Dan Lane discusses ocean law and governance in China

Professor Daniel Lane, a Full Professor at the Telfer School of Management, joined a delegation of the Canadian branch of the International Ocean Institute, IOI-Canada, which was invited to assist the National Institute for South China Sea Studies (NISCSS) with its first China-ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) Academy on Ocean Law and Governance. The Academy, designed to foster a community of ocean governance in the region, was held on January 25–31, 2016.

The participants represented 10 countries from the region: Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and China and came from backgrounds of law and policy, academia, maritime security, resource management, national defence and other aspects of effective ocean governance.

As part of an intensive program of lectures, Professor Lane gave a talk entitled “Coastal Climate Change Adaptation”. “I was impressed by the serious perspective of the participants from the ASEAN with respect to urgent action on coastal climate change,” says Professor Lane. “ This region is one of the most populous and hardest hit areas in the world for storm surge and sea level rise from more frequent severe coastal storms, and they are anxious for new knowledge and collaborative action on managing adaptation measures.”

The participants also visited the Maritime Safety Administration of Hainan Province. This included tours of their Command Centre for Maritime Search and Rescue to see its surveillance and control systems and a patrol craft.

About the IOI

The International Ocean Institute (IOI) is a world leading independent, non-governmental non-profit organisation conducting training and capacity building in Ocean Governance globally. It aims to train young and mid-career practitioners in contemporary approaches to coastal and ocean management, with an emphasis on the moral, ethical and legal values in Ocean Governance (equity and peaceful uses of the ocean).