ABSTRACT

This volume has addressed principled oceans governance from the perspective of two large coastal states that, during the past decade, have actively engaged in domestic, regional and international ocean governance agendas. It would be wrong to think that between them Australia and Canada can set the international ocean governance agenda, though they have certainly attempted to influence that agenda both regionally and globally.1 What can be said is that a review of the Australian and Canadian experiences assists in understanding the “lessons learned” from both their successes and failures. Given the vast extent of their respective maritime domains, these lessons have application for nearly all coastal states seeking to engage in an oceans governance process. In addition, because of their distinctive political and constitutional dynamics, it is possible to identify particular challenges not only for other federations, but also for States which have complex and multilayered domestic governance structures. In this final chapter a brief review will be undertaken to identify the lessons learned from Australian/Canadian experiences, before turning to assess the challenges at the global, regional and national levels.