INTRODUCTION

There are several elements to the general trend of the use of market measures in natural resource management. In the case of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), in some of the more developed parts of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), such as Australia, a particularly virulent form of neoliberal environmental management — wise use — has replaced the more state- based regulatory approach of multiple use. While the use of market-based instruments in oceans' governance is most clearly identified in resource extraction sectors such as fisheries and oil and gas, these tools are increasingly being directed at broader marine environmental management. A more consumer-directed approach is the use of eco-labels to provide greater community information as to the environmental effects of products, with a particular focus on the by-catch of marine wildlife. The creation and domestic implementation of certification programmes initiated under the umbrella of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an interesting development — though not without faults in theory and practice — linking market-based eco-labelling with catch or product certification. In the international arena, the increased use of World Trade Organization (WTO) disciplines and rules (as highlighted in the Tuna-Dolphin and Shrimp-Turtle cases) have seen increased attention given to measures that conditioned market access on being compliant with environmental protection protocols.

Much of this chapter is devoted to providing the overall background of fisheries and marine management in the IOR to lead on to an exploration of both good and poor models of marine management in the Indian Ocean. It concludes that any sustainable oceanic future in the Region must include a strong role for nation states (and partnerships among states), as well as partnerships with non-state partners, whilst stressing the limits of neoliberal natural resource economic management models.

The outcomes of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992, most notably, the Rio Declaration and Agenda 21 (particularly Chapter 17), as well as the Biodiversity Convention and the agenda established by the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002, have had significant impacts in the development of oceans’ governance.