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Ocean Law Bulletins

Shaping a Global Treaty to end Plastic Pollution

Jun 9, 2022 / by Patricia Parkinson posted in Oceans Law, Fiji marine pollution law, Pacific Ocean Rights, Large Ocean States, United Nations, OceansPolicy, Marine Plastics

Introduction[i]

Plastic pollution is an insidious and wicked environmental problem that must be tackled at an international and national level with the involvement of governments, the commercial sector and consumers. A solution will require a progressive shift from the current linear (extract – produce – consume – discard) to a circular economy model.

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are also large ocean States - particularly vulnerable to, and adversely impacted by, plastic pollution. With the AOSIS Ocean Day Plastic Pollution Declaration and the Pacific Regional Declaration on the Prevention of Marine Litter and Plastic Pollution and its Impacts SIDS have raised their collective voice calling for urgent action and support for a global, coherent and comprehensive legal regime to be put in place to address this rapidly growing global and transboundary environmental crisis, and they have been heard.

The UN Environment Assembly (UNEA), voted unanimously in favour of Resolution 5/14 at the second meeting of the UNEA’s fifth session (UNEA 5.2) held in Nairobi on 28th February to 2nd March 2022, giving the green light to start to negotiate an internationally binding Treaty to end plastic pollution.

This article outlines the planned negotiating process and the key provisions and factors that need to be considered as the Treaty is negotiated for all States to tackle plastic pollution at an international and national level and what needs to be done to create this Treaty is set out in the Resolution.

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Fiji's Climate Change Act, 2021 - Fiji's whole of government approach to reduce emissions and remove carbon

Sep 29, 2021 / by James Sloan posted in International Law, climate change, Fiji Oceans, Environmental decision making, Fiji law, Fiji commercial law, Fiji lawyers, Blue Economy, Oceans Governance, Fiji Climate Change law, United Nations, Fiji Blue Economy, Coral Reefs, Climate Change Act

The Climate Change Act 2021 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) is the Fiji government’s groundbreaking and proposed legislative approach to the threat of climate change caused by human activity.

Over 93 pages, divided into 17 Sections with 112 sections, the Act provides Fiji’s intended response to the enormous challenges that face all 195 nations and their peoples.

In this bulletin we provide a detailed (and we hope) explanatory analysis of the Act. Please note that the Act has been passed by Fiji's Parliament (on 23 September 2021), and it will be brought into force in due course by the relevant Minister by notice published in the Gazette.

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A National Oceans Policy for Tuvalu: 3 experts consider the process to get there

Jul 21, 2020 / by Scott Pelesala I Maani Petaia I Onosai Takataka posted in Oceans Law, Pacific Ocean Rights, Pacific Blue Economy, Pacific Island Rights, Oceans Governance, Pacific Ocean, United Nations, Pacific Island Fisheries, Tuvalu, TuvaluExperts, TuvaluNationalOceanPolicy, OceansPolicy

At present, Tuvalu does not have a national ocean policy that unites Tuvaluans and the Government towards implementing a shared vision and aims for its ocean and resources. The need for a national ocean policy arises due to the importance of the ocean and its resources to Tuvaluans in terms of culture, food, and economy[1], the wide variety of ocean uses, and the need to protect and sustainably manage Tuvalu’s natural resources in an integrated way[2].

In this report the authors review Tuvalu’s governance context, the laws and policies that presently exist and explain why a national ocean policy is needed. The authors set out the sort of process that they think is suited to Tuvalu culture and the Tuvalu context and why they are hopeful that from this process there should emerge a way to create coordination across government and all sectors of Tuvalu society for the benefit of all Tuvaluans and Tuvalu’s ocean and the health of its resources.

The authors believe it is not enough for Tuvalu to have a well written National Ocean Policy, if it is not implemented and owned by the Tuvaluan people. This means the process to create the ocean policy must be locally driven with procedures for inclusive and respectful consultation. This is to ensure that the moralities and legitimacy of an integrated ocean policy are created along with the national ocean policy.

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Fiji's proposed Climate Change law is extraordinary, wide-ranging and open for consultation

Oct 24, 2019 / by James Sloan and Marita Manley posted in climate change, Pacific Ocean, Fiji Climate Change law, Fiji Climate Change Bill, Climate Change Law, United Nations

Please note: This update relates to draft legislation and in September 2021, Fiji's Parliament enacted the Climate Change Act, 2021 - for a full explanation of the Act - please click here

Fiji’s new proposed climate change law affects every Fiji citizen regardless of whether s/he is a Minister, member of Parliament, Permanent Secretary, a CEO of a company, a builder, an IT expert, a marine scientist or proponent of marine conservation, a retailer, a farmer, or a member of a community or neighbouring Pacific Island country at risk of displacement as a result of climate change.

In the last few years, Fiji has become a global and regional leader in raising awareness of climate change, its effects and what all nation States should do to reduce their emissions to keep us within 1.5C of average global warming and avoid dangerous climate change. Fiji's leadership in this arena has in the last month produced a draft Climate Change Bill (the Bill) which is available for public consultation. It has been reported (Fiji Sun, 8 August 2019) that the government of Fiji intends the Bill to become law, by being passed as an Act of Parliament before December 2019. If the Bill is passed it will become the Climate Change Act (the Act). Although not presently law, to avoid confusion we simply refer to the proposed legislation as "the Bill" or "the legislation" in this bulletin as it has not, as yet, become an Act of Parliament.

In this extended and detailed legal bulletin we review the Bill to assist with the further consultations that should take place and, we hope, assist the bold statement and action that Fiji is demonstrating in the face of the climate emergency. All the persons that have been involved in this review support Fiji’s initiative to introduce comprehensive climate change legislation, and provide comments in the spirit of raising awareness of, and assisting with consultation about, the legislation to best suit it to Fiji’s context.

To have your say on the Bill, and to obtain an electronic copy, please click: here

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