Bridging the Gap between Legal and Institutional Developments within Regional Seas Frameworks

AbstractThe last four decades have seen a considerable development of regional environmental law, especially within the United Nations Environment Programme’s Regional Seas Programme. However, implementation remains far from satisfactory. Among the enabling conditions that would favour more systematic implementation, appropriate institutional frameworks are key. It is therefore timely to examine the various ways in which institutional developments may keep up with legal progress. This article provides an international overview of institutional arrangements set up in various regional seas frameworks, and underlines common patterns as well as the variety of options experienced. It then sheds light on the Nairobi Convention framework as a typical case of a gap between legal and institutional developments. It draws on the worldwide review to explore a number of ways by which the institutional framework in the Western Indian Ocean region could be brought up to speed with the legal framework.