Study Notes Potential Impact of Climate Change on Maritime Boundaries
A new study released Sept. 12 by University of Sydney researchers concludes that the rules for atolls and coral reefs in international law of the sea, already subject to interpretation due to their shifting nature, will be under greater stress as sea levels rise and ocean acidification disrupts reef integrity.
These reef islands, found across the Indo-Pacific are already growing and shrinking due to complex biological and physical processes yet to be fully understood, and now climate change is leading to new uncertainties for legal maritime zones and small island states, according to the study, which was published in Environmental Research Letters.
Thomas Fellowes, a postdoctoral research associate at the university and the lead author of the paper, called the situation “a perfec...