The legal regime of Planet Earth is not part
of International Space Law. However, the positions and decisions
of States and international organizations on the exploration and
use of outer space, including all celestial bodies – except the
Earth – are always taken on the basis of considerations,
concerns, interests and political objectives which are located
just here, on our Planet. To look after the Earth, in fact, is
not the specific matter of International Space Law, as its own
name indicates. Nevertheless it is one of its most important
missions.
Describing space activities, at the beginning
of the 70ies, Manfred Lachs pointed out: "Though this new sphere
of man’s activity is apparently remote, it is nevertheless
closely linked with what happens on our globe. It is from Earth
that space objects begin their journey, from here they are
controlled. Man’s journey into outer space begins on Earth and
on Earth it comes to an end. It also became swiftly apparent
that, while phenomena in outer space could be monitored from
Earth, terrestrial events could also be monitored, or Earth’s
environment influenced, from outer space."²
Today we know that this challenge involves
nothing less than the high responsibility of protecting this
Planet and even its survival. The international community has
become increasingly aware of the huge threats to Earth in our
days, let alone in the next decades. This was clearly underlined
in the recent reports prepared by the United Nations
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (UNIPCC) 3.
Thanks to such an extensive research carried
out by 600 scientists and experts from 40 countries we received
from a highly reliable source - precisely on the eve of the 50th
anniversary of the Space Age- the alarming information that
climate change and the global warming produced by human action
have created an extremely dangerous situation for the present
and the future of the Earth. Consequently, it is pressing to
take all possible measures to fight the effects of the
calamities we already are suffering, which tend to intensify
more and more in the following decades.
It is an unprecedented stage in human
history. All means and instruments should be applied in a most
creative manner to ensure a safer future for the "brave blue
world" and its people. "The response of law became an urgent
necessity", as Lachs would say. International Space Law is
called to play an important role in these decisive worldwide
efforts. To define such a role is an emergent task.
"Brave blue world" is the title of an
editorial published by the British scientific journal Nature
in February 2007, after the first report of UNIPCC. It says that
"mapping the march of global change and exploring possible
futures have an urgency that the study of eternal verities and
ancient deserts cannot match", because "the Moon is not going
anywhere; Earth is." In other words, the Earth is going down.
The title is not a coincidence. There is in
it an obvious reference to "New Brave World", the well-known
novel by Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), first published in 1932. Set
in London in 2540, this ironic science-fiction story describes a
dark future the mankind, in spite of its fantastic technological
advances. "Brave blue world" seems to be an opportune alert to
prevent the worse, using space resources and capabilities.
Not by chance, the Legal Subcommittee of the
United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
(COPUOS), in its 46th session held this year, agreed to invite
International Institute of Space Law (IISL) and European Centre
of Space Law (ECSL) to organize a symposium on "Legal
implications of space applications for global climate change" in
the framework of its 47th session, in 2008. Especially important
is that this agreement of the Legal Subcommittee was made with
the aim of its possible inclusion as a single item on the agenda
of its 48th session, in 2009.4
The present paper aims at offering some
reflections on this challenge, taking into account the
obligations and commitments concerning the Earth embodied in the
1967 Outer Space Treaty and in other related agreements and
declarations. Particular attention is equally focused on
proposals for the improvement of the current corpus iuris
spatialis, and for the development of new instruments on the
fundamental relationship between Earth and outer space.
Perhaps we could call this special field
"Space Law for Planet Earth".
The sources of Space Law for Planet Earth
The main documents here would be:
I) Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons Tests in
the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water, 19635;
II) Treaty on Principles Governing the
Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space,
including the Moon and other Celestial Bodies (Outer Space
Treaty), 19676;
III) Convention on International Liability
for Damage Caused by Space Objects, 19727;
IV) Principles Relating to Remote Sensing of
the Earth from Outer Space, 19868;
V) Principles Relevant to the Use of Nuclear
Power Sources in Outer Space, 19929;
VI) The United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change, 199210:
VII) The Earth Charter11,
1997-2000;
VIII) The Space Millennium: Vienna
Declaration on Space and Human Development, UNISPACE III, 199912;
IX) The Charter on Cooperation to Achieve the
Coordinated Use of Space Facilities in the Event of Natural or
Technological Disasters, 200013;
X) The 10 years plan to build the Global
Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), created by the
intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO), 200514.
