To ocean zoning and beyond

James N. SanchiricoResources for the Future and UC Davis

Josh EagleUniversity of South Carolina, Law School

Steve PalumbiStanford University

Barton H. ThompsonStanford University Law School

Regulating ocean uses

Faces four challenges: overuse of an ocean resource can lead to long-

term resource loss use of one resource will often affect the costs

and benefits of utilizing other resources usually more than one user group is interested

in each resource or space uncertainties on cumulative impacts and the

value of resources to various user groups

A policy proposal

Some have proposed ocean zoning as a means to address these challenges

Like municipal zoning, zoning would divide the ocean into areas designated for specific uses or groups of compatible uses

More formally, zoning is being proposed as a coordinated place-based ecosystem approach for sustainable use and provision of ecosystem services

Stated benefits of ocean zoning

Reduce conflicts by separating incompatible uses

Move towards ecosystem based management

Means to enhance conservation of marine biodiversity

Source of scientific information and hedge against uncertainties

Focus of research

Explore the economic, biological, legal, and institutional ancillary benefits of ocean zoning Comprehensive planning Segregation of activities into use-priority Segregation of activities into use-priority

areasareas Ocean governance reform

Features of zoning

Separates incompatible uses Rations the area over which activities can occur

improve the set of rights to places and resources improve clarity on who has the access rights

Both features lead to a set of localized goods and services whose set of users are limited and better defined

Potential positive feedbacks…

Better defined access and use rights in places could set in motion the creation of place-based clubs Why might this occur?

Tastes for associating with each other Potential economies of scale/scope Sharing of information and more tangible goods

Eg. Angler management organization, business improvement districts Are there “ocean” business improvement districts?

Potential positive feedbacks (cont.)

Place-based clubs could include broad memberships Offshore oil and gas platforms become

monitoring and management sites for offshore aquaculture

Environmental benefits of clubs Value of membership of the club is a function

of the health of the environment Better accountability for damages

Why do we not see these clubs now?

Major reason is the lack of well-defined rights in the ocean (not the case on land) Problem is not self-correcting Generates significant transaction costs/barriers

for seeking out beneficial partnerships, negotiations, and collaborations

How to ration within zones?

Best left to the users within each zone rather than prescribing in a top-down fashion Potential flexible mechanisms are leases and long-term

concessions

Any decentralized allocation mechanism needs checks and balances to ensure ecological and biological integrity are not compromised Pair responsibilities with rights through contracting

Zoning as a catalyst for beneficial ocean governance reform

Three potential options: “Integrated agency”: all administrative

responsibility for all zones in a region “Coordinated agencies”: maintain current

structure but with coordination activities within and across zones

“Specialized Zone Agencies”: Specialized agencies to manage particular types of zones

Do we really need zoning?

Nice concept but not necessary…. Ocean is very different from terrestrial

settings where fences make good neighbors Yes but new technological developments, such

as satellite tracking, GPS, remote sensing, vessel transponders, electronic log books are changing our ability to monitor and enforce “lines” in the water

Conflicts will not go away…

Yes but zoning creates additional means to address conflicts and could lead to a co-management regime On land, there are three systems to address conflicts—

regulations & planning, judicial resolution, and private ordering Provides useful redundancy and flexibility

Marine context “only” regulation Constrained world creates wasteful rent-seeking incentives in

the regulatory process

Many ideas on zoning….

Some envision a top-down regulatory mechanism

Some envision this as a way to privatize the ocean

System needs to fall in betweenSystem needs to fall in between

System needs to be dynamic & adaptiveExperimentation and learning

In a nutshell…

Requirements of planning and use-priority management will enhance prospects for conservation and efficient resource use.

The potential for ancillary benefits follows from clearly defined boundaries, place-based rules, collective choice, right to organize, conflict resolution, and nested enterprises.

The process of integrating zoning into ocean management could be a catalyst for the necessary change in scope and scale of ocean governance

Additional slides

Source of maps to follow: DOI MMS Marine Cadastre program

Available at: http://www.mms.gov/ld/Maps.htm

Official Protaction diagrams

Pacific region

Source: DOI MMS Marine Cadastre program http://www.mms.gov/ld/Maps.htm

“Coordinated agencies” model

Maybe the least desirable due to Higher transaction costs due to more

consultations and coordination Need to develop a system to resolve

differences of opinion across the coordinating agencies

User group dynamics

Create opportunities to form informal or formal long-lived institutions coordinate their activities and maximize long-

term resource yield

Follows from clearly defined boundaries, place-based rules, collective choice, right to organize, conflict resolution, and nested enterprises

Planning and use-priority management

Encourage a reassessment of the focus and scope of the regulatory institutions involved in ocean management enhancing prospects for conservation and

efficient resource use

“Integrated Agency” model

Better match governance and ecosystem scale

Easier to adjust borders of zones over time Might reduce transaction costs by allowing

one entity to coordinate and monitor activities

Might make it harder for one interest/user group to exert power over decisions

“Specialized zones agencies” model

Better match of expertise to management Better represent “weaker” interests/users,

such as marine conservation Natural experiments/scientific information

from different management controls over space

Spatial regulation

Oceans already subject to significant spatial regulation Regulations evolved

over time in response to particular issues with particular users

No real coordination in the planning and design

# of fishing regs in CA state and federal waters

# of regs

# of spatial

% spatial

Com. 173 97 56%

Rec. 321 226 70%

Zoning as a Catalyst for Beneficial Ocean Governance Reform

Part III

Outline of talk

From ad hoc spatial regulation to ocean zoning

Use-priority zones, relationships among user groups, and efficiency

Zoning as a catalyst for beneficial ocean governance reform

Discussion

Spatial regulation

Oceans already subject to significant spatial regulation Regulations evolved over time in response to

particular issues with particular users No real coordination in the planning and design

Southern California

Source: Crowder et. al. Science v.313 August 2006

Early systems of land-use

End of 19th and early part of 20th century, cities tried to regulate specific land uses (e.g., brickyards)

Lacked comprehensive planning land-use conflicts arose

Leading to comprehensive zoning in the 1920s and 1930s Zoning must be “in accordance with a comprehensive

plan…to prevent haphazard or piecemeal zoning.”

Use-Priority Zones, Relationships Among User Groups, and Efficiency

Part II