International Seminar on the
Technical Aspects of the Law of the Sea (TALOS)
Problems and Challenges with Maritime Boundary Delimitation and the Role of Geospatial Data in UNCLOS
In conjunction with the 16th ABLOS Business Meeting
NUSA DUA, BALI, INDONESIA
3-4 AUGUST 2009
ORGANIZED BY INDONESIA AND SUPPORTED BY ABLOS
BACKGROUND
The Law of the Sea has a very long history, from the Papal Bull Inter Caetera in 1493 to the entry into force of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, (UNCLOS) in 1994. It is a tour de force in terms of the codification and progressive development of international law. It should be underlined that UNCLOS is the result of long negotiation and codification of very sophisticated technical disciplines which in the end have to be accepted as a single package.
Consequently it is only to be expected that the parties to the convention will face difficulties in implementing the convention as a single package given its universality and wide ranging aspects: resources; geographical structures etc. What the convention allows or rules out still raises many questions for many government officials, academics, politicians and scientists of various disciplines that have to be discussed in numerous: bilateral; multilateral; and even academic. This is triggered by fact that, for some stakeholders, the Convention, the constitution of the ocean, is not that perfect and it cannot be considered to suit the needs of all parties. Consequently discussion and debate among stakeholder to the convention is necessary. This is certainly true for the Asia Pacific region which comprises archipelagic, continental developed and developing States that face difficulties in implementing the provisions of UNCLOS.
The implementation of UNCLOS, requires technical input from a multidisciplinary range of experts which in many cases can lead to inconclusive discussion and conflicts in the areas of law, politics and territorial integrity.
The Advisory Board on the Law of the Sea (ABLOS) is a joint Board established by the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) and the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) established in 1994. It comprises 4 representatives from each parent organization. Its objectives includes "to provide advice, guidance and, where applicable, offer expert interpretation of the hydrographic, geodetic and marine geo-scientific aspects of the Law of the Sea". The 2009 ABLOS Business Meeting is being hosted by Indonesia and in conjunction with this event Indonesia is organizing an International Seminar which will be supported by the members of ABLOS. The Seminar will address current topics of interest related to technical difficulties being faced by countries in the Asia - Pacific region. The theme of the seminar will be "Problems and challenges with Maritime Boundary Delimitation and the Role of Geospatial Data in UNCLOS".
PURPOSES
- To identify and discuss regional problems with the implementation of UNCLOS,specifically with respect to maritime boundary delimitation and geospatial data.
- To identify issues for consideration by ABLOS.
- To provide a regional forum for discussion of the technical aspects of the law of the sea.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
The Seminar welcomes participants from all around the world and in particular encourages participants from the Asia-Pacific region. Participants will come from many backgrounds such as: statesmen, politicians, diplomats, government officials, border committee members, lawyers, academics and maritime professionals such as hydrographers, oceanographers and geoscientists working in the mapping, resource exploitation, communication and transportation fields.
TOPICS
The Seminar will be interdisciplinary in approach and global in scope. We invite proposals for panels or papers on the following topics:
- Addressing issues in maritime boundary delimitation
- Geodetic and Chart Datum Problems.
- The implementation of UNCLOS Article 76 with respect to the interests of developing and archipelagic States in the Asia-Pacific region.
- Marine scientific research in developing States in the Asia-Pacific region.
- GIS use in implementing UNCLOS.
CALL FOR PAPERS
Potential speakers are invited to submit abstracts of no more than 300 words to indonesia_ablos_seminar2009@yahoo.com, by 1 July 2009. The authors of those papers accepted will be notified by 8 July 2009. Full papers must be submitted by 15 July 2009.
TO ASSIST THE AUTHOR(S) IN PREPARING THE ABSTRACT AND FULL PAPER, PLEASE USE THE FOLLOWING ABSTRACT TEMPLATE DOCUMENT AND FULL PAPER TEMPLATE DOCUMENT.
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The island of Bali is part of the Republic of Indonesia and is located 8 to 9 degrees south of the equator between Java in the West and Lombok and the rest of the Lesser Sunda Islands (Sumbawa, Flores, Sumba and Timor) in the East. Flying time to Jakarta is about 1.5 hours, to Singapore and Perth (Australia) 2.5 and 3 hours, to Hong Kong about 4.5 hours, and to Sydney/Melbourne about 5.5 to 6 hours.
Don't look for "Bali" in airline time tables. It's listed as "Denpasar" (DPS) which is the name of the island's capital. However, from Bali's international Ngurah Rai Airport it takes you just 15 to 30 minutes by car to Kuta, Legian, Sanur and Nusa Dua, and in about 50 to 60 minutes you can be in Ubud.
.thumbnail.gif "Nusa Dua Map")
Developed as a luxury resort complex in the southern-most tip of Bali, Nusa Dua is home to the island’s most luxurious hotel and resort accommodation and conference facilities.