Each one of these documents has its own
reasons to be included on this list.
Ban on Nuclear Weapons Testing
The Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT) of 1963
prohibits nuclear weapons tests "or any other nuclear explosion"
in the atmosphere, in outer space, and under water. While not
banning tests underground, it does prohibit nuclear explosions
in this environment if they cause "radioactive debris to be
present outside the territorial limits of the State under whose
jurisdiction or control" the explosions were conducted. In
accepting limitations on testing, the nuclear powers accepted as
a common goal "an end to the contamination of man's environment
by radioactive substances."
In 1988, Mexico, Indonesia, Peru, Sri Lanka,
Yugoslavia, and Venezuela presented a proposal to amend the PTBT
and to have a special amendment conference to consider this
proposal. The proposal was to extend the PTBT prohibitions to
all environments, transforming the agreement into a
comprehensive test ban. The conference for consideration of the
proposed amendment was held in January 1991. The United States
strongly opposed to using the PTBT as a vehicle for negotiating
a Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), made it clear to
all participants that it would block any attempt to amend the
PTBT by consensus.15
In despite of this, negotiations for a CTBT
began in 1993, with strong support from the UN General Assembly.
Intensive efforts were made over the next three years to draft
the Treaty text and its two annexes, culminating in the adoption
of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) on September
10, 1996, by the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The CTBT, which prohibits all nuclear test explosions, was
opened for signature in New York on September 24, 1996, when it
was signed by 71 States, including five nuclear-weapon States
(United States, China, France, Russian Federation and United
Kingdom).16 India, Pakistan and North Korea
did not sign. India and Pakistan conducted back-to-back nuclear
tests in 1998, while North Korea tested a nuclear device in
2006. Article XIV of the CTBT requires ratification by 44 named
states, before the Treaty can enter into force. Of these 44
states, three of them – India, Pakistan, and North Korea – have
not signed the Treaty. Further seven States – China, Colombia,
Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, and the United States – have
signed but not ratified the Treaty. It is considered possible
that some countries may resume nuclear test explosions in
future.17
Meanwhile, a comprehensive nuclear test ban,
in Earth as in outer space, is rightly regarded as conditio
sine qua non for the effective security and protection of
our Planet.
Outer Space Treaty
Some principles of this treaty operate as
suborbital flights: they go up and return to Earth. They aim at
outer space, but have their eyes on the Earth.
Article I of the Outer Space Treaty, for
instance, simply says: "The exploration and use of outer space,
including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall be carried
out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries,
irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific
development, and shall be the province of all mankind." And its
Article III establishes that the space activities shall be
carried out "in accordance with international law, including the
Charter of the United Nations, in the interest of maintaining
international peace and security and promoting international
co-operation and understanding." In both cases the objective is
to benefit all countries, all humankind, assuring peace,
security, co-operation and understanding in our Planet.
Its Article IV, in turn, prohibits to place
"in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons
or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, install such
weapons on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer
space in any other manner." Here, the central idea is not only
to prevent the space pollution, but above all to protect the
Earth and its inhabitants from a catastrophe of incalculable
consequences – maybe hundreds times worse than those of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The same Article IV, in paragraph 2, fully
demilitarizes the Moon, Mars and other celestial bodies, to be
used only for peaceful purposes: "The Moon and other celestial
bodies shall be used (…) exclusively for peaceful purposes. The
establishment of military bases, installations and
fortifications, the testing of any type of weapons and the
conduct of military manoeuvres on celestial bodies shall be
forbidden." It means a relief for the Moon and Mars, our first
settlements planned out of the Earth. Contrary to what happened
in our planet, they could have a history without wars. As far as
can be predicted we are going to land again on the Moon within
30-40 years, this time to live and work thereupon. And, should
the current the law still be in force, we should arrive there
carrying no guns – a real novelty in the history of our
civilization.
