COMMENTS ON THE INTERRELATION OF MARITIME ECONOMY, MARITIME GEOGRAPHY AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN THE FLUVIAL-MARITIME AND PORT AREA OF LATIN AMERICA
In 2021, I had the honor of obtaining a scholarship granted by the Network of Women Maritime Authorities of Latin America (MAMLa Network) to attend the Diploma of Maritime Affairs organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC), regional commission of the United Nations (UN), calling my attention significantly, three subjects developed, the three sciences referred to above.
Going into this article, we understand economics as a social science that studies how individuals or societies use or manage scarce resources to satisfy their needs. Such resources can be distributed between the production of goods and services, and the consumption, either present or future, of different people or groups of people in society. In relation to linking the maritime and port concept to the concept of economy, it results in the maritime economy, which is seen as everything related to maritime transport, understood as the action of carrying people (passengers) or things (solid, liquid or gaseous cargoes) by sea or rivers, from one geographical point to another on board a ship for profit and appreciating the ship - port interface in the referred operation.
In attention to Maritime Geography, in current terms, a relevant concept is sustainability, where we can understand that this concept is circumscribed to the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations, ensuring a balance between economic growth, environmental care and social welfare. Knowing and understanding how the maritime geography of our Latin American region is constituted is fundamental for its sustainable use.
In this way, three elements converge in terms of sustainability, in the particular case that concerns us, maritime sustainability related to the blue economy, namely: society, the environment (seas, rivers and other navigable waterways) and the economy.
In the field of International Relations, the object of study lies in the analysis of international relations between sovereign nations in political, economic, social, diplomatic and other matters.
The essential purpose of public international law is to ensure international peace and security, acting as a modeler of the international social order by creating legal norms through the sources of international law. To achieve its purpose and to be able to contribute to the moral and material progress of the subjects, it is essential for public international law to adapt its rules to social reality. An important body of public international law that has a preponderant role in the development of international trade by seas and rivers is the International Maritime Organization (IMO), an international organization that, through its organization, seeks to generate a process of regulatory harmonization among Member States with a view to safety in navigation, respecting human life and protecting the marine environment.
On the other side of the same coin, we find private international law, which is understood as the set of rules, or the legal framework, that regulates relations between individuals in an international context.
Undoubtedly, Maritime Economics, Maritime Geography and International Relations are three sciences that are intrinsically linked in the current fluvial-maritime and port scenario of the region. Knowing them, analyzing them and investigating them for a more efficient and sustainable development in the ship-port interface is vital for a more efficient fluvial-maritime and port transportation in Latin America.
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