Trần Minh Tuấn – LQT44C

Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam

Individual assignment 1
Topic: States’ Responsibilities in Marine Environment Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation on the international level
Questions: How to encourage coordination of states and effectively protect marine environment and
conserve marine biodiversity from a legal perspective?

I’m working on the topic of “States’ Responsibilities in Marine Environment Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation on the international level” because I want to find out why the marine biodiversity is being
damaged in certain areas and how states and international organzations can coordinate to put an end to
the status quo.

References:

1. UNCLOS, Part XII, Protection and Preservation of the Marine Environment

2. Charlotte De Fontaubert, David R. Downes, Tundi Agardy, Biodiversity in the Seas: Implementing
the Convention on Biological Diversity in Marine and Coastal Habitats
3. Hjalmar Thiel & J. Anthony Koslow, Managing Risks to Biodiversity and the Environment on the
High Sea, Including Tools Such as Marine Protected Areas - Scientific Requirements and Legal
Aspects, Proceedings of the Expert Workshop held at the International Academy for Nature
Conservation Isle of Vilm, Germany, 27 February - 4 March 2001
4. Governance Challenges, Gaps and Management Opportunities in Areas Beyond National
Jurisdiction, GEF/STAP/C.51/Inf.02 September 28, 2016
5. United Nations Conference on Environment & Development Rio de Janerio, Brazil, 3 to 14 June
1992, AGENDA 21, Chapter 17, Protection of the oceans, all kinds of seas, including enclosed and
semi-enclosed seas, and coastal areas and the protection, rational use and development of their
living resources
6. Warner Robin M., Conserving marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction: co-
evolution and interaction with the law of the sea, Frontiers in Marine Science, 2014
7. Julian Roberts, Marine Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation: The Application
and Future Development of the IMO's Particularly Sensitive Sea Area Concept
8. European Commission, Blue Growth, Opportunities for marine and maritime sustainable growth
9. Kristina M. Gjerde and Anna Rulska-Domino, Marine Protected Areas beyond National
Jurisdiction: Some Practical Perspectives for Moving Ahead, The International Journal of Marine
and Coastal Law
10. Robin Kundis Craig, Protecting International Marine Biodiversity: International Treaties and
National Systems of Marine Protected Areas

Evaluating references:

1. UNCLOS, Part XII, Protection and Preservation of the Marine Environment

Relevance: Part XII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) provides
the general obligation of states to protect and preserve the marine environment.
Reliability: Primary source
Trần Minh Tuấn – LQT44C
Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam

2. Charlotte De Fontaubert, David R. Downes, Tundi Agardy, Biodiversity in the Seas: Implementing
the Convention on Biological Diversity in Marine and Coastal Habitats
Relevance: The report explains the challenges that marine and coastal biodiversity pose for the
achievement of the Convention objectives and identifies the policy tools that will be most
effective for implementing the Convention in marine and coastal areas.
Reliability:
 Charlotte De Fontaubert is Senior Fisheries Specialist at The World Bank (Somalia,
Kenya, Pacific Islands, Gulf States, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Morocco, and Djibouti) and
Research Fellow at The School for Field Studies, South Caicos, Turks and Caicos, British
West Indies (marine turtles, fisheries, marine protected areas, shark research).
 David Downes is Assistant Director for Policy in the Office of International Affairs at the
United States Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C. He leads a team that
coordinates international activities across the Department's bureaus on issues such as
trade and investment policy, biodiversity and cooperation in the Arctic region. Mr.
Downes is also an adjunct associate professor at the American University's Washington
College of Law. From 2011-2014 he served as co-chair of the International
Environmental Law Committee of the ABA Section of International Law; from 2007-2010
he edited the committee's annual review of international environmental law for an ABA
journal The International Lawyer.
 Tundi Agardy (born May 10, 1957) is a marine conservationist and the founder of Sound
Seas – a Washington DC-based group specializing in working at the nexus of marine
science and policy in order to safeguard ocean life. n 2006, Agardy was selected to
receive the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel Award for Significant Achievement in
Oceanography and Marine Policy. She was given the Civic Scientist of the Year Award by
the Earthwatch Foundation in 1998, and the Secretary of State Open Forum
Distinguished Public Service Award in the same year. The URI Alumni Association
granted her the Award for Excellence in Research in 1996, and in 1995 she was selected
by TIME Magazine as one of the fifty most promising young leaders in America. She
serves on numerous Boards of Trustees, international advisory bodies, and sat on the US
Federal Advisory Committee on Marine Protected Areas.
 Published by IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK
Founded in 1948, The World Conservation Union brings together States, government
agencies, and adiverse range of non-governmental organizations in a unique world
partnership - over 880 members in all, spread across 133 countries. As a Union, IUCN
seeks to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the
integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources
isequitable and ecologically sustainable. A central secretariat coordinates the IUCN
Programme and servesthe Union membership, representing their views on the world
stage and providing them with the strategies, services, scientific knowledge and
technical support they need to achieve their goals. Through its six Commissions, IUCN
draws together over 6000 expert volunteers in project teams and action groups, focus-
ing in particular on species and biodiversity conservation and the management of
habitats and naturalresources. The Union has helped many countries to prepare
National Conservation Strategies, and demon-strates the application of its knowledge
Trần Minh Tuấn – LQT44C
Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam

through the field projects it supervises. Operations are increasinglydecentralized and

are carried forward by an expanding network of regional and country offices, located
prin-cipally in developing countries. The World Conservation Union builds on the
strengths of its members, net-work and partners to enhance their capacity and to
support global alliances to safeguard natural resources atlocal, regional and global levels