Moreover, Article IX provides that the
studies of outer space and celestial bodies, as well as their
exploration should try to "avoid their harmful contamination and
also adverse changes in the environment of the Earth resulting
from the introduction of extraterrestrial matter." If necessary,
appropriate measures for this purpose must be taken. The
objective, therefore, is to prevent the contamination not only
of outer space and celestial bodies, but also of the Earth.
In our time, however, these provisions are
not sufficient anymore. They need to be updated, in order to
become more effective before the complex Earth environmental
problems the future may bring.
In this context, Space Law becomes
indispensable to play a proactive and a preventive action, as
never before.
As Edith Brown Weiss writes, today "it is
crucial to develop international normative arrangements to
prevent harms, rather than try to compensate for it later.
International law has been moving in the direction of developing
preventive norms."18 In fact, this
compensation could become unviable.
Liability Convention
As a victim-oriented, this convention
provides, in its Article II, an absolute liability to compensate
damages caused by a space object on the surface of the Earth or
to an aircraft flight. This provision would certainly be fairer
if the definition of the term "damage", in Article I (a),
included damage to Earth environment, besides "loss of life,
personal injury or other impairment of health, loss of or damage
to property of States or of persons, natural or juridical, or
property of international intergovernmental organizations." The
need of an enlarged definition was demonstrated by the accident
with Cosmos 954, a Soviet nuclear-powered surveillance
satellite. It crashed on January 24, 1978, in the Northwest
Territories, Canada, spreading its radioactive fuel on a
600-kilometre path. The search for radioactive material covered
124,000 km² (48,000 square miles). The Protocol signed by Soviet
Union and Canada on April 2, 1981, to "full and final
settlement" of the case, does not mention the Liability
Convention, because it lacks the reference to environment
damage.19
Remote sensing of the Earth
Remote sensing activities from outer space
are essential for Earth protection. However, the 1986 Remote
Sensing Principles must be updated, developed and strengthened
to face up to the dramatic demands of our time.
Principle V, for instance, provides that
"States carrying out remote sensing activities shall promote
international co-operation in these activities. To this end,
they shall make available to other States opportunities for
participation therein. Such participation shall be based in each
case on equitable and mutually acceptable terms."
These terms and this approach come from a
time when international cooperation was a mere possibility and
an opportunity, not an imperative as today. Remote sensing
activities became essential to any international mobilization to
face the planetary crisis. So it is essential to create a
multilateral and comprehensive program of cooperation not only
to stimulate, but also to equip as many as possible countries
with remote sensing capabilities. It is a question of global
security.
Principle X provides rightly that "remote
sensing shall promote the protection of the Earth's natural
environment." However, the next sentence – "to this end, States
participating in remote sensing activities that have identified
information in their possession that can be used to avert any
phenomenon harmful to the Earth's natural environment shall
disclose such information to States concerned" – is too modest
and narrow to meet the claims of our days.
The same can be said about the Principle XI,
which appropriately establishes that the "remote sensing shall
promote the protection of mankind from natural disasters." The
problem is the restrict character of the next sentence – "To
this end, States participating in remote sensing activities that
have identified processed data and analyzed information in their
possession that may be useful to States affected by natural
disasters, or likely to be affected by impending natural
disasters, shall transmit such data and information to States
concerned as promptly as possible."
As to Principle XII on the access of sensed
States to remote sensing primary, processed, and available
analyzed data, it is quite positive that this access have to be
opened "as soon as the data are produced." The question here is
to clarify the concept of "access on a non-discriminatory basis
and on reasonable cost terms", which can be an impediment to the
effective and quick utilization of the remote sensing data
To be realistic, the present Earth situation
requires a collective, permanently coordinated and renewed plan
of actions to study, foresee, prevent, avoid, reduce and
minimize, as rapidly as possible – in really global scale – all
the possible chains of harm phenomena and natural catastrophes.
The use of nuclear power sources (NPS) in
outer space
The guidelines and criteria – established by
Principles Relevant to the Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer
Space, of 1992 – for safe use of these sources are correct:
"States (…) shall endeavour to protect individuals, populations
and the biosphere against radiological hazards. The design and
use of space objects with nuclear power sources on board shall
ensure, with a high degree of reliability that, in foreseeable
operational or accidental circumstances, hazards are kept below
acceptable levels." The goals for radiation protection were
based on the recommendation of the International Commission on
Radiological Protection.
