The current jurisdictional status of the Mediterranean Sea is remarkable. Nearly 50 per cent of the Mediterranean waters are high seas and therefore beyond the jurisdiction of coastal States. This situation means that there are no points in the Mediterranean Sea where the coasts of two States would be more than 400 nautical miles apart. Such a legal situation generally prevents coastal States from adopting and enforcing their laws on the Mediterranean high seas, in respect of many important fields such as the protection and preservation of the marine environment, as well as the conservation of marine living resources. The jurisdictional landscape of the Adriatic Sea as a sub-sea and sub-region of the Mediterranean, is even more interesting. Croatia has proclaimed an Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone, Slovenia has proclaimed a Zone of Ecological Protection, while Italy has adopted a framework law for the proclamation of its Zone of Ecological Protection without proclaiming its regime in the Adriatic. It is noteworthy that if all Mediterranean and Adriatic States would proclaim an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), there would not be a single stretch of high seas left in the entire Mediterranean Sea. Both the Adriatic and Mediterranean fall in the category of enclosed or semi-enclosed seas regulated by Part IX of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This book assesses the legal nature of Part IX of UNCLOS and discusses potential benefits of the extension of coastal State jurisdiction (proclamation of EEZs and/or similar sui generis zones), particularly in light of the recent calls towards an integrated and holistic approach to the management of different activities in the Mediterranean Sea. It examines the actual or potential extension of coastal State jurisdiction in the Adriatic Sea, against the background of similar extensions elsewhere in the Mediterranean and against the background of relevant EU policies. It additionally explores whether Part IX of UNCLOS imposes any duties of cooperation in relation to the extension of coastal State jurisdiction in enclosed or semi-enclosed seas, and puts forward practical suggestions as to how the issue of extension of coastal State jurisdiction could be approached in a way which would enhance States existing cooperation and improve the overall governance in the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas. This book will be of interest to policymakers and academics and students of international law, and the law of the sea.

Providing a comprehensive analysis of the current legal basis for the establishment and further development of area-based conservation tools in the Mediterranean Sea, this book explores provisions under international law and the relevant region frame works to explore transboundary marine protected areas (MPAs) and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) implemented at sub-regional level. Under the European Union’s 2030 Biodiversity Strategy, EUmember States will be responsible for designating the additional protected and strictly protected areas, either by expanding or completing the so-called ‘NATURA 2000’ Network or under national protection schemes through the establishment of national MPAs, including possible transboundary MPAs and OECMs established in accordance with the provisions of the relevant regional seas conventions. This book provides a discussion of the juridical status of the Adriatic and Ionian Seas as parts of a wider enclosed or semi-enclosed Mediterranean Sea, followed by an assessment of the interrelation between global, regional, sub-regional and national legal frameworks on MPAs and OECMs. It offers a comprehensive analysis of the legal basis regarding the establishment of national and, where appropriate, transboundary MPAs and OECMs. Discussing relevant examples of good practice related to transboundary and MPAs, the book will provides an overview of the challenges and opportunities related to the establishment of a transboundary Mediterranean Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMI), based on the provisions of the relevant Protocol to the Barcelona Convention, as well as on the challenges and opportunities related to the establishment of a transboundary international marine park and on the feasibility of the establishment of one or more Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSAs) within the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, and beyond. The book will be of interest to policy makers, practitioners and academics with an interest in public international law, law of the sea and sustainable ocean governance.

