1. 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.

2. 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

3. Ocean & Islands Programme organisational structure
SPC SOPAC Division
Ocean & Islands Programme organisational structure
Programme Management
Expected staff numbers in
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

4. 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

5. 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

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

7. Bathymetric mapping (habitat mapping), geophysics, coastal processes

8. Oceanography, hydrodynamic modelling, water quality, coastal processes

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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.

12. Maritime Boundaries EEZ development
SPC SOPAC Division
Maritime Boundaries EEZ development

13. Ocean and Islands Programme

14. 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.

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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.

18. Many thanks - any questions ………..
For more information - or
Many thanks - any questions ………..
SPC
SPC
SPC
PIC extended continental shelf & maritime boundaries development teams & technical partners, Sydney 2010
Ocean and Islands Programme