Hi all,

This is not meant as an article, but just something I thought might be useful background for the discussions we are having in this forum.

I am not an international lawyer by profession, though I have dabbled in it academically and outside of university in the past. One piece of information that I think is relevant is the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which was adopted in 1982 and entered into force in 1994. All the countries represented here are signatories and abiding by it. 

The convention sets out how international waters are governed, including who is permitted to access and use resources and under what conditions. 

I’ve attached a map showing which countries are included, and also a short video (apologies, it is in English and some of the examples are not specific to the forum's region of focus). The most useful part, I think, is the section on maritime zones, since it gives us a shared base of knowledge.

I find that UNCLOS and the Blue Economy are closely linked: the Blue Economy is about using ocean resources sustainably, and UNCLOS provides the framework that defines who can use what, where, and how. Of course there are other conventions and treaties that are also relevant, but in my view this one is the fundamental starting point.

Video (How Maritime Law Works): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7CvEt51fz4

Image shows list of UNCLOS signatories and parties (image source: Wikipedia; should be cross-checked for accuracy)