Exclusive Economic Zone (Eez)

EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE (EEZ)
An exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has
special rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy
production from water and wind. It stretches from the outer limit of the territorial sea (12
nautical miles from the baseline) out to 200 nautical miles from the coast of the state in
question. It is also referred to as a maritime continental margin and, in colloquial usage, may
include the continental shelf. The difference between the territorial sea and the exclusive
economic zone is that the first confers full sovereignty over the waters, whereas the second is
merely a "sovereign right" which refers to the coastal state's rights below the surface of the
sea.
The concept of the exclusive economic zone is an essential element of compromises and
trade-offs that constitutes the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea. It is a concept which
has received rapid and widespread acceptance in state practice and is thus now considered by
some to be part of customary international law.
REFERENCE TO INDIA:
Some salient features and characteristics of Indian EEZ are:
 India‘s maritime core interests lie in protecting exclusive economic zone (EEZ). India
has obtained a wide exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of about 2.172-milion km in all
along the 7500 km long coastline around it. By volume, ninety per cent of India‘s
global trade is carried out through sea-borne.
 Over 65% of the world‘s known oil reserves are located in the Indian Ocean Region
(IOR), and 40% of the world‘s offshore oil production comes from the countries
bordering the Indian Ocean. Seventy per cent of the petroleum products of the world
are transported across the Indian Ocean.
 The living and nonliving resources in this zone, which measures about two-third of
the landmass of the country, are exclusive to India, so also the trading and transport
facilities navigated through this area.
 Indian EEZ sustains one of the last healthy Tuna populations in the world.
 Moreover, several million people living along the coastline are directly influenced by
oceanography of the EEZ, various environmental hazards and related social issues.
Territorial Rights and Delimitation of Jurisdictional Waters

Within its EEZ, a coastal State has:
a. Sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring, exploiting, conserving and managing
natural resources, whether living or nonliving, of the seabed and subsoil and the super
adjacent waters and with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and
exploration of the zone, such as the production of energy from the water, currents and
winds;
b. Jurisdiction as provided for in international law with regard to the establishment and
use of artificial islands, installations, and structures, marine scientific research, and
the protection and preservation of the marine environment, and
c. Other rights and duties provided for under international law.
EEZ Waters of India Mainland
The size of the Indian EEZ is estimated at 2.02-2.2 million sq km, covering both the western
and eastern coasts, as well as the island territories of Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea and the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal. The variance of 180,000 sq km is due to
the absence of published baselines of the country and a series of minor hydrographical
differences. Moreover, the size of the EEZ is expected to increase even further by the year
2004, in view of the legal provision of extending the continental shelf to 350 nm, if
preliminary exploration of the extended area is completed by then. This could provide India
an additional EEZ of approximately 1.5 million sq km.
In the EEZ, India possesses the following rights and jurisdictions:
 Other states could utilize the resources of the EEZ only with the prior permission of
the Indian government.
 In terms of warfare, the EEZ is to be considered similar to the high seas, but for the
additional obligation to have "due regard to the rights and duties of the coastal state".
Balancing balance of legal, economic and political interest pertaining to the EEZ is challenging in
contemporary times. In today‘s world, more interdependence between nations and more integration of
world economy through trade by seaborne makes EEZ of India and Andaman and Nicobar Islands key
element in movements of ships in the Indian waters. Considering the size, dynamic nature, and
unpredictability of the EEZ, it is particularly difficult to design a governance regime. In the exclusive
economic zone a coastal state has been given sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and
exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources.
The Convention refers to specific matters which a coastal state should take into account in the
management of the zone. It contains provisions requiring a state to enter into agreements with other
states, either bilaterally, sub-regionally or regionally.

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Exclusive Economic Zone (Eez)

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EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE (EEZ)

Some salient features and characteristics of Indian EEZ are:

Territorial Rights and Delimitation of Jurisdictional Waters

EEZ Waters of India Mainland

In the EEZ, India possesses the following rights and jurisdictions:

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