Dear List Members
Alex Oude Elferink's reminder to Martin Pratt regarding the 1999 Vavu'u
Recommendations, specifically #22 as quoted, only serves to further
empahsise the very real concerns of the inhabitants of very low-lying
south-west Pacific island States in relation to global sea level rise.
It is the second sentence in the quoted recommendation that challenges the
provisions currently contained in the Convention in relation to the
preservation of rights to sovereignty over areas of generated maritime space
that, in the long term, will be inundated as a result of global sea level
rise. The worst-case scenario is that whole island States will eventually
be inundated - not just parts of them. As far as I know, there is currently
no precedent under international law that enables retention of sovereign
rights over generated maritime space where the physical features essential
to that generation, such as islands and low-tide elevations, no longer
exist. Such an arrangement obviously requires international agreement.
Regards
Brian Murphy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Martin Pratt" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, September 03, 2001 10:48 PM
Subject: Re: Further on Sea level change and the LOS
> Alex Oude Elferink kindly alerted me to the "Vavu'u Recommendations"
> produced at a South Pacific regional workshop on the implementation of
> UNCLOS in August 1999, which included the following:
>
> "22. That in the event of the submergence of islands due to sea level
> rise, the maintenance of baselines and zones is secondary to the
> maintenance of communities. However, efforts should be made to ensure
> that rights to maritime zones and air spaces as established, should be
> retained under international law as a useful asset for displaced
> people."
>
> I don't know if there has been any international reaction to this
> proposal, but it is certainly an intriguing concept.
>
> The full text of the Vavu'u Recommendations can be found at
> http://www.paclii.org/other/SPT/1999/2.html
>
> m a r t i n
>
> ==================================
> Martin Pratt
> Research Officer
> International Boundaries Research Unit
> Mountjoy Research Centre, Suite 3P
> University of Durham
> Durham DH1 3UR
> United Kingdom
>
> +44 (0)191 374 7704 (direct line)
> +44 (0)191 374 7702 (fax)
> [log in to unmask] (email)
> http://www-ibru.dur.ac.uk (World Wide Web)
> ==================================
>
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