Applied Geoscience & Technology Division – SOPAC l 2011 Heads of Fisheries Meeting - Maritime Boundaries Brief. Dr Arthur Webb, Deputy Director OIP. SPC SOPAC Division Applied Geoscience & Technology Division – SOPAC l 2010 – 2011 Rational Statement; The Ocean and Islands Programme provides applied ocean, island and coastal geoscience services to support countries to govern and develop their natural resources, increase their resilience to hazards and facilitates data based approaches to adaptation. These vital technical services will be strategically deployed in response to specific Member requests to assist in the development, management and monitoring of natural resources and unique island environmental systems and processes.

Water & Sanitation Programme Disaster Reduction Programme SPC SOPAC Division Overview of the new Applied Geoscience & Technology Division “SOPAC Division” Directorate Corporate Services Natural Resource Economics Publications Technical Support Services Information Management GIS Remote Sensing Water & Sanitation Programme Disaster Reduction Programme Ocean & Islands Programme 3 Main Technical Programmes Technical Workshop Ocean and Islands Programme ii 1

Ocean & Islands Programme organisational structure SPC SOPAC Division Ocean & Islands Programme organisational structure Programme Management Expected staff numbers in 2011 - 23 Technical Workshop Administrative Support Data Management GeoNetwork, etc. Marine, Coastal Science & Survey Maritime Boundaries South Pacific Sea Level & Climate Monitoring Project Geology, Minerals & Hyrocarbons ESAT – EU Envelope C Project EU EDF 10 Deep Sea Minerals Project

The Ocean & Islands Programme at a glance SPC SOPAC Division The Ocean & Islands Programme at a glance OIP also contributes to climate change science and understanding PIC vulnerability and adaptation in coastal and near shore systems. OIP delivery is supported & complemented by Technical Workshop & the Natural Resource Economics Sector. Maritime Boundaries Saline intrusion inundation Coastal Processes; (planning, infrastructure, erosion, aggregates, vulnerability, etc) Remote sensing & Sealevel Monitoring Oceanography Water Quality (ecological maintenance) Deep sea resources Hydrodynamic Modelling; wave, current, inundation Habitat Mapping Hydrography / Geophysics

Ocean & Islands Programme Collaborative & complementary work SPC SOPAC Division Ocean & Islands Programme Collaborative & complementary work SPC Coastal Fisheries has used OIP Hydrographic Products to assist in the placement of FADs (fish aggregating devises). Some existing collaborative / complementary efforts between FAME and the new Applied GeoScience & Technology Division - SOPAC; Collaboration on the SPC Coastal Fisheries Research Project on the Potential Impact of Climate Change on Fisheries in the Pacific Islands. Assistance to SPC Coastal Fisheries to understand Trochus larvae distribution in Tongatapu lagoon. OIP and SPC Coastal Fisheries Programme have, albeit independently, provided complementary expert review of major development proposals and EIA documents for PI Governments. Collaborating with the SPC Lands Division on research and supervision of a postgraduate student working on salinity tolerance of swamp taro. Ocean and Islands Programme 1

Geodetic survey, image processing, mapping / charting, remote sensing

Bathymetric mapping (habitat mapping), geophysics, coastal processes

Oceanography, hydrodynamic modelling, water quality, coastal processes

Ocean & Islands Programme Maritime Boundaries Sector SPC SOPAC Division Ocean & Islands Programme Maritime Boundaries Sector Notional PIC Maritime Zones & eCS Claim Areas – 2010 Baseline Survey 2010 eCS hydrographic survey 2010 eCS workshop 2010 Baseline Survey 2010 PIC maritime boundaries lodged in acordance with the provisions of UNCLOS as of Oct. 2010

PICs with eCS potential SPC SOPAC Division Maritime Boundaries Establishment of maritime zones and boundaries (EEZ) in the Pacific Islands Region in accordance with the provisions of UNCLOS and development of extended continental shelf (eCS) claims. EEZ status unknown own arrangements Contiguous Zone 24nm eCS PICs with eCS potential Territorial Sea 12nm EEZ 200nm Baseline Baseline Delimitation Delineation ECS FoS 100 200 300

Maritime Boundaries Extended Continental Shelf Claims, so far. SPC SOPAC Division Maritime Boundaries Extended Continental Shelf Claims, so far. Palau FSM RMI Kiribati Nauru PNG Vanuatu Solomon Is Tuvalu Fiji Tonga Niue Cook Is. Samoa Tokelau 1.86million km2 presently under eCS claim.

