Rising Seas and Retreating Coasts: Implications for the Arctic

• Published in: The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law
• Main Authors: Schofield, Clive, Lalonde, Suzanne
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Brill 2020
• Subjects: Law; Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law; General Environmental Science; Geography, Planning and Development; Oceanography; Arctic; Climate change
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15718085-bja10016; https://brill.com/view/journals/estu/35/3/article-p468_3.xml; https://brill.com/downloadpdf/journals/estu/35/3/article-p468_3.xml

Abstract This article addresses both the physical impacts and international legal issues arising from two interlinked stressors on Arctic coastlines: sea level rise and coastal erosion. Key aspects of the legal regime governing the baselines from which coastal States calculate the outer limits of their maritime zones are reviewed and a synopsis of the practice among the Arctic littoral States is provided. The article then turns to a discussion of the practical and international legal responses available to deal with the present and future challenge of rising seas and retreating coasts. The concluding section offers with some reflections on the way forward for a region experiencing some of the most devastating impacts of climate change.