Legal Aspects of Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean Sea

Mitja Grbec, Attorney-at-Law in Koper (Slovenia). Visiting Lecturer at the International Maritime Law Institute of the International Maritime Organization (IMO IMLI, Msida, Malta) and Associate Professor at University of Primorska, Faculty of Management (Koper, Slovenia). Secretary-General of the Maritime Law Association of Slovenia and Titulary Member of the Comité Maritime International.Tullio Scovazzi, Professor of international law (now retired) in the Universities of Parma, Genoa, Milan, and Milano-Bicocca (Italy). Associate Member of the Institut de droit international.Ilaria Tani, Attorney-at-Law in Milan (Italy). Adjunct Professor of international law of the sea and maritime law at University of Milano-Bicocca (Italy). Former Associate Legal Officer at the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs, United Nations (UNDOALOS, New York, United States).

• Foreword Preface Acknowledgements List of abbreviations and acronyms List of figures List of contributorsCHAPTER 1 Mitja Grbec and Tullio Scovazzi THE ADRIATIC AND IONIAN SEAS AS PART OF THE WIDER MEDITERRANEAN SEA 1.1. Geographical and political considerations 1.2. The present juridical picture of the Mediterranean waters 1.3. Implications of the recent process of extension of coastal State jurisdiction in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas 1.4. The Mediterranean, Adriatic, and Ionian Seas as juridically enclosed or semi-enclosed seas1.5 Conclusive summary CHAPTER 2 Tullio Scovazzi THE GLOBAL LEGAL BASIS FOR MARINE AREA-BASED CONSERVATION 2.1. The domestic and international dimension of marine protected areas 2.2 The main global policy instruments2.3 The main global legal instruments A. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seaa. Internal maritime watersb. Territorial seac. Exclusive economic zoned. Continental shelfe. High seas f. Seabed beyond national jurisdiction B. The International Convention for the Regulation of WhalingC. The Convention on Biological Diversitya. The notion of marine protected areab. The Jakarta Mandatec. The Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areasd. The Aichi Targets and the Kunming-Montreal 2030 Global Targets e. The notion of other effective area-based conservation measures D. The Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural HeritageE. The Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Shipsa. The Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas F. The Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage 2.4. Conclusive summary CHAPTER 3 Mitja Grbec and Tullio ScovazziTHE REGIONAL AND SUB-REGIONAL LEGAL BASIS FOR MARINE AREA-BASED CONSERVATION 3.1. Regional instruments and their coordination with global instruments A. The Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean and its Protocolsa. The Areas Protocolb. The Offshore Protocolc. The Coastal Zone Protocol B. The Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area a. The proposed marine protected areas for cetaceans C. The Agreement for the Establishment of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterraneana. The fisheries restricted areas D. The Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats3.2. Sub-regional instruments outside the Adriatic and Ionian SeasA. The RAMOGE Agreement B. The Pelagos Sanctuary Agreement 3.3. Sub-regional instruments within the Adriatic and Ionian Seas A. Sub-regional cooperation within the institutional framework of the Barcelona Convention and its protocols B. Cooperation within the Joint Commission for the protection of the Adriatic Sea established by the 1974 Belgrade AgreementC. Cooperation within the framework of the intergovernmental Adriatic-Ionian InitiativeD. Cooperation within the framework of the European Union Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region3.4. Conclusive summary CHAPTER 4 Mitja GrbecMARINE AREA-BASED CONSERVATION UNDER EUROPEAN UNION LAW 4.1. The European Union maritime policy and its goals 4.2. