Regulating the environment for blue-green economy in plural legal states: a view from the Pacific

ABSTRACT

The environments of small island states are particularly vulnerable to environmental degradation and risk, whether natural or man-made. As a result of international initiatives and growing awareness of the need to address environmental concerns, such states are being encouraged to enact legislation to protect the environment and promote sustainable futures. In the Pacific region this future is increasingly linked to the “blue-green” economy: development that builds on the terrestrial and marine resources of Pacific island states. At the same time, internationally, there is an emerging acknowledgment of the value of traditional, indigenous and localised management of these resources. In the Pacific customary law is just one source of law in plural legal systems. The challenge then is how to develop environmental law which capitalises on the strength of plural approaches, promotes a “blue-green economy” and meets the international and regional expectations of commitment to environmental protection?

While a regional model law has not yet been proposed this article undertakes a doctrinal examination of existing legislation across the region in order to identify different legislative provisions which might be used to develop a holistic, normatively plural approach to future efforts to provide a legal framework for translating blue-green policy into law.

KEYWORDS:

• Environment
• Pacific islands
• pluralism
• green-blue economy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. This term is used deliberately to suggest the taking of different elements closely linked to culture and society to create a new being, a mixture, intermingling or a hybrid.

2. Dan Gay. 2013. “The untold story of the Pacific Islands” The Guardian. 20 November 2013. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2013/nov/20/pacific-islands-energy-environmental-problems

3. The Suva Declaration 2015 is a statement of climate change issued by the Pacific Island Development Forum Secretariat. See http://pacificidf.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/PACIFIC-ISLAND-DEVELOPMENT-FORUM-SUVA-DECLARATION-ON-CLIMATE-CHANGE.v2.pdf

4. Down to 10,100 in the mid-2016 estimate given by Prism, the Pacific Community Statistic of Pacific Island Countries and Territories. https://prism.spc.int/regional-data-and-tools/population-statistics accessed 28/08/2017.

5. Mid-2016 estimate remains about the same. See Prism note 1.

6. Adopted by the UN A/RES/69/15.

7. Paras 2, 3 and 10.

8. Para 7 of the Rio Declaration.

9. BPOA UN 1994 para 79. The BPOA emphasised the importance of regional and sub-regional legislation, institutions and technical development and was further strengthened by the Mauritius Declaration (2005).

10. UNEP has initiated and supported a number of judicial workshops on this theme including one in 2002 for Pacific island judges. At that time it appeared that there were few cases coming before Pacific courts which offered opportunity for judicial activism in the ways discussed at the Symposium.

11. Section 40(1) Constitution of the Republic of Fiji. The second part of this section goes on to provide that “a law or an administrative action taken under law may limit, or may authorise the limitation of, the rights set out in this section.” The Constitution of the Republic of Vanuatu has a non-justiciable fundamental duty imposed on every person “to protect the Republic of Vanuatu and to safeguard the national wealth, resources and environment in the interests of the present generation and of future generations.” (Section 7(d)).

12. Constitution of Tokelau, Preamble.

13. Section 75.

14. Section 76.

15. Schedule 3 Section 2.

16. Section 47(1).

17. Section 47(1).

18. Chapter 12.

19. Section 95 (2) and (3).

20. The Tuvalu Constitution, for example refers to “Tuvaluan custom and tradition” and “Tuvaluan values, culture and tradition”; in Tokelau there is reference to “our culture and customs” and “the custom of Tokelau”; while in Samoa the preamble to the Constitution refers to “Samoan custom and tradition”.

21. There are exceptions, for example in both Kiribati and Tuvalu there is a statutory Lands Code governing customary land tenure, and there are a number of semi-formal written statements of customary law such as the “Custom Policy of the Malvatumauri National Council of Chiefs” in Vanuatu (1993).

22. See the Custom Land Management Act No 33 of 2013 in Vanuatu and Village Courts in Papua New Guinea, Land and Titles Courts in Samoa, and the Customary Land Courts in Solomon Islands.

23. South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SREP). http://sidsnet.org/pacific/srep/whatsprep_htm accessed 3/09/2017.

