This paper considers the question of whether legal standing may be accorded to a person, acting for himself/herself and on behalf of certain highly migratory marine species that are listed as endangered, to file a public action for prohibitory injunction against offshore seismic surveys and exploration drillings harmful to their health and habitat. Such is the novel question confronting the Philippine Supreme Court in the pending case Resident Marine Mammals of Tañon Strait Protected Seascape v. Secretary of Energy.1
Standing to file a public action for prohibitory injunction (public action) to restrain harm to a natural resource per se such as the wildlife is determined by the legal regime governing the resource. In the Philippines jura regalia is the prevailing regime according to which all natural resources found within Philippine territory, such as highly migratory marine species that enter internal waters, are subject to the dominium of the State, although available for free and open access by Filipino citizens. If harm is inflicted on these marine species the State alone, in exercise of its dominium, has legal standing to bring suit to stop the harm. If the harm is brought about by an action or inaction of the State, no person has legal standing to bring suit to stop it except one who can show that on the occasion of the harm one sustained or will sustain a direct injury-in-fact to one‟s person or property. However, in specific Philippine coastal communities two developments spurred the emergence of an alternative resource regime to jura regalia. Governance of marine resources was devolved and decentralized by the State to the local governments and communities. This enabled communities to a) designate and manage marine protected areas (MPA); b) generate norms of behavior to sustain their MPA; and c) adopt and enforce ordinances that reflect these norms. Moreover, the State expressly recognized the protected status of highly migratory marine species (hereinafter “marine species”) listed under Annex 1 of the UNCLOS while they are in Philippine waters and delegated to the communities authority to enforce such protection. Adapting to the protected status of the marine species, communities in the MPA modified their norms of behavior from one of commercial exploitation of the marine species in an open access regime to one of preservation of the same marine species by declaring their habitats “no-take zones”. Such alternative resource regime is centered on the communities‟ responsibility to rather than economic rights or interests in the marine species. This responsibility to protect is the platform on which MPA communities can take a stand in a public action to stop an environmental harm to the marine species.
The main purposes of this paper is to determine whether the emergence of MPA as an alternative resource regime warrants liberalization by the courts of the rules on legal standing so as to allow communities that have adopted MPA as an alternative resource regime to articulate and defend their formative environmental norms on the protection of the marine species. Subsumed to this purpose is a tentative inquiry into whether underlying such norm is a concept of respect for the intrinsic value of the marine species – that they have a right to life independent of their usefulness to man - which could become the basis of legal standing of the marine species themselves.

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The Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI), adopted recently in response to the degradation of coastal and marine environments in the Southeast Asia-Pacific’s Coral Triangle, emphasises the need for using existing international and regional fora to promote implementation. Large-scale marine initiatives, including the CTI, very often must contend with a remarkably complex institutional system. This raises the question of whether and how such complexity can be conducive to marine resources management. To answer this question, this paper aims to better understand the governance context in which the CTI was established (i.e., map governance fragmentation/complexity), and explore how such a context may support the implementation of the CTI goals (i.e., examine normative interplay). To conduct this examination, it uses an objective method that allows users to view and explore institutional arrangements through a network approach. By documenting the system of existing institutions in the Coral Triangle, the study shows that the Coral Triangle governance system is illustrative of those of international environmental governance. It involves multiple policy domains, and features different institutional arrangements and variability in terms of geographical scope and main subject matter. Such a system is complex and fragmented, marked by jurisdiction and functional overlaps. The paper suggests interplay management, such as inter-institutional learning and enhancing institutional synergy, as a promising process to promote inter-institutional coordination.

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Environment and development agendas are increasingly being characterised by regional-scale initiatives. This trend is in part motivated by recognition of the need to account for global drivers of change (e.g., climate change, migration, and globalisation), the aspirations of achieving large-scale ecological goals (such as maintaining ecosystem processes), and reconciling potentially conflicting priorities in multi-use planning. However, regional-scale governance is challenging and there is little theoretical guidance or empirical evidence to suggest how it can be achieved. This paper uses the Institutional Analysis and Development framework to highlight the diverse contextual factors that challenge governance of a large-scale marine common, using an example of the Coral Triangle Initiative. The analysis points to the need for a critical, reflexive approach to the Coral Triangle Initiative if it is to effectively navigate diverse contexts and reconcile multiple objectives in the region. Recognising the heterogeneous, multi-scale and interlinked nature of large-scale marine systems is critical. Coping with contextual complexity will require innovative approaches that strive to be inclusive of varied perspectives and actors, enable and support effective collective-choice arrangements at lower levels of organisation, and organise and link diverse institutional arrangements at multiple scales. Large-scale marine governance will also involve a great deal of experimentation and regular adjustments to governance arrangements to account for the dynamic nature of regional commons

