Island Lives, Ocean States: Sea-level Rise and Maritime Sovereignities in the Pacific
Description
In 2009, then United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon submitted to the General Assembly a report on the security implications of climate change, concluding that for small island nations, a likely outcome is ‘[s]tatelessness … the loss of statehood because of the disappearance of territory’. Concurrently, UN representatives of 11 Pacific ‘small island developing states’ (the PSIDS group) presented a scenario where ‘… international disputes over land, maritime borders, EEZs and other territorial rights are likely’, noting that ‘[l]long-established rules of international law may prove insufficient’ since ‘[o]nce … islands are lost to sea level rise, the people will never be able to return to their homelands’. As sovereign states, Pacific nations control vast ocean areas as Exclusive Economic Zones extending 200 nautical miles from land, which even allows atoll nations with little land to claim identity in the world’s political arenas as ‘Big Ocean States’, to build economies from tuna fisheries, and to take on major roles in global negotiations about climate change and ocean governance. However, maritime sovereignty in the Pacific is threatened by sea-level rise of up to three times the world average. Reviews indicate that global legal institutions are ill prepared to tackle a process through which the ocean of a state may be transformed into sea beyond legal ownership – mare nullius – as terrestrial baselines of existing 200-mile zones may disappear under rising seas. This project proceeds from four decades of research in Pacific studies by the project director and his group, builds interdisciplinary collaboration with climate science and legal studies, and draws on leading international research partners in the natural and social sciences, law and humanities. At the core of the implementation of this large-scale research and policy project is the long-standing partnership in Pacific Studies, ocean science and climate change research between the University of Bergen and the University of the South Pacific. Research will combine climate science models and scenarios of sea level rise and coastal transformation, legal analysis of maritime law and sovereignty (including BBNJ and High Seas) , and fieldwork-based analysis from anthropology, political science and history. Research and communication will foreground the experiences of Pacific islanders at home and of the innovative global diplomacy of Oceania’s Big Ocean States in the fight against the impending loss of land and sea. The project’s research partners include specialists across all involved fields of study at universities in Europe, the Pacific, Australia, New Zealand and North America.
Through the cooperation and resource sharing between the University of Bergen and the University of the South Pacific, and through close dialogues at UN level, the project will offer advisory capacities to PSIDS missions, to regional Pacific organizations, and to the IPCC. A key Norway-Pacific partnership is the Norway-Pacific Joint Chair of Oceans and Climate Change (#OceanAction18613), which involves two-way capacity building and technology transfer in climate-ocean modelling. As an enduring online resource, the project has established and operates a one-stop open database for relevant national, regional and UN documents as they accumulate. Based on the experience by the PI Professor Hviding and his research group from unconventional but high-impact programmes of dissemination and outreach, it is envisaged that Ocean States can utilize the timeliness and urgency of the research to produce a drama performance with artists of the University of the South Pacific (USP), as well as a documentary film for wide distribution. Agreements has been made for annual consultation of the research-and-dissemination agenda with the PSIDS Ambassadors at the United Nations, to provide for immediate policy implementation of research findings. Similar dialogues will be implemented in Suva through the core partnership with the University of the South Pacific. In terms of direct capacity-building, the aim of the Ocean States project is to build deeper knowledge and handling capacity in the global system – including the UN and UNCLOS – of and for the strategies and policies developed by the Big Ocean States of the Pacific in their fight for their sovereign territories as low-lying land is threatened by rising seas.<br />
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The Ocean States project and its multiple SIDS Partnerships are directed by Professor Edvard Hviding of the University of Bergen, who is a leading specialist on culture, society, diplomacy and climate change challenges in Oceania. Professor Hviding has more than 30 years of research experience in the Pacific, including 4 years in Solomon Islands, and is also an Honorary Professor of Pacific Studies at the University of the South Pacific. The University of the South Pacific (USP) is the project’s main partner institution, with major participation by PaCE-SD (Professor and Director Elisabeth Holland, Dr. Tammy Tabe) and other USP centres and schools: Oceania Centre for Arts, Culture and Pacific Studies (under the directorship of Dr. Cresantia Frances Koya-Vaka'uta), School of Marine Studies (Dr. Joeli Veitayaki), and the USP School of Law (Dr. Margareta Wewerinke). Partnerships are established with the PSIDS group of Pacific ambassadors at the United Nations, Norway’s Permanent Mission to the UN, and Oceania’s own regional organisations in ocean governance. Outside the USP leading Pacific academics and policy specialists including Dr. Transform Aqorau, Dr. Tarcisius Kabutaulaka and Mr. Fe’iloakitau Kaho Tevi are integral to the project group, and a strong agenda of direct policy engagement at global and regional levels will be developed. The Ocean States project commenced its operations on 1 June 2018, and will over its 6-year operation arrange major dialogue events in Bergen, Suva, Honolulu and New York, as well regular consultations with the PSIDS UN representatives in New York. An interactive website, a one-stop online information database, open-access dissemination portals and channels for project-wide internal communication ware all live as of 2019. At its home institution the University of Bergen, the Ocean States project forms part of the university’s strategic initiative for the 2030 Agenda, and it is integral to the university’s Ocean Sustainability Bergen Centre, which maintains a strong relationship with UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC).