Because of its centrallocation in the Old World, the Adriatic Sea has long been explored and studied. Modern methods of investigation, however, have accelerated the pace of study during the last decade. These are the ADCP currentmeter, satellite imagery, drifter technology, and, last but not least, the computer with its arsenal of tools for data analysis and model simulations. As a result of this renaissance, the Adriatic Sea and its sub-basins are currently the object of intensified scrutiny by a number of scientific teams, in Europe and be yond. Questions concerning the mesoscale variability that dominates regional motions, the seasonal circulation of the sea, and its long-term climatic role in the broader Mediterranean, have become topics of lively discussions. The time was ripe then when an international workshop dedicated to the physical oceanography of the Adriatic Sea was convened in Trieste on 21-25 September 1998. Its objectives were to assess the current knowledge of the oceanography of the Adriatic Sea, to review the newly acquired observations, to create syn ergy between model simulations and observations, and to identify directions for future Adriatic oceanography. This book, however,is not the mere proceedings of the workshop. It was written as a monograph synthetizing the current knowledge of the physical oceanography of the Adriatic Sea, with the hope that it will serve as a reference to anyone interested in the Adriatic. The book also identifies topics in need of additional inquiry and proposes research directions for the next decade.

A closed sea geographically well-defined within its coastlines, rich in natural and human life. A concentration of Biodiversity in the broadest sense of the word: ecological diversity in nature and cultural diversity among men. A priceless treasure of the planet, this is the Adriatic. How to manage these places in order to preserve their peculiarities? A system of coastal and marine protected areas seems to be the only system that, despite everything, has been proving effective for more than a century. To systematize protected areas, to create a "Network", a network for sharing cultural exchanges and experiences and, above all, an ecological network. This is the challenge that awaits us in the short term. To make better the future of the Adriatic Sea.

In the last few years several States have established specially protected marine areas under their domestic legislation. At the international level the trend towards providing an increased protection to certain marine spaces has also been reflected in a number of treaties and declarations. This volume reviews the recent developments in the field of specially protected marine areas and preservation of the marine environment in general with particular emphasis on a specific region, the Mediterranean Sea. Special attention is devoted to the latter for three reasons. First, the regional framework for the protection of the environment in the Mediterranean (the so-called Barcelona system) has recently been updated and strengthened. Second, the Mediterranean is a typical example of the category of semi-enclosed seas where international cooperation between the bordering States should be particularly encouraged in various fields; this also explains why the scope of this book has been enlarged to also cover fisheries, a field which is closely connected to the sustainable development of marine areas. Last and least, the parochial inclination of the editor also influenced his choice. To complete the picture the relevant texts have been reproduced and a series of maps showing some specially protected marine areas have been drawn.

Coastal areas have experienced unprecedented dramatic changes in the last half of the 20th century, especially in zones used for tourism development. This code of conduct and model law on coastal areas establishes some general management principles aimed at the sustainable development of coastal areas and the preservation of their environmental values.

Recent assessment of progress in coastal management at the national level shows an impressive growth of efforts after the 1992 Earth Summit, particularly in Europe and the Mediterranean. This book contains regional surveys of coastal management progress in Europe and the Mediterranean since 1992, discussion regional trends, development sin decision making, and cooperative activities. It then goes on to assess national progress towards coastal management, including the development of national coastal management systems, efforts at coordinated planning and management, and the development and use of environmental codes of practice. It then examines selected priority issues in the Northern Adriatic: economic integration and regional economic development, international scientific and technological cooperation in marine affairs and coastal tourism. Finally, the book covers the use of GIS in coastal environments and coastal engineering, the role played by scientific information in coastal policy, and the importance of free trade agreements.

Europe has a long history of managing coastal erosion through a variety of protection strategies, from the defences of the Venice lagoons to coastal land reclamation in the Netherlands. This book provides a comprehensive review of the entire coastline of Europe and a comparative analysis of erosion problems and solutions in each country. Each chapter discusses the natural and anthropogenic factors in the erosion process and in defence projects design and maintenance, including coastal morphology and wave climate, land use changes and use of coastal areas, the evolution of coastal protection, climate change and political and administrative assessments. Particular attention is paid to demographic and economic factors influencing coastal erosion in each country and to technical and administrative criteria influencing defence projects design. Lavishly illustrated in full colour throughout, the book represents a definitive reference work on its subject.