashim
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
South China ◽  
Traffic Congestion ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Silk Road ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
The South ◽  
Major Step ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Maritime Silk Road

Malaysia is one of the leading maritime countries surrounded by the South China Sea. Since the emergence of Maritime Silk Road (MSR) concept and its operational implementation, economic growth, development and cooperation, particularly in the context of Southeast Asia (SEA) including Malaysia has enhanced, but simultaneously traffic congestion and tensions in the South China Sea through claiming Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) by the law enforcing agencies of the regional countries have increased. To trade China within SEA, has to follow longer shipping route, linking the mainland of China with ports throughout the Middle East, traversing the South China Sea. Given there are many uncharted and emerging islands in the South China Sea, that still undetected and therefore, delineation of these island boundaries could be a major step forward in reducing maritime tensions. An integrated MSR network plan can be developed through recognizing those islands as potential EEZ for the related regional countries based on international water boundary law suits. The set of initiatives recommended in this paper gives strategic focus to – how earth observatory (EO) data can be used in (1) delineating emerging islands, (2) designing and developing coastal infrastructural facilities, and (3) protecting the integrity of the maritime environment. The future study can emphasize on investigating the potential usefulness of EO data, inter alia optical and radar for mapping emerging islands, possibilities of appearing islands in future based on shallowness predicted from bathymetric and sedimentation data analysis, and forecast opportunities and risks of using those as MSR transportations. The environmental risks associated with water pollution, degradation of coastal habitats, and marine ecosystem health and vulnerabilities can be assessed by analysing current and historical EO data. The particular emphasis should be given on protecting environmental pollution in the effort to introduce the philosophy of sustainable development in the local maritime sector.

scholarly journals Dongsha Atoll is an important stepping-stone that promotes regional genetic connectivity in the South China Sea

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e12063
Author(s):  
Shang Yin Vanson Liu ◽  
Jacob Green ◽  
Dana Briggs ◽  
Ruth Hastings ◽  
Ylva Jondelius ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
South China ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
The South ◽  
Stepping Stone ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Metapopulation Structure ◽  
Dongsha Atoll

Background Understanding region-wide patterns of larval connectivity and gene flow is crucial for managing and conserving marine biodiversity. Dongsha Atoll National Park (DANP), located in the northern South China Sea (SCS), was established in 2007 to study and conserve this diverse and remote coral atoll. However, the role of Dongsha Atoll in connectivity throughout the SCS is seldom studied. In this study, we aim to evaluate the role of DANP in conserving regional marine biodiversity. Methods In total, 206 samples across nine marine species were collected and sequenced from Dongsha Atoll, and these data were combined with available sequence data from each of these nine species archived in the Genomic Observatories Metadatabase (GEOME). Together, these data provide the most extensive population genetic analysis of a single marine protected area. We evaluate metapopulation structure for each species by using a coalescent sampler, selecting among panmixia, stepping-stone, and island models of connectivity in a likelihood-based framework. We then completed a heuristic graph theoretical analysis based on maximum dispersal distance to get a sense of Dongsha’s centrality within the SCS. Results Our dataset yielded 111 unique haplotypes across all taxa at DANP, 58% of which were not sampled elsewhere. Analysis of metapopulation structure showed that five out of nine species have strong regional connectivity across the SCS such that their gene pools are effectively panmictic (mean pelagic larval duration (PLD) = 78 days, sd = 60 days); while four species have stepping-stone metapopulation structure, indicating that larvae are exchanged primarily between nearby populations (mean PLD = 37 days, sd = 15 days). For all but one species, Dongsha was ranked within the top 15 out of 115 large reefs in the South China Sea for betweenness centrality. Thus, for most species, Dongsha Atoll provides an essential link for maintaining stepping-stone gene flow across the SCS. Conclusions This multispecies study provides the most comprehensive examination of the role of Dongsha Atoll in marine connectivity in the South China Sea to date. Combining new and existing population genetic data for nine coral reef species in the region with a graph theoretical analysis, this study provides evidence that Dongsha Atoll is an important hub for sustaining connectivity for the majority of coral-reef species in the region.

scholarly journals Visualized Quantitative Research or Marine Pollution in the South China Sea

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 20-32
Author(s):  
Wei Ye ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
South China ◽  
Gulf Of California ◽  
Marine Pollution ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Marine Organisms ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
The South ◽  
China Sea ◽  
The Impact

The rapid social-economic development of the countries bordering the South China Sea has resulted in increased marine pollution of the region, yet little study has been carried out on marine pollution in the region. This article is one of the first few attempts among existing literature to understand marine pollution in the South China Sea as a large marine ecosystem and its implications for sustainability. We have conducted systematic literature reviews for marine pollution in the South China Sea and three other regional seas/large marine ecosystems, namely, the Gulf of California, the Mediterranean Sea, and the North Sea with the assistance of CiteSpace. By comparison of studies in the three regional seas, the research of marine pollution in the South China Sea only touches on the impact of microplastics, and existing literature in the area is less efficient in the study of impacts of modern pollution on marine organisms and the uncertain bioaccumulation effect on humanity. Therefore, it is recommended that researchers in the region cooperate to conduct a holistic study of ocean pollution, and study of biological impacts of pollution on marine organisms should be strengthened.

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