Saudi Maritime Policy
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Saudi Maritime Policy

Hatim Al-Bisher, Selina Stead, Tim Gray

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eBook - ePub

Saudi Maritime Policy

Hatim Al-Bisher, Selina Stead, Tim Gray

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About This Book

Because marine governance in most countries is sectoral, maritime policies are frequently fragmented, reactive, and even contradictory, meaning that marine resources are underutilized and poorly protected. To avoid these problems, the concept of integrated national maritime policy (INMP) has been developed. This book examines this concept, analysing its current application in four countries – Australia, Canada, UK and USA – whilst discussing at length how it might be applied to Saudi Arabia.

Based on extensive fieldwork carried out in Saudi Arabia – including interviews with officials in government departments with maritime responsibilities, and a survey administered to 230 stakeholders – the book offers a unique insight into INMP in the Kingdom. The book provides a practical template for developing the political will and civil constituency in Saudi Arabia necessary for the introduction of INMP. In setting out in detail its benefits, this book could help build the momentum in Saudi Arabia required to implement the concept as well as attract other countries to do the same. A significant contribution to the growing literature on ocean governance, this book will be of great importance to policy makers and scholars of Middle Eastern studies, marine governance and comparative politics.

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Publisher
Routledge
Year
2011
ISBN
9781136641435

1    Introduction

Introduction

This book is a study of the concept of integrated national maritime policy (INMP) with special reference to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The concept of INMP is of growing importance in marine governance: over 30 countries have either adopted it already or are evaluating it, and the European Union (EU) Commission has developed a maritime policy that it is rolling out across its maritime member states (CEC 2008). Moreover, an integrated approach to maritime policy has been endorsed by several international regimes, including the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). As Dr Joe Borg, former EU Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Commissioner, said, ‘the need for an integrated approach to maritime affairs seems fairly obvious. It is clearly an idea whose time has come’ (Borg 2008). The meaning of the concept is derived from the fact that the maritime policy of most EU member states is currently divided between many different sectors, including shipping, trade, transport, energy, telecommunications, oil and mineral extraction, fisheries and aquaculture, environmental protection, security and safety, scientific research, and tourism, and there has been little attempt to coordinate sectoral decision-making. As a result, conflicts occur between sectors, and the use of resources is often suboptimal. A more integrated approach, whereby all uses of maritime resources are harmonized, would ensure a much more efficient and cost-effective system, improving the security and the economic, environmental and strategic performance of the nation. As Cicin-Sain and Knecht (1998: 16) point out, the sectoral approach was appropriate when there was little competition between users:
Before the twentieth century, the oceans were used principally for two purposes: navigation and fishing. Except occasionally in the most congested ocean waters, conflicts between these uses were few and far between. Hence, traditional coastal and marine resource management has been characterized by a sector-by-sector approach.
But because of the great expansion of use of marine resources during the last 100 years, the sectoral approach has become inadequate, and a more integrated approach is necessary. In this book, this integrated approach is defined as ‘integrated national maritime policy’ (INMP). Cicin-Sain and Knecht (1998) define it as ‘integrated coastal and ocean management’ and give it the acronym ICM.
In addition to analysing the concept of INMP, this book applies it to five countries. Saudi Arabia is the principal case study, for which extensive fieldwork was carried out to examine why the Saudi government has not begun to develop an INMP, despite having one of the most extensive coastlines relative to population in the world. This book is the first publication to highlight the importance of developing an INMP in Saudi Arabia, and in so doing, to contribute a new awareness of the importance of the marine resources available to the Kingdom, resources which are often overlooked by the world and even by the Saudis themselves. Not only does the book contribute to an understanding of the concept of INMP, therefore, but it also contributes to the practical reality of maritime affairs in an important Middle Eastern country, which currently suffers from an inefficient use of marine resources because of the absence of a dedicated maritime authority to bear the responsibility of coordinating all its maritime policies. Several factors obstruct the development of an INMP in Saudi Arabia; among them are: a tradition of sectoral policies on maritime activities, the absence of a national strategy for prioritizing the various sea uses, uncoordinated marine information systems and databases, inadequate maritime skills, and insufficient marine scientific research. Ways of overcoming these obstacles by the development of an INMP in Saudi Arabia are identified and discussed. The other four countries studied – Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA – are among the most prominent maritime states to have developed INMPs, and a comparative analysis is made of the different ways in which these four nations have interpreted INMP in order to understand the factors that determined their approaches, and thereby to help to guide states such as Saudi Arabia to adopt the most propitious courses for them. In this introductory chapter, the second section describes the growing significance of INMP, the third section outlines the application of the concept to Saudi Arabia, the fourth section explains the sources of data for the book, and the fifth section outlines the remaining chapters of the book.

