The Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA)

By Sheril Kirshenbaum

The Coastal Zone Management Act is meant to “preserve, protect, develop, and where possible, to restore or enhance the resources of the nation’s coastal zone.”

In 1972, Congress passed the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) recognizing the importance of “meeting the challenge of continued growth in the coastal zone”. The CZMA provides for management of the nation’s coastal resources, including the Great Lakes, and balances economic development with environmental conservation. It is administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM).  The overall program objectives of CZMA are to “preserve, protect, develop, and where possible, to restore or enhance the resources of the nation’s coastal zone.”

Two programs are outlined by the Coastal Zone Management Act: The National Coastal Zone Management Program works to balance competing land and water issues in the coastal zone through 34 coastal programs.  The National Estuarine Research Reserve System aims to provide a greater understanding of estuaries and how humans impact them.

In the last two years, OCRM in partnership with the Coastal States Organization has worked with coastal managers, stakeholders, and federal agency partners engaged to determine what improvements are necessary in future coastal management.  Together, they came up with core principles and options toward drafting a reauthorization of the CZMA.  There are three phases:

1) A discussion paper to identify current issues, constraints and opportunities for coastal management

2) The determination state coastal manager perspectives to define issues and priorities

3) Engagement of the broader coastal community to identify options for improved coastal management
Stakeholder meetings were held in Waltham, MA, Chicago, IL, Atlanta, GA, Honolulu, HI, and San Francisco, CA during the summer of 2007.   Discussions were  also held with key federal agency partners on strategies for better collaboration and coordination.

0n February 14, 2008, Representative Madeline Bordallo introduced H.R. 5451 to reauthorize the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, and for other purposes. On June 4, 2008, the bill was forwarded by subcommittee to full committee by voice vote.  The reauthorization includes amendments regarding the value of appropriations and updated dates through 2011.  House Natural Resources Chairman Nick Rahall halted the bill before the committee could vote on it June 11, after House Republicans added 180 pages of amendments to expand offshore oil and gas leasing the evening before markup.

Capitol Hill Oceans Week 2008

By Sheril Kirshenbaum

Day 3

Day three of Capitol Hill Oceans Week began with a morning session on climate change.  This panel explored the watershed, titled “From Upstream Adaptation to Ocean Mitigation” and topics included mitigation and adaptation strategies to address different, yet inter-related, climate change impacts on fresh and salt-water ecosystems and the human uses associated with each.  Speakers were Representative Wayne T. Gilchrest, Craig Hooks, the Director of Office of Wetlands, Oceans & Watersheds at the EPA, Dr. Sandra Whitehouse, Executive Director of Coastal States Stewardship Foundation, Billy Frank, Jr., the Chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, Dr. Lara Hansen, the Executive Director & Chief Scientist
at EcoAdapt, Lisa Beever, the Director of the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program and James Lanard, the Director of Strategic Planning & Communications at Bluewater Wind.

Panel two was titled “Mitigation Options: Working to Reduce the Effects of Climate Change on the Ocean.”  The subject was the myriad of ways that individuals, communities, government, and industries play important roles in mitigating the effects of climate change.  Panelists will discuss actions that can be taken at each level to help reduce the effects of climate change.  Panelists included Representative Sam Farr, Secretary Mike Chrisman
of the California Resources Agency, Mark Spalding, the Executive Director of The Ocean Foundation, Maria Brown, the Superintendent of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, Dennis Takahashi-Kelso, the Executive VP of Conservation Programs at The Ocean Conservancy, David M. Kennedy, the Director at NOAA’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, and Melinda Marquis, the Science Program Analyist at
NOAA’s Earth Science Research Lab & CIRES at the University of Colorado.

Following the second panel, a luncheon took place in the Senate Hart Office Building where the topic was Successful Ocean Partnerships.  When federal agencies, academia and industry work together, the the visibility of ocean issues increases on the national agenda.  Ocean champion (and my former boss), Senator Bill Nelson gave the keynote address followed by panelists Dr. Melbourne Briscoe, the President & CEO of OceanGeeks, LLC, Dr. Ellen Prager, the Chief Scientist with Aquarius Reef Base, and Dr. Breck Owens, Senior Scientist of Physical Oceanography at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.  The session considered how we will achieve a higher level of coordinated effort across the broad oceanographic community through partnerships. Speakers highlighted ten years of meaningful interagency, community-wide collaboration, including the ocean’s role in global climate change.

