The Protection of Species, Ecosystems and Biodiversity Under UNCLOS in Light of the South China Sea Arbitration: An Emergent Duty of Marine Ecosystem Restoration?

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.

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

Asia-Pacific Journal of Ocean Law and Policy ◽

10.1163/24519391-00201005 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 52-87 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

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.

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New islands will harm ASEAN's marine ecosystem

Emerald Expert Briefings ◽

10.1108/oxan-db199152 ◽

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.

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

Jurnal Teknologi ◽

10.11113/jt.v79.11048 ◽

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.

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Visualized Quantitative Research or Marine Pollution in the South China Sea

International Journal of Sustainable Future for Human Security ◽

10.24910/jsustain/8/2032 ◽

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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