Anthropogenic and climate-related stressors challenge the health of nearly every part of the global oceans. They affect the capacity of oceans to regulate global weather and climate, as well as ocean productivity and food services, and result in the loss or degradation of marine habitats and biodiversity. Moreover, they have a negative impact on maritime economic sectors and on the social welfare of dependent coastal populations. In order to overcome the deficiencies of traditional single-sector management, in the recent decades several scientific approaches emerged, based on the view of marine systems as Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS), i.e. systems where components interact in non-linear, path dependent ways, with lock-in and feedback loop mechanisms, and unpredictable effects also across scales. These approaches have been introduced into the texts of several international agreements related to marine CAS, and related management practices, with contrasting results in relation to effectiveness and integration of governance. This thesis evaluates for the first time the current international and European legal frameworks from the perspective of marine CAS. To accomplish this objective, four research objectives are formulated: (1) Develop a framework for marine CAS assessment and management; (2) Evaluate the entire European Union (EU) legal framework against the framework developed; (3) Evaluate the international legal framework for the assessment and management of the global oceans against the framework developed; and (4) Evaluate the implementation of the EU and global legal frameworks into practice.
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