SDGS & Targets
Goal 16
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
16.1
Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere
16.1.1
16.1.2
16.1.3
Proportion of population subjected to (a) physical violence, (b) psychological violence and/or (c) sexual violence in the previous 12 months
16.1.4
Proportion of population that feel safe walking alone around the area they live after dark
16.2
End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children
16.2.1
Proportion of children aged 1–17 years who experienced any physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by caregivers in the past month
16.2.2
16.2.3
Proportion of young women and men aged 18–29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18
16.3
Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all
16.3.1
Proportion of victims of (a) physical, (b) psychological and/or (c) sexual violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanisms
16.3.2
16.3.3
Proportion of the population who have experienced a dispute in the past two years and who accessed a formal or informal dispute resolution mechanism, by type of mechanism
16.4
By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime
16.4.1
16.4.2
16.5
Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms
16.5.1
16.5.2
16.6
Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels
16.6.1
16.6.2
Proportion of population satisfied with their last experience of public services
16.7
Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels
16.7.1
Proportions of positions in national and local institutions, including (a) the legislatures; (b) the public service; and (c) the judiciary, compared to national distributions, by sex, age, persons with disabilities and population groups
16.7.2
16.8
Broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global governance
16.8.1
Proportion of members and voting rights of developing countries in international organizations
16.9
By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration
16.9.1
16.10
Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements
16.10.1
16.10.2
16.a
Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime
16.a.1
16.b
Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development
16.b.1
Goal 17
Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development
17.1
Strengthen domestic resource mobilization, including through international support to developing countries, to improve domestic capacity for tax and other revenue collection
17.1.1
17.1.2
17.2
Developed countries to implement fully their official development assistance commitments, including the commitment by many developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of ODA/GNI to developing countries and 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries; ODA providers are encouraged to consider setting a target to provide at least 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries
17.2.1
17.3
Mobilize additional financial resources for developing countries from multiple sources
17.3.1
Additional financial resources mobilized for developing countries from multiple sources
17.3.2
17.4
Assist developing countries in attaining long-term debt sustainability through coordinated policies aimed at fostering debt financing, debt relief and debt restructuring, as appropriate, and address the external debt of highly indebted poor countries to reduce debt distress
17.4.1
17.5
Adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for least developed countries
17.5.1
Number of countries that adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for developing countries, including the least developed countries
17.6
Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation and enhance knowledge sharing on mutually agreed terms, including through improved coordination among existing mechanisms, in particular at the United Nations level, and through a global technology facilitation mechanism
17.6.1
Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, by speed
17.7
Promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries on favourable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed
17.7.1
Total amount of funding for developing countries to promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies
17.8
Fully operationalize the technology bank and science, technology and innovation capacity-building mechanism for least developed countries by 2017 and enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology
17.8.1
17.9
Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the Sustainable Development Goals, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation
17.9.1
Dollar value of financial and technical assistance (including through North-South, South‑South and triangular cooperation) committed to developing countries
17.10
Promote a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization, including through the conclusion of negotiations under its Doha Development Agenda
17.10.1
17.11
Significantly increase the exports of developing countries, in particular with a view to doubling the least developed countries’ share of global exports by 2020
17.11.1
Developing countries’ and least developed countries’ share of global exports
17.12
Realize timely implementation of duty-free and quota-free market access on a lasting basis for all least developed countries, consistent with World Trade Organization decisions, including by ensuring that preferential rules of origin applicable to imports from least developed countries are transparent and simple, and contribute to facilitating market access
17.12.1
Weighted average tariffs faced by developing countries, least developed countries and small island developing States
17.13
Enhance global macroeconomic stability, including through policy coordination and policy coherence
17.13.1
17.14
Enhance policy coherence for sustainable development
17.14.1
17.15
Respect each country’s policy space and leadership to establish and implement policies for poverty eradication and sustainable development
17.15.1
17.16
Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in all countries, in particular developing countries
17.16.1
Number of countries reporting progress in multi-stakeholder development effectiveness monitoring frameworks that support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals
17.17
Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships
17.17.1
Amount in United States dollars committed to public-private partnerships for infrastructure
17.18
By 2020, enhance capacity-building support to developing countries, including for least developed countries and small island developing States, to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by income, gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts
