If one uses Facebook, Facetime, Skype, Netflix, or any application of the internet internationally, a submarine cable is involved. Fibre optic cables bind the world together and computer server farms, maintained by major telecom and content companies, allow vast amounts of data to be stored and retrieved from the cloud. Not often appreciated is the fact that these server locations worldwide are connected by submarine fibre optic cables. In this sense, the cloud is beneath the sea. While submarine communication cables have been in steady use since 1850, their preeminent place in the modern world has never been as dominant and personal as now. Recently, calls have mounted in the context of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) for centralized control of submarine cables and for express or de facto diminishment of the freedoms related to them via the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea, that have served the world’s peoples for so long. In International Submarine Cables and Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, Douglas R. Burnett and Lionel Carter examine the time proven importance of the existing international treaties, the largely peer-reviewed science on the environmental interaction of submarine cables with high seas environments, and the current submarine cable issues in the context of the BBNJ debates.

If one uses Facebook, Facetime, Skype, Netflix, or any application of the internet internationally, a submarine cable is involved. Fibre optic cables bind the world together and computer server farms, maintained by major telecom and content companies, allow vast amounts of data to be stored and retrieved from the cloud. Not often appreciated is the fact that these server locations worldwide are connected by submarine fibre optic cables. In this sense, the cloud is beneath the sea. While submarine communication cables have been in steady use since 1850, their preeminent place in the modern world has never been as dominant and personal as now. Recently, calls have mounted in the context of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) for centralized control of submarine cables and for express or de factodiminishment of the freedoms related to them via the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea, that have served the world's peoples for so long. In International Submarine Cables and Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, Douglas R. Burnett and Lionel Carter examine the time proven importance of the existing international treaties, the largely peer-reviewed science on the environmental interaction of submarine cables with high seas environments, and the current submarine cable issues in the context of the BBNJ debates.

There are many things and services in our everyday life that we take for granted, and telecommunications is one of them. We surf the internet, send emails to friends and colleagues abroad, talk to family members in foreign countries over the phone, book airline seats and make banking transactions without actually realizing and appreciating the sophisticated technology that enables us to do so. This report covers the history and nature of cables, their special status in international law, their interaction with the environment and other ocean users and, finally, the challenges of the future. It is an evidence-based synopsis that aims to improve the quality and availability of information to enhance understanding and cooperation between all stakeholders. UNEP-WCMC in collaboration with the International Cable Protection Committee and UNEP has prepared this new report to provide an objective, factual description of the sub-marine cable industry and the interaction of submarine telecommunications (which route 95% of all international communications traffic) with the marine environment. This important report seeks to focus and guide deliberations and decision making on the wise conservation and protection of the oceans in concert with their sustainable management and use.

Since 2006 the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has been discussing the question of the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. Following the issues raised by the Ad Hoc Working Group (2006 – 2015) and the Preparatory Commission (2016 – 2017) in 2017 the UNGA agreed to convene an intergovernmental conference to discuss these issues. Conserving Biodiversity in Areas beyond National Jurisdiction, edited by David Freestone, brings together a collection of essays covering some of the key issues involved in these debates. The essays are contributed by a number of distinguished scholars and practitioners – many of whom are involved in the UNGA negotiations – and are a useful reference for actors involved in the negotiations as well as for practitioners, scholars, and students following the process.

High Seas Governance: Gaps and Challenges identifies gaps in and challenges to the existing legal regime in the protection and preservation of the marine environment of the high seas, including sensitive marine areas. The gaps identified in the book include the failure of liability and compensation schemes to cover pollution of the high seas and the fact that no state has the responsibility to clean up pollution of the high seas. One common theme of the book is that it is necessary to identify a state other than flag states, port states or coastal states, which should have an obligation to exercise jurisdiction and control over certain activities on the high seas.

This book highlights the critical importance of laying, quick relinking, and protecting submarine cables with timely approval for carriers and cable repairing ships and how these are most challenging in many jurisdictions. It identifies that a dedicated national instrument on submarine cable as a way forward is yet to be appreciated by many States, and presently, there is no model legal framework for national instruments on submarine cables available. To bridge these gaps, the book undertakes a systematic inquiry and analysis of submarine cable regimes' and relevant authorities. It consults existing knowledge on international law on cables and analyzes specific principles and provisions on laying repair and maintenance of submarine cables and states’ obligations towards protecting cables from vulnerabilities. It touches upon cable regulation in the deep sea concerning the International Seabed Authority and proposed biodiversity agreement. It indicates suitable measures on cable laying, etc., and security risks in the marine space beyond the national jurisdictions. To map States’ response, it explores the domestic cable regimes, including both the selected jurisdictions and Australia and New Zealand, analyses specific legal provisions and institutional set-up, and demonstrates state practices, approaches, and loopholes in the governance of the cable system within national jurisdictions. The book suggests adopting the spatial ocean management approach, dedicated regulatory authority, a competent enforcement agency, strict liability with exemplary punishment on cable damage, and the cable system to strengthen the cable system's management. Finally, it arranges the fundamental premises of a common minimum framework for national instruments seeking coastal states’ deliberations in implementing initiatives towards a robust law and policy for reliability, resiliency, and security of the cable system. The cable industries, pipeline, fishing, shipping industries, academicians, government authorities, international bodies, and the maritime community worldwide are looking at the issues and challenges of submarine cable regimes, particularly national regimes and suggestive remedial measures. These stakeholders will find the book a useful reference.

This book presents high-quality research on the concepts and developments in the field of information and communication technologies, and their applications. It features 134 rigorously selected papers (including 10 poster papers) from the Future of Information and Communication Conference 2020 (FICC 2020), held in San Francisco, USA, from March 5 to 6, 2020, addressing state-of-the-art intelligent methods and techniques for solving real-world problems along with a vision of future research Discussing various aspects of communication, data science, ambient intelligence, networking, computing, security and Internet of Things, the book offers researchers, scientists, industrial engineers and students valuable insights into the current research and next generation information science and communication technologies.