24. This table was created using the search term ‘environment’ and the resources available on PacLII.org. The findings exclude laws relating to shipping, fishing, biosecurity, seabed mining and town planning although of course these may all be relevant to environmental harm.

25. Article 14(A).

26. Part 2 section 12(2)(s)(iii).

27. Part 2 section 12(3-4).

28. Part 6, section 37(5)(d).

29. See for example Part 6 section 37(3)(c); section 41(3)(b); section 41(5)(a); Section 42.

30. Section 41. Land held under native title is subject to a shared resource management agreement (section 41(3)-4)), thereby recognising the communal use and ownership of such land.

31. Section 5(a) and (b).

32. Section 2.

33. Section 3(d).

34. Section 4(a).

35. Schedule 2, Part 3, Section 1(c).

36. Section 15.

37. Section 22.

38. See for example, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, “Q and A: the role of traditional Knowledge in Pacific meteorology with Siosina Lui of SPREP” 3 August 2017.

39. Section 23(l).

40. Section 8(2)(a).

41. This is required under s13 of the Environment Management Act 2005. The first volume of the report was completed in 2011. Fiji Government Online Portal ‘Fiji's First Ever Natural Resource Inventory’ 25/8/2011.

42. Part 7, sections 25-27.

43. This is of course recognised in Principle 3 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development 1992.

44. The Melbourne Principles adopted at the Earth Summit 2002 refer to four principles: cultural vibrancy, economic prosperity, environmental responsibility and social justice.

45. The Coalition is supported by the Australian government through its Pacific Leadership program and annual meetings are convened with the assistance of the IUCN Pacific Centre for Environmental Governance, based in Suva, Fiji.

46. Section 2(f).

47. Section 3(c)(i).

48. Section 2.

49. Section 2. The protection and management of the marine environment in Cook Islands is substantially expanded by the 2017 Marae Moana Act.

50. Reported by STREP on 31 January 2017. “Pacific-UK marine science partnership to promote environmental research and collaboration” http://www.sprep.org/biodiversity-ecosystems-management/pacific-uk-marine-science-partnership-to-promote-environmental-research-and-collaboration

51. Considérant que l'homme exerce une influence croissante et potentiellement irréversible sur son environnement artificiel et naturel, par des effets directs ou indirects pouvant demeurer insoupçonnés; Considérant que les Îles Wallis et Futuna jouissent d'un environnement d'une qualité et d'une générosité exceptionnelles, mais particulièrement vulnérable, au vu de ses particularités hydrologiques, géologiques et écologiques; Considérant qu'une utilisation raisonnable des ressources naturelles du Territoire visant à éviter leur dégradation, voire leur épuisement, en garantissant au contraire leur renouvellement permanent, est de nature à contribuer fortement à son équilibre économique, social et environnemental, et qu'il est de l'intérêt, du devoir et de la responsabilité de chacun d'y veiller; Considérant que la préservation effective et constante de l'environnement du Territoire est illusoire sans la prise de conscience individuelle et collective qu'il s'agit d'une nécessité vitale, ce qui suppose une information, une sensibilisation et une concertation soutenues auprès de toutes les populations; Considérant que chaque individu a le droit de vivre dans un environnement sain et non dégradé, seul susceptible de respecter sa santé, d'assurer son développement harmonieux dans la paix sociale, la solidarité et la fraternité.

52. Le Territoire de Wallis et Futuna vise un niveau de protection élevé de son environnement, notamment par la promotion de modes de vie, de production, de consommation et d'activité viables à long terme; Le Territoire de Wallis et Futuna, à des conditions économiques acceptables, utilise les meilleures techniques disponibles issues de la recherche et de l'innovation pour assurer la protection et la mise en valeur de son environnement …

53. Section 29. See similarly the Environmental Management and Conservation (Amendment) Act 2010 in Vanuatu, which inserts a new section 5A to integrate the precautionary principle.

54. Section 3(1).

55. Section 5(c).

56. CITES is The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. CBD is the Convention on Biological Diversity.

57. See for example the Marine Stewardship Council (2016) which has been involved in certification of tuna caught by member countries of the Nauru Agreement 1982.