Researchers believe that the ocean must be given appropriate rights.
Scientists from the Earth Law Center and the School of the Environment, of resources and sustainability at the University of Waterloo published an article in which they called for recognizing the ocean as a living being with corresponding rights, reports Science alert.
The ocean covers most of our planet, produces a large amount of oxygen and provides humanity with a huge amount of resources: food, minerals and energy. But oceans are hardly represented in environmental conventions of an international scale, most often they are quickly mentioned in the form of footnotes in international agreements.
Therefore, scientists believe that humanity should reconsider its attitude to the ocean.
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“Supporting the status quo of environmental law is tantamount to legalized destruction of Nature. International law must evolve to reflect the ocean's inherent rights to exist, thrive and regenerate. The health of the ocean is the health of a person,” the researchers' article states.
It is noted that the scientists deliberately used a capital letter in the word Nature to emphasize the need to revise the attitude towards the natural environment, translating it into equal status with a person, and not in a separate area of exploitation.
This “reinforcement” is a key part of the set of principles embraced by the emerging field of Earth Law, an umbrella term for initiatives to recognize the interdependence that exists between people and the environment through our institutions and laws.
One of these legal frameworks is the right to existence. For most people, this is the ethical principle that underlies the development of laws in the world. The rights of nature are recognized based on its value, which comes from its intrinsic value. Not because it can provide resources, but as a 'living thing' in its own right.
“Based on an understanding of the laws of the Earth and the rights of nature, ocean-centred management recognizes the ocean as a living thing, promoting laws, policies and institutional actions that focus on ocean needs in decision-making,” the authors write.
In December 2017, the UN General Assembly declared 2021-2030 the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. The decision follows the publication in 2015 of a report assessing our dependence on and impact on marine ecosystems. The assessment took into account climate change, food security, pollution and resource use.
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The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission was subsequently tasked with developing a plan to increase the sustainability of marine activities. The commission proposed a number of challenges for the coming years, such as expanding the Global Ocean Observing System and changing humanity's relationship with the ocean.
