Large marine protected areas (MPAs) can protect the ocean’s resilience more effectively and play an essential role in supporting climate change adaptation and mitigation.
The term “discourse power” is generally considered to originate from Foucault’s “Discourse is power”. The particularity of the global commons has meant that only a few countries were able to participate substantively in decision-making, which is sometimes in the name of “representing all humanity” So, the moral factor really matters in the mainstream discourse when it comes to problems in the public common. Therefore, it is crucial to coordinate national interests with the interests of all mankind in mind, and also short-term interests with long-term interests in public common. This paper observes a specific negotiation process on environmental protection which is a common issue, and proposes a framework for analyzing the institutional discourse power in common governance for discussion, and attempts to put forward some practical recommendations.
Land constitutes 29% of the earth’s surface and nearly 13% of it is protected, while high seas account for 43% of the earth’s surface and less than 1% of them are fully protected. As the marine environment has been rapidly deteriorating in recent years, we call for in this report the establishment of the world’s largest marine protected area (MPA) in the Antarctic Ocean, which makes up 10% of the ocean in our living planet and is the world’s last pristine wilderness. The report depicts the productive yet fragile ecosystem in the Antarctic Ocean and potential threats to it arising from climate change and commercial fishing. The report elaborates on the function of Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resource (CCAMLR), its precautionary approach of management and the progress of marine conservation in the Antarctic Ocean. It documents the development of the international dialogue pertaining to Ross Sea and East Antarctic MPA proposals among 25 members of CCAMLR and makes responses from NGO’s perspective to the main concerns of the countries that are not in support of the proposals.
