Climate Change and Potential Actions under the UN Fish Stocks Agreement

1
Climate Change and Potential Actions under the UN
Fish Stocks Agreement

• Dr. Wil Burns, Santa Clara University School of
  Law
• Climate Change Liability and the Allocation of
  Risk
• Stanford Law School
• February 22, 2007

2
ROADMAP

• Describe the potential impacts of climate change
  on straddling and highly migratory stocks
• Outline the history of the Fish Stocks Convention
  and provisions germane to a cause of action for
  climate change impacts
• Briefly discuss potential barriers to such an
  action.

3
Conservation Provisions UNFSA

• Article 5
• In order to conserve and manage straddling fish
  stocks and highly
• migratory fish stocks, coastal States and States
  fishing on the high
• seas shall, in giving effect to their duty to
  cooperate in accordance
• with the Convention
• (a) adopt measures to ensure long-term
  sustainability of straddling fish stocks and
  highly migratory fish stocks and promote the
  objective of their optimum utilization
• (d) assess the impacts of fishing, other human
  activities and environmental factors on target
  stocks and species belonging to the same
  ecosystem or associated with or dependent upon
  the target stocks
• (f) minimize pollution . . . emphasis added

4
UNCLOS, Article 287

• 1. When signing, ratifying or acceding to this
  Convention or at any time thereafter, a State
  shall be free to choose, by means of a written
  declaration, one or more of the following means
  for the settlement of disputes concerning the
  interpretation or application of this Convention
• (a) the International Tribunal for the Law of
  the Sea established in accordance with Annex VI
• (b) the International Court of Justice
• (c) an arbitral tribunal constituted in
  accordance with Annex VII
• (d) a special arbitral tribunal constituted in
  accordance with Annex VIII for one or more of the
  categories of disputes specified therein.

5
Responsibility/Liability - UNFSA

• Article 35
• States Parties are liable in accordance
• with international law for damage or loss
• attributable to them in regard to this
• Agreement.

6
UNFCCC Preamble

• Recalling also that States have, in
• accordance with the Charter of the United
• Nations and the principles of international
• law . . . the responsibility to ensure that
• activities within their jurisdiction or control
• do not cause damage to the environment of
• other States or of areas beyond the limits of
• national jurisdiction.