Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Making the Case for Marine Spatial Planning in the Maltese Islands

2011; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 42; Issue: 1-2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/00908320.2011.542108

1521-0642

Alan Deidun, Simone Borg, Aaron Micallef,

Maritime Ports and Logistics

Abstract Marine spatial planning (MSP) has been gaining in stature recently as an ecosystem-based tool for the management of marine space that promotes the sustainable and optimal use of resources with minimal stakeholder conflicts. Malta is the quintessential maritime nation, with a disproportionately large marine area compared to its terrestrial area. Nonetheless, its limited coastline, a considerable portion of which is inaccessible, poses inevitable conflicts between multiple marine activities and designations, including aquaculture, fishing, bunkering, coastal tourism, navigation, renewable energy installations, conservation of biological diversity and protected areas (on ecological criteria). This article makes the case to implement MSP-based policies and an applicable legal framework in the Maltese Islands. Keywords: Maltamarine spatial planning Notes 1. B. S. Halpern et al., "A Global Map of Human Impact on Marine Ecosystems," Science 319 (2008): 948–952. 2. R. Costanza et al., "The Value of the World's Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital," Nature 387 (1997): 253–260. 3. J. L. Suarez de Vivero, "The European Vision for Oceans and Seas―Social and Political Dimensions of the Green Paper on Maritime Policy for the EU," Marine Policy 31 (2007): 409–414. 4. European Commission, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, The Council, The European Economic and Social Committee and The Committee of the Regions—An Integrated Maritime Policy for the European Union, COM (2007) 575, 10 October 2007. 5. PlanCoast, Handbook on Integrated Maritime Spatial Planning (Berlin, 2008). 6. C. Ehler, and F. Douvere, "Marine Spatial Planning: A Step-by-Step Approach Toward Ecosystem-Based Management," Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and Man and the Biosphere Programme, IOC Manual and Guides No. 53, ICAM Dossier No. 6 (Paris, 2009), 99. 7. Agenda 21 adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 14 June 1992, U.N. Doc. A/Conf. 151/26, Vols. I–IV. 8. See W. Flannery and M. O. Cinneide, "Marine Spatial Planning from the Perspective of a Small Seaside Community in Ireland," Marine Policy 32 (2008): 980–987. 9. Ibid. 10. European Commission, Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament―Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) Outline GMES EC Action Plan (Initial Period: 2001–2003), COM (2001) 609, 23 October 2001. 11. European Commission, Communication from the Commission—Roadmap for Maritime Spatial Planning: Achieving Common Principles in the EU, COM (2008) 791, 25 November 2008. 12. European Commission, press release IP/09/1305, "EU Strategy to Improve Maritime Governance in the Mediterranean Sea," 11 November 2009. 13. European Commission, COM (2008) 791, 8 December 2009. 14. For example, C. Ehler, "Conclusions: Benefits, Lessons Learned, and Future Challenges of Marine Spatial Planning," Marine Policy 32 (2008): 840–843. 15. PlanCoast, supra note 5. 16. For example, Ehler and Douvere, supra note 6. 17. Ehler, supra note 14. 18. Ehler and Douvere, supra note 5. 19. Some of the major achievements of environmental law have been in the areas of access to information, access to participation in decision making, and access to justice by the general public. These three pillars of environmental law are commonly referred to as the Aarhus Rights and are set out in the 1998 Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, 2161 U.N.T.S. 450. The Aarhus Rights are incorporated in LN 116/2005, Freedom of Access to Information on the Environment Regulations. 20. Strategic environment assessments (SEAs) provide a similar exercise to EIAs, but with respect to plans and programs when they are still are in the strategic phase. In international law, there is the Kiev (SEA) Protocol to the 1991 Espoo Convention on Environment Impact Assessments in a Transboundary Context, 1989 U.N.T.S. 309. On the EU level, there is Directive 2001/42, Assessment of the Effects of Certain Plans and Programmes on the Environment. 21. Malta Planning Authority, "Coastal Strategy Topic Paper" (2002). 22. Malta Environment & Planning Authority, "An Overview of the State of Marine Spatial Planning in the Mediterranean Countries" (2007). 23. Chapter 226 of the Laws of Malta, Territorial Waters and Contiguous Zone Act, 1971, amended in 1978. 