Transcript The Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf

New law governing the impacts
of deep water petroleum and
mineral extraction
Robert Makgill
Barrister & Solicitor
North South Environmental Law
Introduction
• Increasing raw commodity prices = deep water
• International law & Impact Assessment
– Law of the Sea Convention 1982
– ITLOS deep sea mining opinion
• EEZ (Environmental Effects) Act 2012
– Precautionary approach
– Adaptive management
New Zealand’s EEZ & CS
Source: Ministry for the Environment
Law of the Sea Convention 1982
• Territorial Sea
– 12 nautical miles
– Full sovereignty
• Continental Shelf & EEZ
– 200 nautical miles
– Rights to develop resources
– Obligation to protect
ITLOS deep sea mining opinion
• Concerns about liability in non-jurisdictional
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•
waters
Duty of due diligence
Adopt laws and regulations:
– The Precautionary Approach
– Best Environmental Practice – not best available
technology
– Environmental Impact Assessment
New Zealand - Prior to EEZ Act
• Petrobras decision clear statement of statutory
•
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lacuna prior to EEZ Act
CMA requires allocation not environment
management
No Ministerial power or responsibility for EIA
Exclusive Economic Zone and
Continental Shelf (Environmental
Effects) Act 2012
• Introduced to plug statutory-gap in
•
environmental management of EEZ
Effects based legislation where decision-making
is designed to be driven by scientific information
Purpose of the Act – s 10(1)
• Clause 10(1) EEZ Bill:
– to achieve a balance between protection of the
environment and economic development in relation
to activities in EEZ or on the CS
• Section 10(1) EEZ Act:
– to promote the sustainable management of the natural
resources of the EEZ & CS
Marine Consents
• Activities in EEZ must permitted or authorised by
•
marine consent (s.20)
Consent applications must be supported by an
impact assessment (s.38 and s.39)
Information Principles – s.61
• Act to gives effect through the information
principles (s.61):
– Favouring caution and environmental protection
– Enabling adaptive management if caution and
protection means that an activity is likely to be
refused
• Reasonable reflection of precautionary principle
Adaptive Management – s.64
• EPA may include adaptive management
•
approaches in conditions of marine consent
An adaptive management approach includes
(s.64(2)):
– commencing on a small scale, or for a short period so that
effects can be monitored;
– any other approach that allows an activity to be undertaken so
that its effects can be assessed and the activity discontinued, or
continued with or without amendment, on the basis of those
effects
Summary
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Technology and commodity prices have driven demand
for deep water resources
International law concerning IA has been driven by
concerns about liability outside sovereign jurisdictions
NZ has lagged behind other jurisdictions in
environmental management of our EEZ
The EEZ Act is an effects based instrument that relies
on scientific information
Poor information about the EEZ means IA preparation
will need to include precautionary approaches
For more information
See forthcoming article:
Ocean Governance in the Pacific since the ITLOS Advisory
Opinion on Deep Seabed Mining
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R Makgill and K Dawson
The McGill International Journal of Sustainable
Development Law and Policy
Spring 9:1 issue. (Feb 2013)