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive and its regional application 4.3. The Habitats and Birds Directives A. The Birds Directive B. The Habitats Directive C. The NATURA 2000 Network and the Adriatic and Ionian Seas 4.4. The European Union Biodiversity Strategy 2030 4.5. Conclusive summary CHAPTER 5 Ilaria Tani MARINE AREA-BASED CONSERVATION WITHIN AREAS OF NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY AND JURISDICTION 5.1. Legal frameworks within Adriatic and Ionian States A. Existing national legal frameworks B. Indicators for effective national legal frameworksa. Coordinated implementation of international and regional commitmentsb. Institutional coordinationc. Specific legal provisions for marine protected areas establishment and management d. Adoption of protection measurese. Management planning and zoning for marine protected areas f. Integration of marine protected areas into coastal and maritime spatial planning policiesg. Stakeholder involvement h. Financing mechanisms i. Monitoring, compliance, and enforcement5.2. National marine protected areas 5.3. Conclusive summary CHAPTER 6 Ilaria Tani TRANSBOUNDARY AREA-BASED CONSERVATION BEYOND THE TERRITORIAL SEA WITHIN THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA AND THE ADRIATIC AND IONIAN SEAS 6.1. The Pelagos Sanctuary 6.2. Transboundary cooperation in the Strait of Bonifacio 6.3. The GFCM fisheries restricted areas A. The Lophelia Reef off Capo Santa Maria di Leuca B. The Jabuka/Pomo Pit C. The Bari Canyon D. The deep-water essential fish habitats and sensitive habitats in the South Adriatic 6.4. Conclusive summary CHAPTER 7 Tullio Scovazzi THE CASE FOR ESTABLISHING TRANSBOUNDARY MEDITERRANEAN SPAMIs WITHIN THE ADRIATIC AND IONIAN SEAS 7.1. Challenges and opportunities 7.2. Potential areas 7.3. Protection measures and management authorities 7.4. Conclusive summary CHAPTER 8 Ilaria Tani THE CASE FOR PURSUING TRANSBOUNDARY AREA-BASED CONSERVATION THROUGH A EUROPEAN GROUPING OF TERRITORIAL COOPERATION WITHIN THE ADRIATIC AND IONIAN SEAS 8.1. Legal and operational basis8.2. Challenges and opportunities 8.3. Potential areas and protective measures 8.4. Management authority 8.5. Conclusive summary CHAPTER 9 Mitja GrbecTHE CASE FOR ESTABLISHING A PARTICULARLY SENSITIVE SEA AREA IN THE ADRIATIC AND IONIAN SEAS 9.1. Challenges and opportunities 9.2. Work undertaken so far 9.3. Marine areas to be covered and potential associated protective measures A. Existing associated protective measures a. Mandatory ship reporting b. Routeing c. MARPOL Special Areas B. New associated protective measures 9.4. Conclusive summary CHAPTER 10 Mitja BriceljTHE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE WIDER MEDITERRANEAN: MULTI-STAKEHOLDER SETTINGS, ECOSYSTEM APPROACH, AND MARITIME SPATIAL PLANNING10.1. Multi-stakeholder settings as transboundary cooperation tools10.2. A sustainable development strategy for the Mediterranean region10.3. Ecosystem approach as integrated operational approach at the regional level10.4. Ecosystem approach as integrated operational approach at the sub-regional level10.5. Ecosystem approach in the integrated coastal zone management 10.6. Maritime spatial planning and green (and blue) infrastructure10.7. Conclusive summary CHAPTER 11 Iztok ŠkerličA PERSPECTIVE FROM THE EUSAIR FACILITY POINT: MARITIME SPATIAL PLANNING AS A CROSS-PILLAR ELEMENT OF THE STRATEGY11.1. The EUSAIR Action Plan and its contribution to the implementation of the Coastal Zone Protocol 11.2. Interactions between the blue economy and environmental quality in the EUSAIR11.3. The Facility Point project as a support tool to the EUSAIR (maritime) governance process11.4. Conclusive summary CHAPTER 12 Mitja Grbec, Tullio Scovazzi, Ilaria Tani CONCLUSIVE REMARKS ON AN ADRIATIC AND IONIAN SEAS RESPONSE TO GLOBAL CHALLENGES IN THE FIELD OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: TOWARDS COORDINATED NETWORKS OF MARINE PROTECTED AREAS?12.1. Challenges and existing opportunities 12.2. Objectives and ways forward List of references