24. Council Regulation (EC) No 813/2004 of 26 April 2004. See, generally, M. Camilleri, "Background to the Establishment of the 25 Mile Fisheries Conservation Zone Around the Maltese Islands," in Proceedings of the APS Seminar "Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management in the Mediterranean" (Malta: APS Bank Publications, 2003), 99–106. 25. M. Dimech, M. Darmanin, I. P. Smith, M. J. Kaiser, and P. J. Schembri, "Fishers' Perception of a 35-Year-Old Exclusive Fisheries Management Zone," Biological Conservation 142, no. 11 (2009): 2691–2702. 26. Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC), "Protecting the Mediterranean Against Maritime Accidents and Illegal Discharges from Ships" (Malta, 2002). 27. Applied Economics Consulting (2009). "The Economic Impact of Aquaculture Activity on the Maltese Economy," 32 pp. 28. Ibid. 29. D. G. Mare, "EU Maritime Policy; Facts and Figures―Malta (2007)," available at ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs. 30. Ibid. 31. A. Drago, G. Cordina, S. Borg, A. Deidun, A. Delitala, and the Marine Group of Experts, The Support of Operational Oceanography for a More Effective Maritime Sector in the Maltese Islands, Report for the Network for Supporting Marine Affairs in the Mediterranean (NET.MARI.MED) Archimed Interreg project (2009). 32. Vertically means that the water column and the underlying seabed and subsoil may be subject to different rules. 33. Horizontally means that the farther away from the coast the maritime belt is, the more qualified the powers of the coastal state become. Hence, the different legal status of internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, and the exclusive economic fishing zone. 34. Territorial Waters and Contiguous Zone Act, supra note 23. 35. Ibid. 36. U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (hereafter UNCLOS), 1982, 1833 U.N.T.S. 397, art. 77(1). Article 77(2) explains that exclusive sovereign rights mean that, if the coastal state does not exploit these resources, no one may undertake these activities without the express consent of the coastal state. 37. Case Concerning the Continental Shelf (Libya v. Malta), [1985] I.C.J. Reports 13. 38. Chapter 362 of the Laws of Malta, Law of the Sea (Ratification) Act. 39. Territorial Waters and Contiguous Zone Act, supra note 23. 40. Ibid., sec. 3(1): "Save as hereinafter provided, the territorial waters of Malta shall be all parts of the open sea within twelve nautical miles of the coast of Malta measured from low-water mark on the method of straight baselines joining appropriate points." 41. Ibid., section 5 42. Chapter 352 of the Laws of Malta, Maritime Authority Act, sec. 2. 43. Ibid. 44. Territorial Waters and Contiguous Zone Act, supra note 23, sec. 7. 45. Chapter 356 of the Laws of Malta. 46. Chapter 425 of the Laws of Malta. 47. Maritime Authority Act, supra note 42. 48. Although Malta is entitled to do so under UNCLOS, supra note 36, art. 22, it would need to take into account the recommendations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), any channels customarily used for international navigation, the density of the traffic, and the specific characteristics of particular ships and channels 49. The Territorial Waters and Contiguous Zone Act, supra note 23, sec.7, enables the prime minister to issue regulations addressing the passage of ships through territorial waters, including the safety of navigation and regulation of marine traffic, the designation or establishment of sea-lanes and traffic separation schemes. 50. UNCLOS, supra note 36, art. 193. 51. Ibid., art. 194(3). 52. Ibid., art. 194(3)(a). 53. Ibid., art. 196. 54. Ibid., art. 194(5). 55. Ibid., art. 195. 56. On a national level, the Waste Management Permits and Control Regulations, LN 337/2001, and the Deposits of Wastes and Rubble Fees Regulations, LN 128/1997, provide controls to prevent pollution, but do not provide for the collection of data. 57. EU Waste Framework Directive 2006/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2006. 58. Deposits of Wastes and Rubble Fees Regulations, supra note 56, Schedule B. 59. Convention on the Preservation of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Waste and Other Matter, 1972, 1046 U.N.T.S. 120; and Protocol, 1996, 36 I.L.M. 1 (1997). 60. Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment, 1976, 1102 U.N.T.S. 92 as revised in Barcelona, 10 June 1995; and Protocol for the Prevention and Elimination of Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea by Dumping from Ships and Aircraft or Incineration at Sea, 1102 U.N.T.S. 1, amendments adopted June 1995, available at www.unepmap.org/index.php?module=content2&catid=001001001. 