The sun may set on some island nations due to global warming and rising seas

A country’s isolated, uninhabited islands or rocky outcroppings have an important international significance – they play a major role in determining a nation’s 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

EEZ issues are investigated and interpreted under the United Nation’s Law of the Sea statutes to deal with each nation’s island sovereignty claims, especially when several countries have disputes over ownership.

And, as some island nations face the possibility of disappearing due to global warming and rising sea levels, these countries want to insure that their present EEZ rights remain intact, even after their visible land mass vanishes under the waves.

In other words, future EEZ benefits would be used to resettle their island residents in other locations, and provide them with financial resources for their people to make a new start elsewhere, according to ocean legal experts.

These issues and the legal status of uninhabited islands were major topics taken up at the recent Islands and Oceans Forum in Tokyo, sponsored by the Ocean Policy Research Foundation (OPRF) and the Nippon Foundation.

Chubu University International Affairs Department’s Assistant Professor Yasuhiko Kagami brought these topics clearly into focus as he gave a wide ranging talk and international perspective about the role of uninhabited islands around the world.

He pointed out that Japan, for example, is made up of 6,852 islands. Only 422 are inhabited. The remaining 6,425 islands are uninhabited. Calculated in terms of land surface alone that makes Japan only the 61st largest country in the world.

But, if you add the 200 mile EEZ area that extends out into surrounding seas from mainland Japan and its isolated, uninhabited islands, Japan ranks as 6th or 7th in the world in terms of size. This shows the importance to a country of its unpopulated island assets, said Prof Kagami.

This also shows a shift in national policy thinking throughout the world that now takes into full account the real and potential value to a country of its ocean’s under water resources, and the need to pay more attention to its hitherto underdeveloped, isolated, outer islands.

While the articles of the Law of the Sea convention recognize the legal rights of countries to the natural resources of their 200 mile EEZ claims, including those extending from their uninhabited islands, the UN laws also state that countries have duties and obligations to protect the islands and insure that the island and undersea environment is harmoniously developed, stated Kagami.

This line of legal thinking underlines a new global approach to ocean resources, says Kagami, in the sense that sustainable development is seen as a priority in order to protect sea resources for the sake of surrounding countries as well.

Now, all countries are expected to adhere to or develop basic environmental protection policies, because the ocean is considered as the whole world’s resource.

Kagami mentioned the Ogasawara Islands as a case in which the Japanese government has asked the United Nations to recognize the island as an important natural asset to be protected and preserved for future generations.

Similarly, the Japanese government has applied to the UN to have the uninhabited Okinoshima Island listed as an important cultural asset, and to have its natural environment protected.

There are isolated island sovereignty issues that still require settlement among various countries, but it is Kagami’s contention that all factors, including historic, environmental, territorial, and cultural issues need to be taken into account when deciding on a nation’s sovereignty claims. This is crucial to maintain the present and future integrity of the seas for the benefit of the world.