The growing significance of INMP

Today there is a widespread recognition that INMP is essential for addressing the strategic, security, economic, and environmental challenges of resource exploitation opportunities in a more efficient and holistic manner. As the European Commission (CEC 2008: 3) noted, ‘An increasing number of governments, in Europe and all over the world, are signing up to a new, cross-cutting, integrated approach to governance of maritime affairs.’ Over a score of developed maritime nations (including Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the UK, the USA, and the European Union as a whole) together with over a dozen developing countries (including Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Korea, Mexico, the Pacific Islands, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam) have begun to develop INMP strategies and action plans.
Moreover, INMP has been endorsed by international regimes at the highest level. For instance, the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which came into effect in 1994, launched a new framework for the world’s oceans, aiming for the sustainable development of the oceans through the establishment of integrated and holistic ocean governance. In the preamble to the UNCLOS Treaty, signed at Montego Bay in December 1982, it is stated that ‘the problems of ocean space are closely interrelated and need to be considered as a whole’. With the implementation of the UNCLOS framework, the management of about 40 per cent of the high seas came under the sovereign jurisdiction of maritime states (Terashima 2005). Before this, the authority of such states only extended over a narrow strip of coastal area of three to four nautical miles, and therefore integration was confined to the more restricted notion of integrated coastal zone management (ICZM). Another catalyst for the development of an INMP was the UNCED – or Rio Earth Summit – held in 1992, which addressed issues and challenges related to sustainable development at the global level. Chapter 17 of Agenda 21 advocated a new and integrated approach to the sustainable development of oceans and coasts. In addition, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Barbados Plan of Action (BPA), the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Pollution (GPA), and the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing, all called for a cross-sectoral approach to the management of coastal and marine areas. These international initiatives have led many coastal nations to produce integrated visions for the governance of the ocean areas under their jurisdiction (Cicin-Sain et al. 2002). A study compiled by the Global Forum on Oceans, Coasts, and Islands (GFOCI) revealed that an increasing number of countries are establishing national frameworks for achieving sustainable development through national ocean policies (Cicin-Sain 2007). This global concern about the impact that industry and economic development have upon the world’s oceans and how best to support the development of oceans and coasts without destroying the resources available, reflects a belief that the current sectoral approach is an inadequate way of using the world’s oceans, and that a holistic or integrated approach to ocean usage is needed to secure sustainability in the use of marine resources. The main argument of this book is that it is vital that Saudi Arabia comes to a full understanding of this imperative and follows the lead of other countries in establishing an integrated ecosystem-based planning system to optimize the multiple uses of the nation’s maritime areas.

