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Fiji is among six Pacific island countries that are beginning to feel the pressure to complete their submissions to the United Nations to claim extra ocean space, with only one year remaining to the May 2009 deadline, says the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC).
And a week long workshop on the preparation of Fiji’s submission on Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) has begun at the Southern Cross Hotel, coordinated by SOPAC and Geoscience Australia (GA) and the UNEP Shelf Programme.
The Maritime Boundaries Project Officer with SOPAC, Emily Artack said Fiji along with Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, Tonga and Papua New Guinea have a credible claim to more than 1.5 million square kilometres of additional space beyond their current 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
She said this is being made possible under article 76 of the International Law of the Sea, said the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) in a statement.
Artack said SOPAC, GA and UNEP will help these countries complete the activities required to delineate the outer limits of their continental shelf.
“These countries are currently faced with the costly and complex work of data identification, collection, and analysis and submission preparation,” she said.
“Due to limited technical and financial capacity they may not be able to complete the submission process without considerable external support.”
Artack said scientific studies have revealed the access to extended continental shelf could mean more access to mineral rich resources previously outside our EEZ.
“It’s the first time the pacific region is combining their efforts in its bid to extend their exclusive economic zones,” she said.
Meanwhile SOPAC Director Cristelle Pratt in a statement, said countries are committed to working together to improve lives in the Pacific.
“Securing greater maritime sovereignty can provide increased revenue for Pacific States and deliver significant economic and social benefits from access to ocean resources that occur on the seabed and within the subsoil,” she said.
“These Pacific Island Countries recognise that determining the boundaries of their Exclusive Economic Zone beyond 200 nautical miles is critical to securing exclusive ocean development of potentially rich non-living resources, such as oil, gas, gold and silver, as well as living organisms that live on and beneath the seabed,” said Pratt.
Pratt said that representatives from Foreign Affairs from the seven countries completed another workshop last week on the use of Japanese Software “CMDeterminer” and “Ocean Access” to help access and claim their Extended Continental Shelf.
These representatives are also present until the end of this week to discuss the issue.
SOPAC is a Pacific regional organisation committed to working with countries to strengthen disaster risk management, enhance access to freshwater, energy, information technology and communications and improve resource assessment and management of ocean and island resources.
