Governance of the Portuguese Sea – from Political Actors to Intergovernmental and Sectorial Coordination: A Legal Approach

Portugal’s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1997 brought with it the need to create an appropriate strategy to assist policy makers. This was done by the Strategic Commission for the Oceans, an entity created in 2003 with the aim of promoting a strategic plan based on the sustainable use of the ocean and its resources. More than a place allowing different uses and activities, the ocean itself should be seen as the most valuable natural resource and should be protected, preserved and valued. The political model proposed by the report suggested the creation of a specialised Council of Ministers dedicated to the formulation of policies and planning guidelines, and to the coordination of the integrated management of the sector, which together with an entity of a predominantly technical nature, reach a definition of a global policy for the sea composed of a national strategy, the regular evaluation of sea affairs and the coordination of sectoral policies. This paper begins with the analysis of this strategic reference as a governance model, articulating the intersections between the various actors. A current approach requires this governance model to be multi-level: global, continental/regional, and domestic/local.