Page 222 - Economia Azul - versão: inglês

transoceanic communications. (AUGUSTO, mechanisms, but there are huge gaps for
2019). This degree of dependence on the which, today, attempts are being made to
flow of information in a globalized world build new control mechanisms.
alone would justify the statement. Al- The exploitation of non-living resourc-
though some regulation of the use of sub- es, in maritime geographic areas under the
marine cables was foreseen in the UNCLOS, protection of state ‘sovereignty rights’, is
it did not have the relevance it has acquired fully under the decisions of these Coastal
with today’s completely interconnected States. How can we guarantee that such
world; for example, its security mechanisms activities cannot compromise the rights of
(from a security perspective) were very little other States or even of humanity in the
regulated. Vulnerability is great and lacks event of unsustainable activities? There are
greater protection instruments, both in wa- few international instruments that support
ters under state jurisdiction and even in in- any exogenous action in this perspective.
ternational waters. The same can happen in relation to living
However, the perspective of under- resources. Some species may become erad-
standing the sea as an intrinsic source of icated or, worse, in the case of migratory
resources has also changed radically in re- species, the unilateral action of the State,
cent decades (BEIRÃO, 2018, p. 59-63). even in areas under its right of exploitation,
What was once almost exclusively a source may imply serious risks to the ecosystem
of protein from fish, today is the new El- imbalance and sustainable economic devel-
dorado of renewable and non-renewable opment of other States. In this sense, great
resources on the planet. progress has been made in the construc-
This exploratory perspective – and, tion of new regional arrangements for con-
therefore, fully related to the economy of trolling fisheries and even international con-
the sea – was not the focus when the UN- ventions related to migratory species (such
CLOS was drafted, even though one of its as the case of tuna). Regional Fisheries Man-
principles has been the “peaceful use of agement Organizations (RFMOs) have been
the seas and oceans, the equitable and re- created in several ocean regions. However,
source efficient (...)” (UNCLOS, Preamble). for the time being, this is not a reality in the
At the time, the dimension that non-living Western South Atlantic, so there is also no
resources would acquire (Oil & Gas – Off- such articulation, supported by an interna-
shore, other gaseous resources, scarce min- tional agreement, that helps this type of co-
erals in emerged lands, limestone, etc.) and ordinated action between the South Ameri-
even living resources (which in addition to can coastal states of the South Atlantic.
the natural fish, gained immense wealth Finally, it is now the immense portion of
in marine biogenetics and much research, the ocean beyond state jurisdictions. Both
especially in the pharmaceutical industry). in relation to the water mass and in relation
And it is precisely in this dimension that the to the soil and subsoil.
UNCLOS does not materialize as a sufficient Initially, the regulation of the eventual
instrument. She pointed out some solution exploitation of the soil and subsoil of this
220 BLUE ECONOMY
region, called “Area”, is addressed. This the definitive “exploitation mining codes”
immense ecosystem wealth and, until UN- has been implemented and the Company,
CLOS, little known reserve of resources as a manager of resources arising from this
was an important and innovative gover- exploitation, has not yet established itself
nance framework introduced by the Con- as consolidated. This is a new undertaking
vention. Two institutions were conceived that will be implemented in many stages.
and created. The first – International Sea- The second question is in relation to the
bed Authority – ISA, was, legally speaking, immense wealth in the net mass overlying
something really innovative, because it is the Area. The UNCLOS did not add any
an International Organization (therefore, formal responsibility to any created Institu-
formed by Member States – in a classic) tion, it regulated little in relation to living
that acquired legality and legitimacy to resources (especially fish), so much so that
settle on territory (soil and marine sub- it made room for new specific conventions
soil of the Area) outside the jurisdictions and regional agreements (as already men-
of its member States. This normative con- tioned) and even less in relation to the intel-
struction took advantage of an innovative lectual property of patents, applicable tools
concept (already discussed in this chapter) and biogenetics. This regulatory gap in re-
of the ‘common heritage of humanity’. lation to this mass, after intense reluctance
It is responsible for analyzing and autho- on the part of the International Society to
rizing the exploration and exploitation of make a new international conference via-
resources. Technological advances were ble, ended up being achieved with the for-
slow to make these activities economically mal call for the United Nations Conference
viable, but two factors made them accel- on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction
erate: technology and, alternatively, the (the so-called BBJN) which, since 2017 is in
Agreement on the implementation of Part force and has not yet reached its final term.
XI of the UNCLOS, which tried to resolve That said, there are still exploratory par-
several questions regarding the creation of adigms that need to be built for the con-
the second institution: the ‘Enterprise’. sequent leverage of the economic viability
Therefore, this regulation is still a pro- of use, increasingly demanded in terms of
cess under construction since, to conduct sustainability, of these immense resourc-
exploitation, there is a need to agree on es. And in this vein, not only the States
specific regulations for each type of sub- are being relevant actors, but all the other
stance (polymetallic nodules, cobalt crusts, international actors that wish to influence
and polymetallic sulfide gases, among oth- this governance.
ers possible and viable). To date, none of
The Regulation of the Sea: Consolidation and Perspectives 221