Climate change and the oceans: legal and policy portents for the Asia Pacific region and beyond

Authors

Robin Warner, University of WollongongFollow
Clive Schofield, University of WollongongFollow

RIS ID

73224

Publication Details

R. Warner & C. Schofield, 'Climate change and the oceans: legal and policy portents for the Asia Pacific region and beyond' in R. Warner & C. Schofield(ed), Climate Change and the Oceans: Gauging the Legal and Policy Currents in the Asia Pacific and Beyond (2012) 1-20.

Abstract

The oceans dominate the globe spatially, covering approximately 72 per cent of its surface area. These extensive marine spaces are critical to the global environment and human survival in numerous ways - they are vital to the global nutrient cycling, represent a key repository and supporter of biological diversity on a world scale, and playa fundamental role in driving the global atmospheric system. Moreover, the oceans continue to provide a critical source of food through/fisheries and aquaculture, are an increasingly significant source of energy resources, and underpin the global economy through sea-borne trade.