17.18.1
Statistical capacity indicators
17.18.2
17.18.3
Number of countries with a national statistical plan that is fully funded and under implementation, by source of funding
17.19
By 2030, build on existing initiatives to develop measurements of progress on sustainable development that complement gross domestic product, and support statistical capacity-building in developing countries
17.19.1
17.19.2
Proportion of countries that (a) have conducted at least one population and housing census in the last 10 years; and (b) have achieved 100 per cent birth registration and 80 per cent death registration
Goal 13
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
13.1
Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries
13.1.1
Number of deaths, missing persons and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population
13.1.2
Number of countries that adopt and implement national disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030
13.1.3
Proportion of local governments that adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national disaster risk reduction strategies
13.2
Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning
13.2.1
Number of countries with nationally determined contributions, long-term strategies, national adaptation plans and adaptation communications, as reported to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
13.2.2
Total greenhouse gas emissions per year
13.3
Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning
13.3.1
Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessment
13.a
Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible
13.a.1
Amounts provided and mobilized in United States dollars per year in relation to the continued existing collective mobilization goal of the $100 billion commitment through to 2025
13.b
Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities
13.b.1
Number of least developed countries and small island developing States with nationally determined contributions, long-term strategies, national adaptation plans and adaptation communications, as reported to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Goal 14
Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
14.1
By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution
14.1.1
(a) Index of coastal eutrophication; and (b) plastic debris density
14.2
By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans
14.2.1
Number of countries using ecosystem-based approaches to managing marine areas
14.3
Minimize and address the impacts of ocean acidification, including through enhanced scientific cooperation at all levels
14.3.1
14.4
By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based management plans, in order to restore fish stocks in the shortest time feasible, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield as determined by their biological characteristics
14.4.1
14.5
By 2020, conserve at least 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, consistent with national and international law and based on the best available scientific information
14.5.1
14.6
By 2020, prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and refrain from introducing new such subsidies, recognizing that appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries should be an integral part of the World Trade Organization fisheries subsidies negotiation
14.6.1
Degree of implementation of international instruments aiming to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing
14.7
By 2030, increase the economic benefits to Small Island developing States and least developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism
14.7.1
Sustainable fisheries as a proportion of GDP in small island developing States, least developed countries and all countries
14.a
Increase scientific knowledge, develop research capacity and transfer marine technology, taking into account the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Criteria and Guidelines on the Transfer of Marine Technology, in order to improve ocean health and to enhance the contribution of marine biodiversity to the development of developing countries, in particular small island developing States and least developed countries
14.a.1
14.b
Provide access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets
14.b.1
Degree of application of a legal/regulatory/policy/institutional framework which recognizes and protects access rights for small‐scale fisheries
14.c
Enhance the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources by implementing international law as reflected in United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which provides the legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources, as recalled in paragraph 158 of "The future we want"
14.c.1
Number of countries making progress in ratifying, accepting and implementing through legal, policy and institutional frameworks, ocean-related instruments that implement international law, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, for the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans and their resources
SDG 14 targets covered
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| 14.2 | By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans |
| 14.4 | By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based management plans, in order to restore fish stocks in the shortest time feasible, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield as determined by their biological characteristics |
| 14.7 | By 2030, increase the economic benefits to Small Island developing States and least developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism |
| 17.14 | Enhance policy coherence for sustainable development |
| 14.a | Increase scientific knowledge, develop research capacity and transfer marine technology, taking into account the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Criteria and Guidelines on the Transfer of Marine Technology, in order to improve ocean health and to enhance the contribution of marine biodiversity to the development of developing countries, in particular small island developing States and least developed countries |
| 14.b | Provide access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets |
| 14.c | Enhance the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources by implementing international law as reflected in United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which provides the legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources, as recalled in paragraph 158 of "The future we want" |
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Contact Information
Edvard Hviding, Professor, Research Director (Pacific Studies), Director of Science Advice to the 2030 Agenda