Saudi Arabia and INMP

Like most maritime nations, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia faces considerable problems in the management of its marine resources, including climate change, sea level rise, marine pollution, rapid urbanization, industrialization, growing population, increased foreign trade, technological advances, security threats, and the changing international maritime order. Together with an increasing recognition of environmental values, these problems have challenged the traditional sectoral approach to maritime policy in virtually every coastal country, including Saudi Arabia. Policies regarding coastal development, fishing, maritime transport, offshore energy resources, maritime security and safety, education and marine scientific research, and marine environmental quality have invariably been developed separately, without much communication between these seemingly disparate policy areas; yet the only way to deal effectively with all the problems is by an integrated approach. Saudi Arabia has extensive marine resources, including important shipping lanes, offshore energy deposits, fertile marine environments potentially ripe for aquaculture development, and desalinization plants to produce fresh water in a predominantly desert nation; it also depends on the sea for its livelihood. Indeed, one of the defining features of Saudi Arabia is its identity as a coastal state: the physical characteristics of the Kingdom have a profound effect on its uses of the sea, and these uses in turn determine the nation’s economic development strategy. Before the discovery of oil, the economy of Saudi Arabia was heavily reliant on the use of dhows for the pearling industry that flourished in the region, and for services to pilgrims travelling to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. In addition, the sea provided an important source of food through a variety of fish and crustacean species. With the arrival of the oil era, Saudi Arabia has not lost its dependence on the sea, but its uses of the marine environment have diversified enormously. In addition to a food resource, the marine environment is also used for recreation, shipping, aquaculture, defence, and as the main source of drinking water. It is therefore vital that this environment is not only protected, but managed in a way that enables these multiple uses to be accommodated.
However, like that of many countries, the governance of Saudi Arabia’s marine environment has evolved in an ad hoc way, responding to specific sectoral needs such as managing shipping and fisheries resources, and without an administrative mechanism to regulate the marine areas of Saudi Arabia as a whole or to address the question of how the sectoral plans interact with each other, or how these marine areas are impacted by land-based activities. Moreover, different ministries and government organizations compete with each other for control of the same, often limited, resources. Marine and coastal management responsibilities are divided between more than 13 ministries, and no attempt has yet been made to coordinate these activities via a national maritime strategy. The current situation is characterized by top-down, vertical structural linkages between national programmes and provincial implementing agencies, with inadequate mechanisms for partnering with communities, industries and other coastal and marine resource users. This absence of an integrated national maritime policy has retarded the development of the whole maritime sector and its resources. Currently, there are signs of environmental degradation of habitats, depletion of fisheries, pollution of coastal waters, invasions of alien species, and loss of biodiversity (PERSGA 2000). The productive capacity of coastal waters is also threatened by the reclamation and physical modification of the inshore environment through the destruction of aquatic habitats. Furthermore, the maritime sector of shipping, broking, and ship repairing (other than ports), has not received the attention it deserves, given its enormous potential importance (Azzee 1980). In short, the ‘maritime dimension’ as a whole has not been fully incorporated into Saudi Arabia’s national development strategies. The current situation with regard to maritime policy and management is fragmented: individual sectoral government entities pursue their largely single purpose mandates, with coordination efforts occurring only at minimal levels. There are currently no regularized procedures for bringing the representatives of national marine and coastal programmes together for harmonizing current maritime policies. Moreover, there is no mechanism for anticipating and encouraging new uses of marine resources through such means as research, technology development, or industry incentives. The challenge for the central government is to move towards a state of ‘harmonization’ whereby sectoral decision-makers continue to operate their own programmes but coordinate their actions, guided by an integrated set of national policies and priorities.
This is not to say that Saudi Arabia has failed to respond to the external challenges facing its maritime policies. On the contrary, during the last 20 years, strenuous efforts have been made in the Kingdom to deal with pressures from the international community. For example, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) periodically convenes an inter-agency group to coordinate the national position on internationally-driven maritime development issues, especially those related to UNCLOS and other international agreements. Also, since the Kingdom possesses one of the world’s largest supplies of oil, the government was encouraged to recognize the risks to wildlife associated with the large-scale overseas export of crude oil to Asia and the West, and the Kingdom established legal protocols consistent with the 1954 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Seas to protect against these dangers. Such regulations include prohibiting Saudi tankers over a certain weight (150 tons) from discharging ‘oil or oil mixture into the sea or protected areas of the sea set out in Appendix “A” of the above convention’, and enforcing stricter dumping limits on other vessels such as motorboats (El-Sayed 1987: 118). More generally, during the late 1990s, as a result of the 1992 UNCED, the Kingdom focused its attention on the role of the seas in the global dimension of environmental problems. Also, at a bilateral level, the Kingdom has adopted measures aimed at the resolution of issues that have transboundary implications, such as the settlement of maritime borders, and it has taken part in international regimes such as the regional arrangements of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). These examples indicate that the transformations that have occurred in the world’s maritime affairs, especially since the 1990s, have resulted in attempts by the Kingdom to adapt to a new and complex international policy agenda. However, these moves to accommodate external obligations have not led to an internal integration of maritime policy in Saudi Arabia. This is a missed opportunity for the Kingdom to improve its use of natural resources. As the GSDP (2009: 69) notes, this missed opportunity is due to ignorance:
Marine environments are often grossly undervalued by society and the institutions responsible for making decisions that affect marine biodiversity and resources. This is largely attributable to a lack of knowledge and understanding of the benefits that marine resources provide in maintaining food chains and ecosystems.
Failing to recognize the interdependent nature of maritime management inhibits initiatives for improving productivity and efficiency across multiple policy areas. Accordingly, this book argues that a holistic understanding of the importance of the sea and the development of effective integrated policy for the management of marine resources and maritime activities will produce long-term benefits for Saudi Arabia by helping the nation to preserve its marine environment and maritime heritage for generations to come. Without an integrated maritime policy with an overall strategic approach for managing marine resources, the Kingdom will progressively lose its capacity to handle increasing pressures from maritime challenges. To assist Saudi Arabia in achieving an INMP, this study probes the dominant and prevailing maritime issues that the country faces, and suggests the means by which a comprehensive maritime policy approach can be developed to improve its management of marine resources and maritime activities. Despite the challenge this goal represents, it is achievable, as we can see from the fact that many other countries have already begun the process of developing and implementing INMPs, especially leading maritime nations such as Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA. These countries have demonstrated that the integration of multiple actors and agencies with competing or complementary interests at the national, regional, and local levels is possible in order to establish a cohesive maritime policy based on good governance with an effective institutional framework. Joining all maritime activities together under a single policy umbrella will demand new ways of thinking in Saudi Arabia, new ways of designing strategies, and new ways of implementing them, including sharing information to discern what actions produce the most value; but in our view, it can and must be done.

