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| FNI PROJECTS International Law for an Anthropocene Epoch? Shifting Perspectives in the Law of the Sea, Environmental Law and Genetic Resources Law  This
project takes as its starting point a concern increasingly expressed in natural
science in recent years, on the possible shift from the Holocene to a new
epoch, the Anthropocene. Human-induced effects, it is held, might contribute
decisively towards pushing the Earth System away from the Holocene, the latest
geological epoch of 11,700 years characterised by environmental stability and,
as such, a factor significant for the development of human
civilisation.In 2009, a working group was established within the International Commission on Stratigraphy in order to examine the stratigraphic basis for the term "Anthropocene" and to consider the justification for its possible formalisation as the most recent geological time unit. Formal recognition of the Anthropocene as a new geological unit in the history of the planet, supported by firm geological evidence could critically raise awareness and highlight the magnitude of human impact on the Earth System. International law may be facing fundamental challenges, with the need emerging for pragmatic and feasible international law concepts, robust enough to tackle fundamentally new challenges. This project focuses on how key areas of international law researched at the FNI – the law of the sea, environmental law and genetic resources law – can respond to the challenges that are likely to occur as a result of a shift to the Anthropocene epoch. Project leader: Davor Vidas Project period: 2011-2014 Publications: Research articles Vidas, Davor, 'The Anthropocene and the International Law of the Sea' Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, Vol 369, No 1938, 2011, pp. 909-925. Book chapters Vidas, Davor and Peter Johan Schei, 'The World Ocean in Globalisation: Challenges and Responses for the Antropocene Epoch'. In Davor Vidas and Peter Johan Schei (eds), The World Ocean in Globalisation. Leiden/Boston, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers/Brill, 2011, pp. 3-15. Conference presentations Davor Vidas, 'The Law of the Sea for an Anthropocene Epoch?'. Presentation at the international conference: Rule of Law for Nature: Basic Issues and New Development in Environmental Law, University of Oslo Faculty of Law, Oslo, 10.05.2012. Davor Vidas, 'The Anthropocene and the law of the oceans'. Presentation at the conference The Anthropocene: A New Epoch of Geological Time?, The Geological Society, London, 11.05.2011. Popular science and feature articles Vidas, Davor (interview), 'Odvjetnik Plavog planeta' ('An Attorney of the Blue Planet'), More, No 190, February 2011. In Croatian. |
Top
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 Related focal points of
research:
Law of the Sea and marine affairs Global governance and
sustainable developement
Biodiversity and
biosafety |
|
Project funding: Research Council of Norway,
JUSISP-2 Programme |
| Recent relevant FNI News New Major FNI Book on the World Ocean in Globalisation (29.08.2011) International Law for an Anthropocene Epoch (10.06.2011) |
Fridtjof Nansen Institute
P.O. Box 326, 1326 Lysaker, Norway. Tel: (+47) 67111900 / E-mail: post (+@fni.no)