The review and possible revision of the
Principles Relevant to the Use of NPS in Outer Space is under
consideration of the COPUOS Legal Subcommittee, taking into
account the concerns of all countries, in particular of
developing countries. The COPUOS Scientific and Technical
Subcommittee is also studying the objectives, scope and powers
of an international, technically based framework of goals and
recommendations for the safety of NPS applications in outer
space. This Subcommittee had endorsed a new three-year work plan
for its Working Group on the Use of NPS in Outer Space for the
period 2007-2010. This Subcommittee agreed with the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to set up a joint
group of experts in order to prepare and publish the safety
framework for NPS applications in outer space by 2010.
It is evident that a legal framework on the
use of nuclear power sources in outer space should be in
accordance with the principles of peaceful use of outer space,
preserving the interests of all States and, of course,
strengthening the Planet's security.
Convention on Climate Change, 1992
The United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international environmental treaty
adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED), the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, in 1992. It was opened for signature on May 9, 1992, and
entered into force on March 21, 1994. Its stated objective is
"to achieve stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in
the atmosphere at a low enough level to prevent dangerous
anthropogenic interference with the climate system." The treaty
is aimed at reducing emissions of greenhouse gas in order to
combat global warming. It is considered legally non-binding as
it set no mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions for
individual nations and contained no enforcement provisions.
However, it has provisions for possible updates (called
"protocols") that may set mandatory emission limits. The
principal update is the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which to date has
been ratified by 175 countries, among which there the United
States and China are not included.
The UNFCCC may be seen as a source of the
Space Law for Planet Earth by several reasons, inter alia,
1) It affirms that "the global nature of
climate change calls for the widest possible cooperation by all
countries and their participation in an effective and
appropriate international response, in accordance with their
common but differentiated responsibilities and respective
capabilities and their social and economic conditions";
2) It establishes in its Article 4 two
important commitments:
"(g) Promote and cooperate in scientific,
technological, technical, socio-economic and other research,
systematic observation and development of data archives related
to the climate system and intended to further the understanding
and to reduce or eliminate the remaining uncertainties regarding
the causes, effects, magnitude and timing of climate change and
the economic and social consequences of various response
strategies;
(h) Promote and cooperate in the full, open
and prompt exchange of relevant scientific, technological,
technical, socio-economic and legal information related to the
climate system and climate change, and to the economic and
social consequences of various response strategies."
To be true, this kind of required cooperation
"in scientific, technological, technical, socio-economic and
other research, systematic observation and development of data
archives related to the climate system" necessarily implies an
intensive collaboration in space activities related to the
protection of the Earth.
The Earth Charter
This document is defined as "a widely
recognized, global consensus statement on ethics and values for
a sustainable future. Developed over a period of ten years, in
what has been called the most extensive global consultation
process ever associated with an international declaration, the
Earth Charter has been formally endorsed by over 2,500
organizations, including global institutions such as UNESCO and
the World Conservation Union (IUCN)."
A draft UN Earth Charter was developed for
the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, but was not adopted
by this conference. In 1994, the Secretary-General of the Rio
Summit, Maurice Strong, and the former President of the Soviet
Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, working through their organizations
(Earth Council and Green Cross International respectively),
restarted the Earth Charter as a civil society initiative, with
initial facilitation and support from the government of the
Netherlands. In 1997, they convened a formal, high-level, and
independent Earth Charter Commission, integrated by twenty-five
world recognized leaders. After a large process of consultation
(over 5,000 people, the commission came to consensus on the
Earth Charter in March, 2000, at a meeting held at UNESCO
headquarters in Paris. The Earth Charter was formally launched
later that year, in ceremonies at The Peace Palace in The Hague,
Netherlands.
From 2007, national governments began to make
even stronger and more formal commitments to the Earth Charter.
The Brazilian Ministry of Environment entered into a formal
agreement (with the Earth Charter International Secretariat and
a Brazilian human rights NGO) to promote the Earth Charter to
every sector of Brazilian society, as well as internationally.
