Interagency Collaboration and the Legal and Regulatory Frameworks for Maritime Resources Management: A Nigerian Perspective.

Abstract

Since the early 1990s, increased traffic, pollution from atmospheric and land-based human activities have put stress on Nigeria’s maritime domain, giving rise to some legal and regulatory challenges. Interagency collaboration was identified as a cost-effective tool for addressing these challenges in the management of resources in Nigeria’s maritime domain. A qualitative approach in the form of content analysis of texts and related documents was employed in addressing the thematic areas of the paper. The paper found that immense opportunities that could facilitate national development exist in Nigeria’s maritime domain. Consequently, it was concluded that opportunities in Nigeria’s maritime domain could be optimized through interagency collaboration. Against this backdrop, it was recommended that the office of the Hydrographer of the Federation should be established to centrally coordinate the enforcement and implementation of legal and regulatory frameworks by collaborating agencies operating in Nigeria’s maritime domain.

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Keywords: Interagency Collaboration, Legal and Regulatory Frameworks, Maritime Resources, Maritime Domain, Blue Economy.