61. Barcelona Convention, supra note 60, art. 4(1). 62. Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea from Land-Based Sources, 1980, 1328 U.N.T.S. 119, amended in 1996. 63. LN 194/2004. 64. Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council Establishing a Framework for the Community Action in the Field of Water Policy. 65. LN 194/2004, see arts. 4, 13, 14, and 15. 66. LN 191/2004, as amended by LN 192/2004 and LN 120/2005. 67. LN 168 of 2002. 68. LN 343 of 2001. 69. LN 292 of 2004. 70. Chapter 227 of the Laws of Malta, Marine Pollution Prevention and Control Act. 71. International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), 1973, and the Protocol of Amendment, 1978, 1340 U.N.T.S. 61. 72. LN 311/2006 Flora, Fauna and Natural Habitats Regulations. 73. Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the Conservation of Natural Habitats of Wild Fauna and Flora. 74. Chapter 425 of the Laws of Malta, Fisheries Conservation and Management Act. 75. Ibid., Section 2: "fish" means any aquatic animal, whether piscine or not, and includes shellfish, crustaceans, sponges, sea urchins, turtles, aquatic mammals and their young, fry, eggs or spawn and shells and parts thereof and fish meal; "fishing" means: (a) the catching or taking of fish that occur or have grown naturally in the sea; (b) any other activity which can reasonably be expected to result in the catching or taking of fish or the farming of fish; (c) any operation at sea in support of or in preparation of any activity described in paragraphs (a) and (b). 76. Ibid., sec. 3. 77. LN 311/2006. 78. Convention on Biological Diversity, 1992, 1760 U.N.T.S. 79. 79. Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat, 1971, 996 U.N.T.S. 245. 80. Convention on the Conservation of Wildlife and Natural Habitats, 1979, 1284 U.N.T.S. 209. 81. Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, 1979, 1459 U.N.T.S. 362. 82. Council Directive 92/43/EEC, supra note 73. 83. Flora, Fauna and Natural Habitats Protection Regulations, supra note 77, sec. 9(1). 84. The information submitted includes a map of the site, its name, location, extent, and the data resulting from the application of the criteria specified in Annex III of the EU Habitats Directive, ibid., all provided in a format set out in Commission Decision 97/266/EC. There are 31 sites identified, 9 of which fall within the area of the coast of mainland Malta. These 9 sites have been considered as 1 site, bringing the total of sites being submitted as candidate sites to 23. The list of these sites (together with the site number given in the database and the map number indicated on the maps) is available and accessible at the Malta Environment & Planning Authority website. 85. UNCLOS, supra note 36, art. 198. 86. Ibid., art. 204 (2). 87. Ibid., art. 205. 88. Directive 85/337 on Assessment of the Effects of Certain Public and Private Projects on the Environment. 89. Directive 2001/42, supra note 20. 90. LN 114/2007. 91. Ibid., art. 34. 92. LN 418/2005, art. 17. 93. Ibid., Reg. 13. 94. Aarhus Convention, supra note 19. 95. Malta Planning Authority, supra note 21. 96. Malta Environment and Planning Authority, see www.mepa.org.mt/interreg3c_deduce (accessed 16 September 2010). 98. EU Birds Directive, Directive 2009/147/EC. 97. See J. J. Borg and J. Sultana, "Important Bird Areas of EU Importance in Malta" (BirdLife Malta, 2004). 99. See Ameer Abdulla, Marina Gomei, Elodie Maison, and Catherine Piante, Status of Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean Sea (Malaga: IUCN and WWF, France, 2008). 100. MEPA, "An Overview," supra note 22. 101. Chapter 356 of the Laws of Malta. 102. EU INSPIRE Directive, Directive 2007/2/EC. 103. MEPA, "An Overview," supra note 22. 104. Malta Environment & Planning Authority, "Annual Report—2006," available at www.mepa.org.mt/info-annual-reports. 105. EU Water Framework Directive, supra note 64. 106. Directive 2008/56 /EC of the European Parliament and of Council of 17 June 2008 Establishing a Framework for Community Action in the Field of Marine Environmental Policy (Marine Strategy Framework Directive). 107. I. C. Plasman, "Implementing Marine Spatial Planning: A Policy Perspective," Marine Policy 32 (2008): 811–815. 108. PlanCoast, supra note 5. 109. Raum and Energie, "Best Practice in Marine Spatial Planning—Description of Four Case Studies in Europe and Overseas," UNEP, PAP/RAC Report, 2007, Wedel/Hamburg. 110. Ehler, supra note 14. 111. Ibid. 112. Raum and Energie, supra note 109. 113. European Commission, press release no. IP/08/1767, "Maritime Affairs: Commission Promotes Maritime Spatial Planning in Europe," 25 November 2008.