Finally, the last panel of CHOW 2008 was titled, “Charting the Course: A Conversation with Ocean Policymakers.”  Representative Madeleine Bordallo gave the keynote address and speakers included Chris Mann, the Senior Officer at the Pew Environment Group of The Pew Charitable Trusts, Eric Webster, the Director of Legislative Affairs at NOAA, Dave Jansen with the House Committee on Natural Resources in the U.S. House of Representatives, Kris Sarri with the Senate Commerce Committee, and Shimere Williams with the House Science and Techology Committee.   They discussed the ocean priorities in the next administration.

Capitol Hill Oceans Week 2008

By Sheril Kirshenbaum

Day 2

The second day of Capitol Hill Oceans Week was packed with interesting sessions and incredible speakers.  The first panel was on coral reef conservation where panelists discussed challenges, opportunities, and innovative solutions.   One of the greatest challenges to managing reefs is coordinating management across levels of government.  Speaking on corals were

Rep. Brian Baird,  Dr. C. Mark Eakin, Coordinator for NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch, Timothy R.E. Keeney, Deputy Assistant Secretary at NOAA, Dr. Sylvia Earle, Explorer in Residence with National Geographic Society, Dr. Lara Hansen, Chief Scientist and Executive Director of EcoAdapt, Dr. Rodney V. Salm, Director of Tropical Marine Conservation at The Nature Conservancy in Asia Pacifict, Nancy Knowlton, Sant Chair of Marine Science Smithsonian Institution, and Billy Causey, Regional Director of the Southeast Region for the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.  Watch their powerpoints presentations here.  Perhaps the most inspiring moment occurred during the question and answer period when a 12 year old young lady stood up and asked panelists what they were actively doing and what she could do to save the reefs.  She got a variety of answers but no clear solution.

The next panel was on ocean and human health.  President and CEO of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, Lori Arguelles, introduced Senator John Kerry for his terrific keynote address.  He demonstrated an understanding of the issues and expressed our collective dependence on oceans.  Panelists included Mary M. Glackin, Deputy Undersecretary for Oceans & Atmosphere at NOAA,  Laura Burton Capps, Senior VP of Communication and Outreach at The Ocean Conservancy, and Lynn Scarlett, Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior.  Panelists discussed how human health and oceans will be impacted during times of climate change.  They emphasized the significance of robust coastal ecosystems.

Session three examined aquaculture, a hot topic on the Hill.  The panel explored the challenges of sustainability and the most environmentally responsible practices.  Panelists discussed how human health and oceans will be impacted during times of climate change.  They emphasized the significance of robust coastal ecosystems.  Session three examined aquaculture, a hot topic on the Hill.  The panel explored the challenges of sustainability and the most environmentally responsible practices.  Panelists included Dr. Michael Sutton, Vice President Monterey Bay Aquarium, José R. Villalón, Director of Aquaculture at World Wildlife Fund, Michael Rubino, manager of NOAA Aquaculture Program, Kenneth M. Leber, Director, Center for Fisheries Enhancement at Mote Marine Laboratory, Becky Goldburg, Senior Scientist at Environmental Defense Fund, Dr. Thierry Chopin, Professor of Marine Biology at the University of New Brunswick, and Neil Anthony Sims, President of Kona Blue.

The day ended with a reception at the Rayburn House Office Building to Celebrate the International Year of the Reef & Partnerships in Coral Reef Conservation

Coastal Bill MarkUp Halted By Last Minute Offshore Drilling Amendments

By Sheril Kirshenbaum

The night before markup, House republicans add over 180 pages of amendments to the Coastal Zone Management Act Reauthorization.

On the evening of June 10, Republicans added over 180 pages of amendments to a coastal management bill that would expand offshore oil and gas leasing.  Instead of going to markup as scheduled the next day, House Natural Resources Chairman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) pulled the bill saying “I would like to avoid having protecting our nation’s coastlines becoming a partisan issue.”

The Coastal Zone Management Act reauthorization is meant to authorize new grants to help states address climate change, renewable energy and working waterfronts along the U.S. coastline. The bill is one of the only ocean legislation pieces with action this year and according to E&E Daily, Democrats said they “did not have time to review the amendments and wanted to avoid a partisan battle.”

