Abstract
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In this chapter Warner and Kaye examine the impact of climate change upon maritime security in the oceans of the Asia-Pacific. They argue that climate change might be viewed as a ���threat multiplier��� of global and regional insecurity drivers including overfishing, poverty, social fragility and transnational crime. This includes the human security issue of people displacement from climate change impacts and the exacerbation of existing maritime disputes from physical alterations to coastlines and inundation of small islands. Warner and Kaye suggest that multilateral collaboration is needed at many levels to effectively manage these threats to maritime security in the region. The chapter discusses a variety of global and regional initiatives in the Asia-Pacific with the potential to mitigate the maritime security implications of climate change, including: transboundary marine environmental protection initiatives; fisheries conservation and sustainable use agreements; cooperative arrangements to combat transnational crime; and creative solutions to maritime disputes. The authors find that multilateral initiatives in place within the region are currently capable of tackling many of these issues, but with the forecast adverse impacts of climate change to come, collaborative initiatives to mitigate negative effects on food and human security as well as the marine environment will need to be reinforced and augmented at all levels.