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2018 | Book

Introduction: Beyond Brown and Green Policies in North America Read chapter Read first chapter

Widening the Scope of Environmental Policies in North America

Towards Blue Approaches

Editor: Dr. Gustavo Sosa-Nunez

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Book Series : Governance, Development, and Social Inclusion in Latin America

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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About this book


This edited volume provides a variety of insights into the context in which ocean and wetlands policy is placed at the sub-continental level. The governments of Mexico, Canada, and United States of America have recognized the importance of conserving, protecting, and enhancing the environment in their territories. As a result, they have developed an institutional structure aimed at furthering environmental cooperation. However, marine environment has played a secondary role, characterized by scientific cooperation that does not develop into regional policies. This project analyzes how ocean and wetlands preservation is omitted from the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, meaning that collaborative efforts under-perform or remain largely sidelined from mainstream issues. As contributors come from a mix of the social and natural sciences (politics, international relations, law studies, sociology, oceanology, and oceanography), this book presents diverse viewpoints on how to address wetlands protection, deep ocean research collaboration, and the marine context of the Sustainable Development Goals.




Table of Contents

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Introduction: Beyond Brown and Green Policies in North America
Abstract
This introductory chapter presents the reader with the context in which North American environmental cooperation is found at both bilateral and trilateral levels. Commenting on the environmental brown and green issues that are currently dealt with, the editor affirms that a transition towards blue approaches is required. Efforts towards such a transition are observable, but more work needs to be done. In this sense, this introduction states that the edited book provides different environmental and policy perspectives about the importance of ocean and coastal issues in and for North America, commenting briefly about each of the chapters’ content while setting the tone for the discussion of what the editor considers are some of the most important issues to take into account.
Gustavo Sosa-Nunez
Chapter 2. Imperiled Majesty: North American Oceans and Coasts
Abstract
Stoett begins with an overview of some of the major threats to marine ecology, particularly to oceans and coasts, in the North American context. His contribution introduces different key policy questions that observers and analysts should strive to answer as North America moves forward. He states that an awareness of how decisions are made and implemented is a key element in any case study related to oceans policy before any bilateral or trilateral policy collaboration, convergence, or divergence can take place. He goes on to make specific questions about how policy is developed and whether the policy is science-driven or politically (or, even, ideologically) determined. Stoett concludes his contribution exploring some nascent areas of trilateral cooperation.
Peter J. Stoett

International Background and Context

Frontmatter
Chapter 3. Saltwater Geopolitics in North America
Abstract
Ed Atkins explores, throughout a historical account, the location of the oceans within global security and geopolitics via the analysis of the oceans of North America. In doing so, he argues that contemporary geopolitics appears to be returning to the work of Mahan (1920) by focusing on a characterization of the maritime space as an arena of flows—of goods traded, of energy supplied, and of population movement. He recognizes the relative harmony of the oceans of North America in comparison with those of China and India, which are used as points of reference. Oceans of North America are explored through two selected historical case studies (USA–Canada and Mexico–USA), providing a means to understand how the territorialization of maritime spaces has occurred and becomes contested.
Ed Atkins
Chapter 4. The Law of the Sea and Other Instruments of International Law as a Framework for Environmental Conservation in North American Waters
Abstract
Howard S. Schiffman explores the contributions that the Law of the Sea can make to the regional approach to environmental policies in North America. This chapter provides a background of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and key environmental provisions, which is followed by the status of Canada, Mexico, and the USA vis-à-vis UNCLOS. Schiffman also refers to key institutions created by UNCLOS, i.e., the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) and the Deep Sea-Bed Commission. Moreover, key North American environmental issues addressed by UNCLOS are also dealt with, such as fisheries, offshore oil and gas exploration, as well as marine biodiversity, including mammals.
Howard S. Schiffman
Chapter 5. The Commission for Environmental Cooperation: Working on Oceans and Mangroves
Abstract
Miriam Alfie provides an analysis of the institutionalization of environmental protection in North America, which has been possible due to trade purposes. She addresses the concept of environmental regions and the importance that environmental systems have in these areas. With this, comments upon the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) and the progress of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) are made, identifying priorities and pointing at studies that the CEC has elaborated about oceans and mangroves. Alfie affirms that the CEC lacks the ability and actions to carry out and supervise integral sustainable management policies.
Miriam Alfie Cohen