Among the many amendments, one from Rep. Henry Brown proposes to add H.R. 6108 to the act which is a bill introduced by Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C) that is nearly identical to legislation from former Resources Chairman Richard Pombo approved last Congress.   The bill would relax bans on offshore oil and gas drilling.  Further, it requires the federal government to share offshore petroleum revenues with states with coastal leasing.

Rahall said he would like to bring the bill back to the committee for a vote “sooner rather than later” by resolving issues with Republicans.

Capitol Hill Oceans Week 2008

By Sheril Kirshenbaum

Day 1

From June 3-5, Hill staffers, members of the research community, and stakeholders from around the United States gathered in Washington DC for Capitol Hill Ocean Week 2008. The three day event discussed current ocean and coastal issues with panelists from Congress, academia, nonprofits and industry. This year’s theme was the effects of climate change on the oceans and session topics ranged from ocean acidification to coral reefs. The week also explored the connections between oceans and human health as well as possible solutions to the threats we now face. CHOW is an annual event where the ocean community shares stories of success and lessons learned. We discuss impending trouble and figure out what legislation may move. The event is coordinated by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.

Tuesday began with the keynote address by Dr. Richard W. Spinrad, Assistant Administrator of NOAA in Ocean & Atmospheric Research. You can watch his powerpoint slides on oceans and climate change here. Also speaking was Jim Connaughton, the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality.

The first panel discussed the ocean and climate change considering perspectives of the the science necessary to evaluate impacts. The large panel included Dr. Steve Murawski, Director of Scientific Programs & Chief Science Advisor for NOAA with the National Marine Fisheries Service, Dr. Victoria Fabry, Professor of Biology at California State University, Dr. James Overland, oceanographer at NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, John Ferguson, Research Fishery Biologist with NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service, Dr. Bob Gagosian, President & CEO of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership, and Dr. Caroly A. Shumway, Director of Conservation Science with the Rhode Island Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Quite a fascinating group! They discussed sea level rise, ocean acidification, coastal habitats and biota, and more.
Click through some of the powerpoints to watch presentations:

Climate Change and the Oceans: What does the State of the Science Tell Us? – Steve Murawski

What Do We Know About the Rapidly Changing Arctic? – Dr. James Overland

The Effects of Climate Variability on Fisheries (Salmon) Resources in the Pacific NW – John Ferguson

Climate Change and Ocean Observing – Dr. Bob Gagosian

Climate Change and Biodiversity – Dr. Caroly A. Shumway
Later in the evening, the National Marine Sanctuaries Foundation presented Leadership Awards to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senator Barbara Mikulski.  This year’s Lifetime Achievement Awards went to Jean-Michel Cousteau and Dr. Sylvia Earle.

Sea Grant Fellows Forum

By Sheril Kirshenbaum

The Nicholas Institute and special guests in policy, academia, and the nonprofit community spend a day with the 2008 John A. Knauss Sea Grant Fellows.

On April 25, the class of 2008 John A. Knauss Sea Grant Fellows attended the Nicholas Institute’s Fellows Forum at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s main offices in Silver Spring, MD.

The first speaker was Dr. Raphael Sagarin, Director of Ocean and Coastal Policy at the Nicholas Institute.  Dr. Sagarin talked about the mission of the Institute and how it serves to bridge the gap that exists between scientists and policymakers.  He described current projects including ocean zoning analysis, fisheries counsel advising, ecosystem based management synthesis, and the Real Oceans website to build a marine science community that interacts and exchanges information using new media.

Next Sheril Kirshenbaum, Associate in Ocean and Coastal Policy spoke about the communications project at the Institute to improve oceans messaging through outreach and marketing research.  She described the disconnect between the public and marine science and the way we might be able to utilize expertise in business to create a better outreach initiatives that resonate.  The Nicholas Institute is currently in the process of conducting survey analysis through polling to determine how positive and negative frames may influence personal action.

The next session featured a panel of former Sea Grant Fellows including Kirsten Larsen with the National Marine Fisheries Service (’05), Emily Knight in the House Resource Committee (’06), and Kassandra Cerveny at the Marine Conservation Biology Institute (’07).  Each Knauss alum discussed her own experiences during the Fellowship year and the influence it had on her current direction.  Current Fellows asked interesting questions about what to expect and how to make the most of their time in DC.  Key messages of the session were that Fellows must work together and get to know each other, that policy is not as black and white as it seems on the outside, and that they should think of each other, alumni, and institutions like the Nicholas Institute as resources for guidance.