Two ministries of the Mexican government made public commitments
to the Charter in the context of a Presidential celebration of
Earth Day. Other states and city governments began, or
strengthened, similar processes of making formal public
commitments to implement the charter in major policies and
programs, including the State of Queensland, Australia, the
Republic of Tatarstan in the Russian Federation, and cities like
Oslo (Norway), Munich (Germany), and Calgary (Canada). The Earth
Charter became a reference for the development of policy,
legislation, and international standards and agreements.20
According to the Earth Charter, "we stand at
a critical moment in Earth’s history" and "the choice is ours:
form a global partnership to care for Earth and one another or
risk the destruction of ourselves and the diversity of life." It
recommends us to "ensure that the use of orbital and outer space
supports environmental protection and peace" as a needed action
to "promote a culture of tolerance, non violence, and peace".
Vienna Declaration on Space and Human
Development
"The Space Millennium: Vienna Declaration on
Space and Human Development" was approved by the States
participating in the Third United Nations Conference on the
Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE III),
held in Vienna, Austria, from 19 to 30 July 1999.
For protecting Earth and managing its
resources, the Declaration recommends the following actions as
"the nucleus of a strategy to address global challenges in the
future":
- "To develop a comprehensive, worldwide,
environmental monitoring strategy for long term global
observations by building on existing space and ground
capabilities, through the coordination of the activities of
various entities and organizations involved in such efforts;
- To improve the management of the Earth’s
natural resources by increasing and facilitating the research
and operational use of remote sensing data, enhancing the
coordination of remote sensing systems and increasing access to,
and the affordability of, imagery;
- To develop and implement the Integrated
Global Observing Strategy so as to enable access to and the use
of space-based and other Earth observation data;
- To enhance weather and climate forecasting
by expanding international cooperation in the field of
meteorological satellite applications;
- To ensure, to the extent possible, that all
space activities, in particular those which may have harmful
effects on the local and global environment, are carried out in
a manner that limits such effects and to take appropriate
measures to achieve that objective."
Space Charter and Major Disasters
Following the UNISPACE III recommendations,
the European Space Agency (ESA), the French National Centre of
Space Studies (CNES), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA)
initiated the International "Charter on Cooperation to Achieve
the Coordinated Use of Space Facilities in the Event of Natural
or Technological Disasters". It was signed on October 20, 2000,
and became operational on November 1, the same year.
Currently, 14 Space Agencies are members of
the Charter, with their space resources: European Space Agency
(ESA) – ERS, Envisat; Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES)
– Spot; Canadian Space Agency (CSA) – Radarsat; Indian Space
Research Organization (ISRO) – IRS; National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – Poes, Goes; Argentina's
Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE) – Sac-C;
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) – Alos; United States
Geological Survey (USGS) – Landsat; DMC International Imaging
(DMC); Centre National des Techniques Spatiales (Algeria) –
Alsat-1; National Space Research and Development (Nigeria) –
NigeriaSat; Tübitak-Bilten (Turkey) – Bilsat-1; BNSC and Surrey
Satellite Technology Limited (UK) – UK-DMC; China National Space
Administration (CNSA) – FY, SJ, ZY satellite series.
The Charter aims at providing a unified
system of space data acquisition and delivery to those affected
by natural or man-made disasters through Authorized Users. Each
member agency has committed resources to support the provisions
of the Charter and thus is helping to mitigate the effects of
disasters on human life and property.
An Authorized User can now call a single
number to request the mobilization of the space and associated
ground resources of the member agencies to obtain data and
information on a disaster occurrence.
A 24-hour on-duty operator receives the call,
checks the identity of the requestor and verifies that the User
Request form sent by the Authorized User is correctly filled
out. The operator passes the information to an Emergency On-Call
Officer who analyzes the request and the scope of the disaster
with the Authorized User, and prepares an archive and
acquisition plan using available space resources. Data
acquisition and delivery takes place on an emergency basis, and
a Project Manager, who is qualified in data ordering, handling
and application, assists the user throughout the process.