Environmental Background

Frontmatter
Chapter 6. Consequences of Climate Change on the Oceans
Abstract
Climate change has serious consequences on the ocean. Warming affects biological processes, inducing also destructive events such as melting of sea ice in polar regions, sea level rise, and stratification, which may in turn affect the marine biota and human societies. Accumulation of CO2 produces acidification and hypoxia. These changes alter in different degrees the marine biota, implying a geographic shift in species distribution and phenologic changes. Sea level rise is considered the biggest threat, negatively impacting on coastal ecosystems. Assessing these consequences, Lavaniegos focuses on cases taking place in North America, although she makes use of examples from other geographic regions in cases when methodological observations (long time series that require a baseline from which to discriminate temporal and sustainable impacts) are lacking.
Bertha E. Lavaniegos
Chapter 7. Fisheries: Interaction with—or Exploitation of—Nature?
Abstract
Calderon-Aguilera points at the environmental implications of the fisheries sector’s performance in North America, discussing the current context and the way forward. He examines current perspectives on transboundary fisheries and market rules, focusing on geoduck fishery from Canada to Mexico. He also considers environmental aspects with long-term variations like the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, midterm variations like El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), as well as seasonal variations. This chapter also explores climate change effects on fisheries, collaborative research between the three countries, and includes an assessment about whether the dolphin–tuna fishery and the US embargo to Mexico has been related to environmental concerns or commercial interests.
Luis Eduardo Calderon-Aguilera

Considerations for a Complementary International Environmental Agenda in North America

Frontmatter
Chapter 8. Wetlands Protection: The Forgotten Agenda
Abstract
As wetlands were left out of the North American Agreement for Environmental Cooperation, this chapter reiterates the importance of dealing with their protection not only at the national level (where Mexico and Canada both lag behind the United States), but also at a regional one as well. In this sense, the current international context of wetlands protection is addressed, presenting the administrative and organizational structures on which wetland protection presently takes place. Included also is a structured analysis of the opportunities and challenges associated with key, present-day North American wetland protection policies.
Ryan W. Taylor
Chapter 9. Another Form of Collaboration? Discovering the Deep Blue
Abstract
Strategic ocean planning has become a familiar feature on the global policy landscape, but scientific collaboration on deepwater research continues to lag, especially at the North American level. Hannigan claims that there is an unfulfilled potential for scientific collaboration on oceans. He discusses the potential for, and barriers to, continental collaboration on deepwater research across Canada, Mexico, and the USA; identifying differences on scientific research for ocean management and planning. Afterward, he points at some successful transnational projects happening in European deep-sea research; thus providing a template for expanding scientific collaboration on deepwater research in North America. Lastly, he identifies the direction that scientific exploration of the ocean has been taking and how this might influence the nature of scientific collaboration.
John Hannigan
Chapter 10. The “Blue” Perspective of the Sustainable Development Goals in North America
Abstract
Sosa-Nunez examines the Sustainable Development Goal #14 in relation to current policies in North America, affirming that there is a long road to take to be able to achieve such goal due to the diverse targets that should be reached. For this, he contextualizes the efforts made on marine issues in the context of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). He then assesses each of the SDG14 targets and the features that North America has to reach them. He claims that some of the SDG14 targets already present a gloomy forecast, while others appear to be going in the right direction. However, measurement and scope are open to interpretation, as numerical targets are lacking.
Gustavo Sosa-Nunez
Chapter 11. Conclusion: Standing Still in Terms of Cooperation While Revisiting Opportunities
Abstract
This edited book concludes summarizing key findings and making a balance of what is expected and can be achieved so as to improve ocean, marine, and coastal conditions and policies at the regional level—in North America—as well as the way forward to protect and preserve them. Taking into account the new political environment in the region, the editor concludes that the transition from brown and green policies toward blue approaches will take some time, but it will happen eventually.
Gustavo Sosa-Nunez
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
Widening the Scope of Environmental Policies in North America
Editor
Dr. Gustavo Sosa-Nunez
Copyright Year
2018
Electronic ISBN
978-3-319-56236-0
Print ISBN
978-3-319-56235-3
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56236-0

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