Over lunch, a valuable third panel took place examining ocean zoning.  Dr. Steven Murawski, director of scientific programs and chief science advisor at the National Marine Fisheries Service began by calling ocean zoning a compelling analog to terrestrial zoning.  However he emphasized that oceans are different because there is public ownership of all the spatial resources.  Exclusivity of use is a key issue and occurs through leases from the Mineral Management Service (MMS), aquaculture delineations, sanctuaries and fishery closed areas, hazard zones, and more.  He asked whether spatial write-offs are feasible and considered their consequences.  Finally, Dr. Murawski discussed if ocean zoning would be compatible with the goals of EBM.

The second speaker was Dr. Elliott Norse, president of the Marine Conservation Biology Institute (MCBI).  Dr. Norse is co-leader of the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis Working Group on Ecosystem-based Management for the Oceans: The Role of Zoning. He described the way topography, oceanography, biology and human uses differ tremendously between regions.  Ecosystem-based management addresses this complexity by managing different places in ways that are tailored to each place, while maintaining the processes that connect them with other places.

Finally, Dr. Larry Crowder, Stephen Toth Professor of Marine Biology at the Nicholas School spoke.  In 2006, he published “Resolving Mismatches in US Ocean Governance” in Science (vol 313, pp 617-618) with many researchers including Dr. Norse.  Dr. Crowder discussed the way ocean zoning might change how we govern oceans from the current strategies to a place-based approach.

The Ocean Zoning panel and question and answer period incited more questions than the Forum had time for, but we were thrilled at the level of interest and excitement from the current class of Sea Grant Fellows.  If they represent the future in marine policy, oceans are in very capable hands!

New Warming, New Cold War

A confluence of events seems to have focused the heat of the new cold war on the arctic. It’s all hit high gear now with the recent Russian mission to put a flag on the sea floor under the North Pole…

A confluence of events seems to have focused the heat of the new cold war on the arctic. It’s all hit high gear now with the recent Russian mission to put a flag on the sea floor under the North Pole (like “placing a flag on the moon” said a spokesman for Russia’s Arctic and Antarctic Institute, reminding us of the cold-war inspired symbolism of putting an American flag on the moon). Suddenly, there is a surge of movement toward the pole in vessels flying the flags of the US, Canada and Denmark, as geologists, Prime Ministers, diplomats and scientists are all caught, willfully or not, in the hoopla. Larry Mayer, an American researcher leading one of these expeditions, who I’m quite sure honestly and truly was just finally getting long-awaited ship time, was put into the uncomfortable position of having to deny vehemently that this had anything to do with the Russian mission: “There’s no flag-dropping on this trip,” he said (I like the subtle whiff of scientific superiority to affairs of state in that one short line).

Outside of the amusing news that Russian TV broadcasts of the events were faked by inserting footage directly from Jame’s Cameron’s Titanic, the flag planting raises a number of issues. Specifically, warming, new technologies, and continually elevated markets for carbon fuel and minerals has opened the arctic literally and in the imagination of several countries with arctic borders. I’d guess the first “Eureka” cries of the new Arctic gold rush really started with the shocking reports of 2000 that the North Pole was ice free. The first highly publicized political machinations of this new arctic vision came during the Canadian elections when conservative candidate Stephen Harper ran in part on a Canadian sovereignty platform with specific reference to the Northwest Passage, an once mythical route over North America that has new significance with polar ice melting. Now that Harper is Prime Minister that unexpected Canadian saber rattling has continued:

“Our government has an aggressive Arctic agenda,” Dimitri Soudas, the Prime Minister’s spokesman, said Wednesday. “Economic development — unleashing the resource-based potential of the North; environmental protection_ protecting the unique northern environment; national sovereignty — protecting our land, airspace and territorial waters.”

And while the US and Canada often seem to clash over ocean issues, and still trade barbs on the Northwest Passage issue (including a recent failed diplomatic agreement between President Bush and PM Harper), they may find themselves needing to cooperate to claim the riches of the poles for North America. This all may play out in the court of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Most directly UNCLOS plays a role because the treaty allows for individual states to lay claim to mineral resources within their national boundaries-typically limited to the 200 mile EEZ limit, but extending to the continental shelf break if it is shown that the shelf extends beyond the 200 mile limit. Thus, there is an inherent contradiction in Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s claim that, “The aim of this expedition is not to stake Russia’s claim but to show that our shelf reaches to the North Pole,” If the shelf indeed reaches the Pole, Russia has staked its claim.