3. Hjalmar Thiel & J. Anthony Koslow, Managing Risks to Biodiversity and the Environment on the
High Sea, Including Tools Such as Marine Protected Areas - Scientific Requirements and Legal
Aspects, Proceedings of the Expert Workshop held at the International Academy for Nature
Conservation Isle of Vilm, Germany, 27 February - 4 March 2001
Relevance: discuss the legal and scientific aspects of marine protected areas on the high seas.
Reliability:
 Hjalmar Thiel is the professor at The Institute of Marine Ecosystem and Fishery Science
at the University of Hamburg.
 J. Anthony Koslow has B.A., Harvard University, B.A., University of Washington, Ph.D.,
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD
 Published by Bundesamt für Naturschutz (BfN) (German Federal Agency for Nature
Conservation). The German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation is the German
government’s scientific authority with responsibility for national and international
nature conservation. BfN is one of the government’s departmental research agencies
and reports to the German Environment Ministry.
4. GEF, Governance Challenges, Gaps and Management Opportunities in Areas Beyond National
Jurisdiction, GEF/STAP/C.51/Inf.02 September 28, 2016
Relevance: provide a comprehensive mapping and description of the current regulatory
landscape of the ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) and to identify potential gaps
and weaknesses in the system and its management.
Reliability: The Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established on the eve of the 1992 Rio
Earth Summit to help tackle our planet’s most pressing environmental problems. The GEF unites
183 countries in partnership with international institutions, civil society organizations (CSOs),
and the private sector to address global environmental issues while supporting national
sustainable development initiatives. Since 1992, the GEF has provided over $17 billion in grants
and mobilized an additional $88 billion in financing for more than 4000 projects in 170
countries. Through its Small Grants Programme (SGP), the GEF has invested $450million and
leveraged similar levels of co financing supporting over 14,500 community-based projects in
over 125 countries.
The Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) comprises seven expert advisers supported by
a Secretariat, which are together responsible for connecting the GEF to the most up to date,
authoritative, and globally representative science. The STAP Chair reports to every GEF Council
meeting, briefing Council members on the Panel’s work and emerging scientific and technical
issues. Advice to Council includes writing primers, or leading in-depth analyses, on themes
influencing the sustainability of the global environment and development. In addition, STAP
reviews and/or co- authorships GEF Policy papers where there are significant scientific or
technical issues. STAP is supported by a Secretariat hosted by UN Environment. The Secretariat
is based in Washington, D.C. at North America Office of the UN Environment. The Secretariat is
Trần Minh Tuấn – LQT44C
Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam

led by a Secretary who works closely with the STAP Chair in coordinating the work of the Panel.
Secretariat staff with expertise in a variety of areas of relevance to the GEF Program supports
the work of the Panel.
5. United Nations Conference on Environment & Development Rio de Janerio, Brazil, 3 to 14 June
1992, AGENDA 21, Chapter 17, Protection of the oceans, all kinds of seas, including enclosed and
semi-enclosed seas, and coastal areas and the protection, rational use and development of their
living resources
Relevance: provide information about protection of the oceans, seas and theirs living resources
Reliability: Primary source
6. Warner Robin M., Conserving marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction: co-
evolution and interaction with the law of the sea, Frontiers in Marine Science, 2014
Relevance: This article explores key normative features of the legal and institutional framework
for ABNJ and their applicability to conservation of marine biodiversity, gaps and disconnects in
that framework and ongoing global initiatives to develop more effective governance structures.
It discusses some of the options being considered in the UN Ad Hoc Informal Open-ended
Working Group to study issues related to the conservation and sustainable use of marine
biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ Working Group) to evolve the legal and
institutional framework for conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in ABNJ and
their current and future relevance for the law of the sea.
Reliability:
 Dr Robin Warner is Professor at the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and
Security, University of Wollongong. She was formerly Assistant Secretary of the
International Crime Branch in the Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department from
2002 to 2007. Her research interests include law of the sea, marine environmental law
and climate law. She is the author of Protecting the Oceans Beyond National
Jurisdiction: Strengthening the International Law Framework (Martinus Nijhoff, Leiden,
2009), editor (with Simon Marsden) of Transboundary Environmental Governance:
Inland Coastal and Marine Perspectives (Ashgate Publishers, 2012) editor (with Clive
Schofield) of Climate Change and the Oceans: Gauging the Legal and Policy Currents in
the Asia Pacific (Edward Elgar, 2012) and editor (with Stuart Kaye) of Handbook of
Maritime Regulation and Enforcement (Routledge, 2015).
 The article was edited by Julian Clifton, University of Western Australia, Australia.
2007-date: Lecturer / Senior Lecturer, University of Western Australia
1997-2007: Lecturer / Senior Lecturer, University of Portsmouth, UK
His principal research interests lie in processes of interaction and conflict between local
user groups and conservation policy-makers in the marine environment. He has a
longstanding focus on marine protected area institutions and governance in Indonesia,
where conservation policy reflects a complex interaction between international NGOs,
national and local government and various local stakeholders. His research interests
have recently extended to include evaluations of vulnerability to climate change in
fishing communities of the Seychelles along with similar studies of adaptation and
resilience in Australian coastal communities. He is also developing a research
programme focusing on the potential for community-based tourism development in
coastal regions of Myanmar.
Trần Minh Tuấn – LQT44C
Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam

 The article was reviewed by Mary Ann Palma-Robles, University of Wollongong,

Australia
Dr Palma-Robles started her academic career in 1998 and obtained her PhD from the
University of Wollongong in 2006, after which she continued as a full time member of
staff before moving to Queensland with her family. Her research interests include
international fisheries law and policy, ocean policy and management, maritime security,
and regional marine governance. She has numerous publications on these topics,
including the book Promoting Sustainable Fisheries: The International Legal Framework
to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (Brill, 2010). Mary Ann has
undertaken related research and consultancies commissioned by international
organisations, Australian government agencies, foreign governments, and international
non-government organisations.
 Published by Frontiers in Marine Science
7. Julian Roberts, Marine Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation: The Application
and Future Development of the IMO's Particularly Sensitive Sea Area Concept
Relevance: Despite the potential benefits that PSSA designation can deliver, recent practice
both within the IMO and by individual member States, has considerably undermined confidence
in this emerging concept. The focus of this book is on the events within the IMO that have led to
this lack of confidence arising. In doing so, this book presents an examination of coastal State
practice with the PSSA concept.
Reliability:
 Julian Roberts was a member of the Sentencing Council of England and Wales from
2008-2018. He is currently Associate Editor of the European Journal of Criminology.
Julian has authored or co-authored 8 books, the most recent of which is 'Paying for the
Past' (with Richard Frase) published by the Oxford University Press. He has edited or co-
edited 17 scholarly volumes and 6 special issues of peer review journals.
 The book is published by Springer.
8. European Commission, Blue Growth, Opportunities for marine and maritime sustainable growth
Relevance: This Communication has identified five areas where additional effort at EU level
could stimulate long-term growth and jobs in the blue economy, in line with the objectives of
the Europe 2020 strategy.
Reliability: Produced by the European Commission
9. Kristina M. Gjerde and Anna Rulska-Domino, Marine Protected Areas beyond National
Jurisdiction: Some Practical Perspectives for Moving Ahead, The International Journal of Marine
and Coastal Law
Relevance: This commentary reviews potential avenues for accelerating progress towards
representative MPA networks as part of a largerscale effort towards improving the conservation
and sustainable use of marine biodiversity
beyond national jurisdiction.
Reliability:
 Kristina Maria Gjerde is a High Seas Policy Advisor for the International Union for
Conservation of Nature Global Marine and Polar Program. She works on the Global
Ocean Biodiversity Initiative and won the 2018 Boat International Visionary Ocean
Award. Gjerde currently lives in the area of Boston MA USA.
Trần Minh Tuấn – LQT44C
Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam

 This commentary is published in The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, by
Brill Publishers
10. Robin Kundis Craig, Protecting International Marine Biodiversity: International Treaties and
National Systems of Marine Protected Areas, Journal of Land Use & Environmental Law, Vol. 20,
No. 2 (SPRING 2005), pp. 333-369
Relevance: This article reviews the intersection of science and international law in the area of
preserving marine biodiversity. It provides an overview of how the science concerning marine
biodiversity preservation has changed focus in the last decade or so and then looks at how
international law is beginning to react to that change in scientific emphasis in the international
preservation of marine biodiversity. It ends with both a recommendation that nations adopt a
more comprehensive approach to marine biodiversity preservation and a recognition that such
comprehensive protection packages are beginning to become a part of international law.
Reliability:
 Robin Kundis Craig researches the law and policy of "all things water," including water
rights, water pollution, and ocean and coastal issues, as well as climate change
adaptation, the intersection of constitutional and environmental law, and the food-
energy-water nexus. She has authored, co-authored, or edited 11 books, 21 books
chapters, and over 100 articles in both law and scientific journals. About her education,
she has:
 J.D./Environmental Law Certificate, School of Law, Lewis & Clark College
 Ph.D., English, Science & Literature, University of California, Santa Barbara. Project:
Romantic Transformations
 M.A./Writing About Science, The Writing Seminars, The Johns Hopkins University.
Project: The Chemistry of Human Biology
 B.A., English/Writing Concentration, Pomona College
 The Journal of Land Use & Environmental Law is published twice a year at the Florida
State University College of Law. Founded in 1983, it is Florida's first and only student
publication in the field. The law review ranks among the top environmental and land use
law journals based on citations.