Sources of data

This study gathered data through both primary and secondary sources. Primary data was obtained on stakeholders’ views about the current sectoral system of marine management, and about the attractiveness of moving to an integrated system. These data were gathered during fieldwork conducted by co-author Hatim Al-Bisher in Saudi Arabia in June–September 2008, which involved 36 interviews, including nine interviews with the following key decision-makers: the Secretary-General of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities; the Deputy Director of the General Survey Commission’sMarine Survey Department; the Deputy Director of the General Presidency of Meteorology and Environment; the Deputy of the Ministry of Agriculture responsible for the Fisheries Resource Agency; the Deputy of Transport Affairs responsible for the General Maritime Department; the President of the Saudi Ports Authority within the Ministry of Transportation; the General Director of the Border Guard; the Director of the Natural Resources and Environment Research Institute of the King Abdul-Aziz City for Science and Technology; and the Director of Saudi Aramco’s Maritime Academy. The remaining 27 interviews were conducted with middle management officials, including Seaports directors, Border Guard Area commanders, Fisheries Centre directors, Tourism Centre directors, and Environment Department directors. In addition, primary data on the same issues were obtained from 230 survey questionnaires administered to participants who did not hold decision-making roles, including employees working for relevant government ministries or departments in every maritime province, together with stakeholders from the private sector and civil society organizations such as the fishermen cooperative societies.
Collecting secondary data involved consulting books, journals, commentaries, papers and official documentation in both English and Arabic, relevant to the concept of INMP and to the importance of developing an INMP in Saudi Arabia. Secondary data were also used in conducting a comparative analysis of the oceans policy development process in four leading maritime nations: Australia, Canada, the UK and the United States, to highlight issues and lessons for Saudi Arabia. Finally, the book draws on the professional knowledge of the first co-author, Hatim Al-Bisher, in his capacity as a senior officer in the Border Guard of Saudi Arabia.

Outline of chapters

The following is an outline of the remaining chapters in the book. Chapter 2 explains the origin and development of the notion of INMP, both in the academic literature and in policy documents. Chapter 3 outlines the current maritime governance and policy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, reflecting its basic system of government. Chapter 4 presents the results of the fieldwork interviews and survey questionnaires, which demonstrate the need to develop a holistic national maritime policy in Saudi Arabia, and which highlight key issues that need to be addressed at the national level. Chapter 5 discusses the implications of the fieldwork and documentary analysis, focusing particularly on what they tell us about the perceived need for a Saudi Arabian INMP, and what institutional problems will affect the ability of existing administrative structures to integrate the maritime dimension into national development strategies. Chapter 6 investigates the experiences of other countries to better understand the main features of the development process of maritime policy. The attempts by four leading maritime nations – Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA – to establish INMPs are comparatively analysed to draw out lessons for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia when considering its own INMP formulation and implementation. The concluding Chapter 7 provides a brief summary of the findings of the study, and explains the most important recommendations for the development and implementation of an INMP in Saudi Arabia.

2 The origin and development of the concept of INMP

Introduction

This chapter traces the origin and development of the concept of INMP, both in the academic literature and in the policies adopted by national and international regimes, programmes and forums.

The origin of the concept of INMP

According to Douvere (2008: 763), the idea of an integrated approach to the mana...

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