There’s a hitch, though. The U.S. hasn’t acceded to UNCLOS. The George W. Bush administration, most major US industries, and a majority of the US Congress supports signing on (even some former Reagan State Department folks who spent their time on a world wide ‘diplomacy’ mission to scuttle UNCLOS have come around to its merits), but a few holdouts in the US Senate with strong anti-UN sentiments have thus far managed to put US accession on hold.

Corals First Appearance on 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

By Lindsay Aylesworth

On September 12, 2007, The World Conservation Union (IUCN) released the Red List updates for their list of endangered species world wide.

On September 12, 2007, The World Conservation Union released the 2007 Red List updates for their list of endangered species worldwide. Begun in 1963, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species classifies species according to their extinction risk in an effort to document and draw attention to those species in most need of conservation. Governments, NGOs, scientists and journalists often rely on the Red List to help them identify species at risk so that conservation policy and priorities can be determined and relayed to the public. IUCN advises international conventions such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES); their recommendations, based on information from the Red List, are taken into consideration when determining regulations on trade in endangered species. It is in this way that the Red List drives conservation policy in many countries.

To date 41,415 species, both terrestrial and aquatic, have been assessed by the Red List criteria, by the IUCN Species Survival Commission. Even though marine species have been on the Red List since its inception, significant efforts and resources in assessing the extinction risk in marine species did not fully take form until 1994. The first major assessment that added over 100 commercially viable marine fishes to the Red List occurred in 1996. Very few marine invertebrates have been assessed and most marine species have focused on charismatic megafauna like whales and turtles, or commercially viable species. Other groups such as sharks, sygnathid fishes, and groupers and wrasses have further expanded marine species on the Red List.

Currently there are 1,530 species on the Red List that use the marine environment. About 30% (416 species) are at risk of extinction and 80 species are threatened with extinction. This year, 240 species were added or reassessed with new marine additions including corals, seaweeds, some sharks, and the Banggaii cardinalfish. Marine additions to the Red List since 2005 are part of the Global Marine Species Assessment, part of the Biodiversity Assessment Initiative, run by IUCN Species Survival Commission and the Center for Applied Biodiversity Science at Conservation International.

The IUCN Red List assesses the possibility of species extinction with varying categories from Extinct to Not Evaluated.
The wide array of factors that affect the abundance and diversity of marine species can be seen with this year’s listing of marine species: climate change, rising sea temperatures, the aquarium trade, overfishing, bycatch, pollution and degradation of habitat.

“If the myth of inexhaustible marine resources still persisted, the updated Red List certainly shatters it to pieces. The rate of species loss in the world’s oceans will continue, and at an accelerated pace, if serious actions aren’t undertaken to overcome what we can call the oceans crisis”, said Carl Gustaf Lundin, Head of IUCN’s Global Marine Programme.

This year was the first year that corals were assessed for the Red List. In their first year of assessment, with the assessment limited only to the Galapagos Islands, 10 corals made an appearance on the list. Out of the 10 species listed, two species (Wellington’s Solitary Coral and Floreana Coral)were assessed as Critically Endangered and one in the Vulnerable category. The main threats to these corals include the effects of El Nino and climate change, reiterating that corals can be the early warning indicators for harmful effects of climate change on marine species. More corals are expected to be added to the Red List next year as more data from assessments in the Pacific and Caribbean are completed.

In addition to corals, 74 seaweeds have been added to the IUCN Red List. Previously, only one seaweed species was listed on the Red List. The new additions are from the completion of the marine assessments from the Galapagos Islands. Ten species are listed as Critically Endangered, with six of those highlighted as Possibly Extinct. These cold water seaweeds are also threatened by climate change as well as the rise in sea temperature associated with El Nino.

The Yangtze River Dolphin has become critically endangered and possibly extinct from fishing, river traffic, pollution and degradation of habitat- a confirmed sighting of the river dolphin this year has yet to be reported .

Banggai Cardinalfish- heavily exploited (90,000 per year) for the aquarium trade appeared for the first time on the Red List as Endangered. Several shark species were also added to the Red List this year.

For more information on marine species on the Red List:

http://www.iucn.org/themes/marine/marine_species.htm

For more information on IUCN categories:

http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/redlist2007/categories_2007.htm
For marine case studies and a better understanding of what’s on the Red List, click here >

Defying Extinction: Yangtze River Dolphin Appears

By Lindsay Aylesworth

For those scientists, policy makers, and tourists that thought the Yangtze River Dolphin was extinct- think again.