In 2004, the United Nations Office for Outer
Space Affairs (UNOOSA) became a cooperating body to promote the
charter and involve various agencies responding to natural
disasters and emergencies.
By August 2007, the charter has been
activated 141 times to assist on emergencies like floods, fires,
landslides, typhoons, volcanic eruptions, oil spills, tsunamis
and earthquakes occurring the world over. With a low response
time of 38 to 48 hours and high reliability data, the charter
seems to confirm the effectiveness of space information for
emergency management. The charter provided valuable data during
the Hurricane Katrina activation, where levees were breached and
floodwaters submerged a part of New Orleans, USA, on August 29,
2005. When the tsunami struck countries across South Asia and
Southeast Asia, on December 26, 2004, charter member countries
swung into action to release about 200 sensor images from their
satellites.
The charter mechanism will no doubt be more
effective when more countries acquire the adequate national
infrastructure and well formed specialists to receive, process,
analyze, enrich and use different kinds of satellite data in the
territories under their jurisdiction.
GEO and GEOSS
The Group on Earth Observation (GEO) was
formally founded at the Third Earth Observation Summit in
February 2005 to carry out the Global Earth Observation System
of Systems (GEOSS) 10-Year Implementation Plan.
This plan is based on the idea that
"understanding the Earth system—its weather, climate, oceans,
atmosphere, water, land, geodynamics, natural resources,
ecosystems, and natural and human-induced hazards—is crucial to
enhancing human health, safety and welfare, alleviating human
suffering including poverty, protecting the global environment,
reducing disaster losses, and achieving sustainable
development." And that "observations of the Earth system
constitute critical input for advancing this understanding."
GEOSS is conceived to work with and build
upon existing national, regional, and international systems to
provide comprehensive, coordinated Earth observations from
thousands of instruments worldwide, transforming the data they
collect into vital information for society. The objective is to
yield a broad range of societal benefits, including: reducing
loss of life and property from natural and human-induced
disasters; understanding environmental factors affecting human
health and well-being; improving management of energy resources;
understanding, assessing, predicting, mitigating, and adapting
to climate variability and change; improving water resource
management through better understanding of the water cycle;
improving weather information, forecasting and warning;
improving the management and protection of terrestrial, coastal
and marine ecosystems; supporting sustainable agriculture and
combating desertification; understanding, monitoring and
conserving biodiversity.
Disaster-induced losses can be reduced
through observations relating to hazards such as: wild land
fires, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, subsidence,
landslides, avalanches, ice, floods, extreme weather, and
pollution events.
GEOSS is thought to bring a more timely
dissemination of information through better coordinated systems
for monitoring, predicting, risk assessment, early warning,
mitigating, and responding to hazards at local, national,
regional, and global levels.
This system may be considered as a step
toward addressing the challenges articulated by the United
Nations Millennium Declaration and the 2002 World Summit on
Sustainable Development, including the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals. GEOSS is also important to further
the implementation of international environmental treaty
obligations.
GEO is established on a voluntary and legally
non-binding basis, with voluntary contributions to support
activities. It meets in plenary at least annually at the
senior-official level, and periodically at the Ministerial
level. Its decisions are taken by consensus of its Members. The
GEO Secretariat is located in Geneva.21
Earth protection and common security system
All these documents should be brought
together under the general name of "Space Law for Planet Earth".
This course of action may be seen as a valuable advance towards
the creation of a true Earth protection and common security
space system in a not so distant future.
In fact, we already feel the need of such a
comprehensive system which could be built gradually in so far as
we achieve global political maturity and a world-wide public
awareness of these issues.
In this sense, the Space Law for Planet Earth
should be improved in at least six directions:
1) To enlarge, detail and strengthen the
existing agreements, principles, rules and recommendations
related to the Earth protection and security by means of space
technologies;
2) To stimulate and help all countries – or
at least the majority of them – to build and maintain a
competent infrastructure to receive, process, analyze, enrich
and use different kinds of satellite data in national programs
of sustainable development, as well as preventive and emergency
plan of actions to face all natural disasters eventualities and
assist other countries, if necessary;
3) To regulate the issue of space debris, in
order to minimize and prevent damages to outer space and Earth
environment, avoiding orbital disasters that could cause
incalculable harms to the life in this Planet. A valuable
reference here could be the "International Instrument on the
Protection of the Environment from Damage caused by Space
Debris"²², adopted by the 66th Conference of
the International Law Association (ILA), held in Buenos Aires,
Argentine, on August 1994.