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Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are an important tool for the conservation of marine species and ecosystems. Yet despite the significant differences between marine and terrestrial systems in terms of their critical ecological processes, stresses, and relationships with cultural systems, methods used to characterize levels of protection for biological diversity in MPAs are all derived from schemes developed for terrestrial systems. A new system designed to classify levels of protection in MPAs is proposed, based on criteria specifically relevant to marine systems. MPAs are characterized by each of the seven criteria: designated use, quality of natural character, extent of protection throughout the year, extent of zoning into sub-areas for multiple uses, public access, extraction of resources, and size with respect to supporting critical ecological processes. Five levels of protection are defined, labeled I–V: Wilderness Management Area (Level I), Research Management Area, Ecological Management Area, Human Recreation Management Area, and Sustainable Resource Management Area (V). A level is assigned to an MPA based on the level that matches the largest number of categories across all seven criteria. The uses and benefits of this system of classification relative to existing systems are discussed and examples of its application are illustrated using data on 83 MPAs in California (USA) and 10 globally.

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The ability of reserves to replenish fish stocks is relatively well documented, but the evidence of their ability to induce positive effects on benthic communities remains inconclusive. Here, we test whether 10 years of reserve designation have translated into positive effects on coral communities in Glover’s Reef, Belize. Surveys of 87 patch reefs inside and outside the reserve revealed no clear indication of reserve implementation benefitting coral cover, coral colony size, or abundance of juvenile corals. Furthermore, massive broadcasting coral species exhibited greater losses over time than their smaller-sized counterparts across all sites, suggesting that local management actions have not alleviated the regional trend of high mortality for these species. We detected no difference in herbivorous fish abundances or macroalgal cover between reserve and fished sites, providing a potential explanation for the lack of cascading positive effects on the coral community. We conclude that patterns of regional coral decline are evident at Glover’s Reef, including a shift in dominance from broadcasting species to brooding species and declines in mean colony size. Our findings suggest that regional stressors are overwhelming local management efforts and that additional strategies are required to improve local coral condition.

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A dearth of scientific data surrounding Micronesia’s coral-reef fisheries has limited their formal assessment and continues to hinder local and regional management efforts. We approach this problem by comparing catch-based datasets from market landings across Micronesia to evaluate fishery status in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, Yap, and Pohnpei. Initial examinations found that calm weather and low lunar illumination predicted between 6% (Yap) and 30% (CNMI) of the variances in daily commercial landings. Both environmentally driven catch success and daily catch variability increased in accordance with reef-fish demand indices. Subsequent insight from species composition and size-at-capture data supported these findings, highlighting reduced trophic levels and capture sizes where higher human-population-per-reef-area existed. Among the 12–15 target species and/or species complexes that accounted for 70% of the harvest biomass, capture sizes were consistently smallest for CNMI and Guam, often below the reported mean reproductive sizes. Comparatively, Pohnpei has the greatest potential for reef fisheries, with a large reef area (303 km²) and a moderate human population (34,000 people). However, the estimated harvest volume of 476 mt year⁻¹ was 8–9 times higher than other jurisdictions. Even on Yap where the reef-fish demand index was lowest (67.7 people km⁻² reef habitat), many target fish were harvested below their mean reproductive sizes, including the iconic green bumphead parrotfish and humphead wrasse, as well as several other herbivores. We discuss our results with respect to the contemporary doctrine surrounding size-spectra, catch composition, and catch frequencies that afford insight into fishery pressure and status. We posit that regional catch-based policies (initially) instituted at the market level, combined with area and gear-based restrictions, represent plausible vectors for improving Micronesian fisheries.

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To provide more information about whether sharks benefit from no-take marine reserves, we quantified the relative abundance and biomass of reef sharks inside and outside of Namena, Fiji’s largest reserve (60.6 km²). Using stereo baited remote underwater video systems (stereo-BRUVs), we found that the abundance and biomass of sharks was approximately two and four times greater in shallow and deep locations, respectively, within the Namena reserve compared to adjacent fished areas. The greater abundance and biomass of reef sharks inside Namena is likely a result of greater prey availability rather than protection from fishing. This study demonstrates that marine reserves can benefit sharks.