For those scientists, policy makers, and tourists that thought the Yangtze River Dolphin was extinct- think again. A leading scientist at the Chinese Academy of Science has confirmed a businessman’s video recording of a “big white animal” is indeed the Yangtze River Dolphin. The recording captured in mid August by a businessman on holiday, is the first sighting of dolphin in three years.

The 2007 IUCN Red List of Endangered Species lists the Yangtze River Dolphin as Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct). This classification was mostly due to the Yangtze Fresh Water Dolphin Expedition in 2006 that sent scientists on a six-week expedition along the Yangtze River in search of finding the dolphin. But the highest quality optical instruments and underwater microphones proved useless as not a single species was seen by the scientists on two large research vessels. Scientific consensus was that the Yangtze River Dolphin was functionally extinct-meaning there are not enough individuals in the population for the species to be viable, and population levels were too low to maintain an important role in the ecosystem. The last confirmed sighting of a Yangtze River Dolphin was in 2004, and a survey in 1997 identified 13 sightings of dolphins.

The extinction of the Yangtze River Dolphin is important because it will be the first recorded present day extinction that is due strictly to anthropogenic causes. The Yangtze River Dolphin’s decline can be attributed to destructions of habitat via dam building, dredging, and chemical pollution, as well as illegal fishing and boat strike. The Yangtze River is the third largest river in the world and the largest river in China and Asia.  It connects China’s interior regions to the coast, which makes it extremely important for international shipping. This has lead to an increased number of vessel strikes on the Yangtze Dolphin that is only likely to abate because of the decreasing number of surviving species.
“As the panda is China’s symbol of the destruction of forests, freshwater dolphins are strong symbols for the over-exploitation of Asia’s major freshwater ecosystems” according to the head of the Baiji Foundation, August Pfluger.

The threats still posed to the Yangtze River Dolphin have not disappeared since the confirmed sighting and with only one dolphin in the population, the number is too low to ensure survival. However, scientists and the world can breathe a sigh of relief that it is not extinct…. yet.

The Yangtze River Dolphin is one of six species of freshwater dolphins and whistles.

Balancing US Interests in the UN Law of the Sea Convention

By Lindsay Aylesworth

The Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions has gathered leading experts on the UN Law of the Sea Convention to provide guidance in the ongoing debate over whether the U.S. should accede to the Convention. Rather than provide a complete summary of the Convention’s provisions, we highlight in this short paper three important considerations.

First, emerging territorial disputes over expanding Arctic waters, most recently highlighted by efforts by Russia to establish claims to mineral resources under the North Pole, will be resolved within the Convention framework by Convention signatories.
Second, concerns about the role of international tribunals in making decisions that affect U.S. military, economic and environmental protection interests have been addressed through changes made at the request of the United States.
Third, the United States would benefit from Convention provisions which help member nations balance the need to navigate freely for security and commerce with its need to protect its vast coastal natural resources.

Overall we find:

•    Arctic melting is creating a vast rush by several nations, including Russia, to claim navigation and resource rights around the North Pole.  Claims and disputes over these resources will be resolved under the Convention framework.  The best opportunity for the U.S. to achieve standing to make and counter such claims is through joining the Convention.
•    Major points of contention raised by the Reagan administration, related to sea bed mining, technology transfers to developing nations and representation on key committees have been resolved in the United States’ favor through negotiated changes to the Convention.
•    The Convention provides dispute settlement tribunals and arbitration panels.  The United States would have control over the type of dispute settlement body cases involving U.S. interests were brought before and would have significant input into the selection of the arbitrators on those bodies.
•    The Convention recognizes the competing interests of navigational freedom (for military and commerce) and coastal resource protection (for fisheries, oil and minerals and environmental resources) and attempts to balance them.  Perhaps no nation has more at stake in striking this balance than the United States which has both the largest claimed Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the largest blue water navy.
•    Support for accession to the Convention is surprisingly broad, including the Navy and Coast Guard, maritime industries, the White House, and private public partnerships such as the Joint Ocean Commissions Initiative.  At the same time, opposition to the Convention has narrowed to an ideological position based primarily on mistrust of UN-based treaties.

To read the full article:

Balancing US Interests in the UN Law of the Sea Convention