4) To discuss the creation of a multilateral
agreement and an International Organization for Common Security
in Outer Space²³, with the mission to prevent the
weaponization of outer space and military conflicts in this
environment, as such an action would be likely to entail dire
consequences to the Earth;
5) To study the viability and usefulness of
building a space traffic management regime as a "set of
technical and regulatory provisions for promoting safe access
into outer space, operations in outer space and return from
outer space to Earth free from physical or radio-frequency
interference", as proposed by the International Academy of
Astronautics (IAA). Considering the growing intensification of
space activities, it is possible to identify certain urgency and
expect invaluable benefits from this project, including economic
ones.24
6) To deepen studies and proposals on the
creation of a global system to protect our Planet and its
inhabitants from near-Earth objects (NEOs). According to the
conclusions of the Planetary Defense Conference: Protecting
Earth from Asteroids, held in California, USA, in 2004, "the
future impacts by comets and asteroids are certainty" and "such
impacts could have severe consequences – even ending
civilization and humanity’s existence."25
As William E. Burrows rightly noted, "using
space to protect civilization, providing an environment in which
it is able to collectively thrive and grow to its limitless
potential, will transform humankind from its traditional role as
the hapless victim of fate to one better able to control its
destiny and fulfil its inherent, and perhaps unique, potential
for greatness." 26
--------------------------------
Notes and references
1) See <www.nature.com/nature/journal/v445/n7127/full/445459a.html>
2) Lachs, Manfred, El derecho del espacio
ultraterrestre, Fondo de Cultura Económica, México, 1977, p.
7.
3) IPCC was created in 1988 as part of the
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations
Environment Program (UNEP). See: <www.ipcc.ch/>
4) A/AC.105/891 – Report of the Legal
Subcommittee on its forty-sixth session held in Vienna from 26
March to 5 April 2007.
5) See: <www.state.gov/t/ac/trt/4797.htm>
6) See: <www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/SpaceLaw/treaties.html>
7) See: <www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/SpaceLaw/treaties.html>
8) See: <www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/SpaceLaw/treaties.html>
9) See: <www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/SpaceLaw/treaties.html>
10) See: <http://unfccc.int/2860.php>
11) See: <www.earthcharter.org/innerpg.cfm?id_menu=19>
12) See: <www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/unisp-3/index.html>
13) See: <www.disasterscharter.org/charter_e.html>
14) See: <www.earthobservations.org/index.html>
15) See: <www.state.gov/t/ac/trt/4797.htm>
16) See: <http://www.ctbto.org/>
17) See: <www.acronym.org.uk/ctbt/index.htm>
18) Weiss, Edith Brown, In fairness to
future generations: International Law, Common Patrimony, and
Intergenerational Equity, The United Nations University,
1989, p. 291.
19) See: <www.jaxa.jp/library/space_law/chapter_3/3-2-2-1_e.html>
20) See: <www.earthcharter.org/>
21) See: <www.earthobservations.org/index.html>
22) Williams, Silvia Maureen, Halocarbon –
Aviation – Space Debris: legal and political Aspects. In:
Perspectives of Air Law, Space Law, and International
Business Law for the Next Century, (Edited by Karl-Heiz
Böckstigel), (Proceeding of an International Colloquium,
Cologne, June, 7-9, 1995. Heymanns, 1996, p. 245-256.
23) Wolter, Detlev, Common Security in
Outer Space and International Law, Unidir – United Nations
Institute for Disarmament Research, Geneva, Switzerland, United
Nations, 2006.
24) Cosmic Study on Space Traffic
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2006.
25) Burrows, William E., The Survival
Imperative – Using Space to Protect Earth, Appendix B, USA,
New York: A Tom Doherty Associated Book, 2006.
26) Burrows, William E., idem ibid, p. 250.