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Tropical and subtropical Asia differs from other tropical regions in its monsoonal climate and the dominant influence of the  Hindukush and Himalayan mountain ranges which result in extremes of spatial and temporal variability in precipitation. However, several major rivers and their tributaries arise in the Himalayan ranges and are fed by thousands of glaciers. Huge sediment loads carried by these rivers result in important deltas at their mouths. The climatic and physiographic diversity have endowed the region with many kinds of wetlands. Of these, the peatswamps of southeast Asia constitute about 56% of the world’s tropical  weatlands, and more than 42% of the world’s mangroves occur in South and southeast Asia. Among other wetlands, riverine swamps are rather restricted whereas the seasonal marshes are a dominant feature. Another characteristic feature of tropical Asia are the innumerable human-made and intensively managed wetlands of which the paddy fields and aquaculture ponds are the most extensive. Throughout tropical Asia, wetlands have been a part of the socio-cultural ethos of the people and many communities have lived in wetlands. However, the pressures of high population and the economic development have extensively impacted upon wetlands which have been transformed for paddy cultivation and aquaculture, drained and converted to other land uses for economic gains (e.g., conversion to oil palm), and degraded by discharge of domestic and industrial wastes. Invasive plant and animal species have also played a significant role. The climate change is already being felt in the rapid retreat of Himalayan glaciers, increased temperature and variability in precipitation as well as the frequency of extreme events. Sea level rise is seen as a major threat to the coastal wetlands, particularly the mangroves. Increasing droughts have caused frequent fires in Indonesian peat swamps that have further feedback impacts on regional climate. However, the actual threat to wetlands in this region arises from the extensive hydrological alterations being caused by storage, abstraction and diversion of river flows for agriculture, industry and hydropower. Currently, the state of our understanding wetlands in general, and the efforts and infrastructure for research and training in wetlands are very poor. Although a few wetlands have been designated as Ramsar sites, the policies aimed at wetland conservation are either non-existent or very weak. Human responses to greater uncertainty and variability in the available water resources in different parts of Asia will be crucial to the
conservation of wetlands in the future.

DOI

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Tropical and subtropical Asia differs from other tropical regions in its monsoonal climate and the dominant influence of the  Hindukush and Himalayan mountain ranges which result in extremes of spatial and temporal variability in precipitation. However, several major rivers and their tributaries arise in the Himalayan ranges and are fed by thousands of glaciers. Huge sediment loads carried by these rivers result in important deltas at their mouths. The climatic and physiographic diversity have endowed the region with many kinds of wetlands. Of these, the peatswamps of southeast Asia constitute about 56% of the world’s tropical  weatlands, and more than 42% of the world’s mangroves occur in South and southeast Asia. Among other wetlands, riverine swamps are rather restricted whereas the seasonal marshes are a dominant feature. Another characteristic feature of tropical Asia are the innumerable human-made and intensively managed wetlands of which the paddy fields and aquaculture ponds are the most extensive. Throughout tropical Asia, wetlands have been a part of the socio-cultural ethos of the people and many communities have lived in wetlands. However, the pressures of high population and the economic development have extensively impacted upon wetlands which have been transformed for paddy cultivation and aquaculture, drained and converted to other land uses for economic gains (e.g., conversion to oil palm), and degraded by discharge of domestic and industrial wastes. Invasive plant and animal species have also played a significant role. The climate change is already being felt in the rapid retreat of Himalayan glaciers, increased temperature and variability in precipitation as well as the frequency of extreme events. Sea level rise is seen as a major threat to the coastal wetlands, particularly the mangroves. Increasing droughts have caused frequent fires in Indonesian peat swamps that have further feedback impacts on regional climate. However, the actual threat to wetlands in this region arises from the extensive hydrological alterations being caused by storage, abstraction and diversion of river flows for agriculture, industry and hydropower. Currently, the state of our understanding wetlands in general, and the efforts and infrastructure for research and training in wetlands are very poor. Although a few wetlands have been designated as Ramsar sites, the policies aimed at wetland conservation are either non-existent or very weak. Human responses to greater uncertainty and variability in the available water resources in different parts of Asia will be crucial to the
conservation of wetlands in the future.

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