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Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia have re-affirmed their rights to 600,000 square kilometres of continental shelf - equivalent in size to the land area of France.

Three small island states make submission for 600,000 square kilometres of seabed

7 May 2009

Commonwealth assists Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia

Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia have lodged a joint submission with the United Nations to secure access to additional areas of seabed. It is the first joint submission to be made in the Pacific and the first prepared by three small island developing states anywhere in the world.

Securing exclusive access and jurisdictional certainty to the potentially lucrative resources of the seabed such as oil, gas, minerals and living marine organisms is considered by many coastal states to be crucial for their future development.

The Commonwealth Secretariat provided legal and technical advice and assistance throughout the development of the submission, which focused on access to the outer limits of the continental shelf in the Ontong Java Plateau.

In the submission, made on 5 May 2009, the three countries reaffirmed their rights to 600,000 sq km of continental shelf - equivalent in size to the land area of France.

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea is a multilateral treaty that establishes a framework of rules and principles to govern all ocean space. The Convention has been ratified by more than 157 countries, including some 47 Commonwealth member countries.

What is a continental shelf?

The continental shelf of a coastal state comprises the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend beyond its territorial sea throughout the natural prolongation of its land territory to the outer edge of the continental margin, or to a distance of 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured where the outer edge of the continental margin does not extend up to that distance. (Source: Article 76, 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea)

“This is a historic achievement for the three countries. The preparation of a submission is a significant undertaking that involves a consideration of complex legal and scientific issues. The three countries have succeeded in overcoming many obstacles to complete this task," said Joshua Brien, Legal Adviser at the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Mr Brien, who managed the project from its inception, explained that the area covered by the submission may one day prove to be an important source of natural resources and thereby contribute to the sustainable economic development of the three small island states.

The Secretariat provided assistance during the development of the submission in the form of in-house legal expertise and the engagement of scientific and technical experts to provide advice to the government teams as required.

Mr Brien said the success of the endeavour was the result of a sustained regional effort, which involved the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission, the United Nations Environment Programme, Geoscience Australia, AusAid, Geolimits and the National Oceanography Centre based in Southampton, UK.

“This regional approach has proven to be enormously effective and has been used by other Pacific Island countries, which have either already lodged a submission or are expected to do so in the coming weeks,” he added.

The Executive Summary of the Submission is publicly available at: http://www.un.org/Depts/los/clcs_new/submissions_files/submission_fmpgsb_32_2009.htm