Maritime Boundaries EEZ development SPC SOPAC Division Maritime Boundaries EEZ development

Ocean and Islands Programme

SPC SOPAC Division The challenge of developing enduring solutions to PIC maritime boundaries. At this time only 3 PICs have declared their outer 200nautical mile zones and 4 have declared their archipelagic baselines. Less than half of the region’s shared boundaries are subject to treaty (21 of 48). The development of maritime boundary solutions is a technical / legal / diplomatic process with multiple stakeholders – all components must equally interact to produce enduring solutions. SOPAC and our technical partners (Geoscience Australia, Commonwealth Secretariat & UNEP GRID Arandal) have built excellent capacity in 8 PIC during our ECS work. It is our intension to continue to use these technical teams to progress boundaries development as well however these technical teams often lack legal and Govt. support. Enduring boundary solutions must be developed in a way to serve multiple needs, not only fisheries management, e.g. security, biodiversity, conservation, research, deep sea minerals development, transport, vessel monitoring, support ECS claims, etc. The 2010 Oceanscapes initiative raised issues regarding the possible threat to boundary baseline features through climate change stress and sealevel rise.

SPC SOPAC Division PIC baseline features - potential impact of climate change Few PICs have declared their baselines or boundaries and there is considerable urgency to undertake this work due to present resource use and governance needs – the present work to characterise and declare boundaries is the best possible way of addressing such CC concerns. Palau FSM RMI Kiribati Nauru PNG Vanuatu Solomon Is Tuvalu Fiji Tonga Niue Cook Is. Samoa Tokelau Precise determination & delimitation of maritime zones, EEZ, archipelagic status, shared boundaries & eCS, in accordance with UNCLOS. “New” Lowest Astronomical Tide & Baseline?? Lowest Astronomical Tide = Baseline in many PICs High tide Sea level rise Future low tide Low tide island reef Baseline boundary Ocean and Islands Programme

SOPAC Division Responsibility  Tasks   CK FJ FSM KI RMI NR NU PW PG SI TV TN VU WS Baseline Reports developed Yes Status unknown ? Work in progress Own arrangements – being reviewed at PW request. Status unknown/own arrangements Achiapelagic Status defined report developed NA Yes – being reviewed at FJ request Yes – being reviewed at PW request In progress Boundaries computed & reports developed Review in progress ECS claims complete Yes - work in progress Baseline Gazzetted No Achiapelagic Baseline Gazzetted Yes – being reviewed Boundaries / Zones Gazzetted Baselines deposited with UNCLOS Boundaries deposited with UNCLOS ECS claim deposited with UNCLCS Deadline 03/01/13 - work in progress Deadline 26/03/13 - work in progress SOPAC Division Responsibility Country Responsibility

SPC SOPAC Division The way ahead ………. Recognise that successful boundary development is not just SOPAC’s responsibility – this process must be country lead. The processes is technical, legal and diplomatic and is ultimately an issue of lasting sovereign importance. This is not just a fisheries issue, each country has many potential stakeholders with an equal interest in boundary development and governance of marine resources. Effective in-country progress requires a “multi-stakeholder” approach where all relevant parties have a clear understanding of the status, obstacles and requirements to progress towards baseline and boundary declaration. The SPC SOPAC Division & technical partners welcomes FFA into the existing boundaries development partnership and the opportunities this brings. A small boundaries team will be available throughout this week. If countries wish to meet to discuss the specific status of their maritime boundaries please come and talk to us - we can also arrange sit down meetings.

Many thanks - any questions ……….. For more information email - arthur@sopac.org or arthurw@spc.int Many thanks - any questions ……….. SPC SPC SPC PIC extended continental shelf & maritime boundaries development teams & technical partners, Sydney 2010 Ocean and Islands Programme