Polar Oceans Governance in an Era of Environmental Change, edited by Tim Stephens and David L. VanderZwaag, published by Edward Elgar, 2014, 384pp., £90.00, hardback.

• Date: 01 April 2016
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/reel.12107
• Author: Signe Veierud Busch
• Published date: 01 April 2016

Book Reviews

Polar Oceans Governance

in an Era of Environmental

Change, edited by Tim

Stephens and David L.

VanderZwaag, published by

Edward Elgar, 2014, 384pp.,

£90.00, hardback.

Over the last decade or so, scholars

have turned their attention to polar

issues, and a number of publica-

tions have been produced on the

subject. Climate change and ocean

acidif‌ication are inf‌luencing the

polar oceans to a greater and faster

degree than other parts of the globe.

Although processes commencing in

the Polar Regions may have impacts

on other global areas, the strategic

interest of the polar oceans should

not be underestimated. Environ-

mental changes are projected to

open the polar oceans for new and

exploratory f‌isheries, exploitation

of major oil and gas resources,

increasing tourism and transporta-

tion. As Stephens and VanderZwaag

put it in the introductory chapter of

Polar Oceans Governance in an

Era of Environmental Change:‘Cli-

mate change and globalization pres-

sures have placed the spotlight on the

adequacy and adaptability of gover-

nance arrangements for managing

human use of, and impacts on, polar

seas’(p. 5).

Polar Oceans Governance in an

Era of Environmental Change

offers an interesting angle to exist-

ing polar law research by adopting a

so-called ‘bipolar’approach. The

Arctic/Antarctic perspectives are

subject to comparative analysis

from the perspectives of Canada

and Australia, representing the two

Polar Regions. Based on experi-

ences from their own jurisdictions,

selected researchers provide

insights into the challenges of

balancing coastal State interests

and international community

interestsinthepolaroceansin

respecttoimportantsubjectssuch

as resource management, environ-

mental issues, sovereignty and

jurisdiction.

This book is the third output from

the Australia Canada Oceans Research

Network. In f‌ive distinctive parts,

the editors have brought together

several polar researchers, who sys-

tematize and analyze Australian

and Canadian experiences in polar

oceans management.

In Part I, the authors focus on

physical and biological changes in

the polar oceans resulting from

climate change. Haward and Jabour

address the effects of climate

change in Antarctica, in particular

the Southern Ocean, and ask

whether current environmental and

resource governance arrangements

will be able to adapt to the changing

circumstances. It seems inevitable

that climate change will modify the

seasonal pattern of the freeze–thaw

cycle in the Southern Ocean and

inf‌luence the extent, thickness and

duration of sea ice which yet again

has a critical role in both the climate

system and the Southern Ocean

ecosystem. With this starting point,

Haward and Jabour undertake an

analysis of the adaptive capacity of

the management of Antarctic mar-

ine living resources through the

Convention on the Conservation of

Antarctic Marine Living Resources,

and put forward a number of sug-

gestions to help strengthen this

regime.

Kriwoken raises a similar question

for the Arctic, and sets out to exam-

ine and assess the extent of environ-

mental change in that region.

Kriwoken addresses several areas

that are particularly vulnerable to

environmental change, such as

freshwater systems, terrestrial and

marine ecosystems, human popula-

tion and the atmosphere. In partic-

ular, Kriwoken suggests that the

health and livelihood of indigenous

people will be threatened.

Part II deals with geostrategic

dynamics in the polar oceans, ana-

lyzing the power politics in the

Polar Regions. Huebert observes

that there are two major geopoliti-

cal trends in the Arctic that are

increasingly in conf‌lict with each

other. On the one hand, he observes

that there is a political and public

effort that the Arctic shall continue

to develop as a zone of peace and

cooperation, but at the same time

the Arctic States are developing

their national security instruments

to protect their interests. The secu-

rity situation and power politics in

the Antarctic region seem to be of a

different nature.

Weber observes that the dynamics

and power politics within the

Antarctic governing regime must be

examined both on a State level and

as part of a broader system of inter-

national governance. The Antarctic

is currently managed by a small

number of States in the interests of

all, and the Antarctic Treaty System

(ATS) accordingly relies on the

international community’s accep-

tance of its authority. Weber asserts

that the ATS and hegemony of

power held by the key Antarctic

States is currently stable and unli-

kely to be immediately challenged,

but it may be strategically under-

mined in the long term –for exam-

ple, due to the participation of new

and ‘less traditional’States who will

bring new values and interests to

the organization.

The contributing authors in Part III

raise questions of resource manage-

ment, environmental protection,

sovereignty and jurisdiction. Kadir

raises the overall question of

ª2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.

130

RECIEL 25 (1) 2016. ISSN 2050-0386 DOI: 10.1111/reel.12107

bs_bs_banner

Review of European Community & International Environmental Law