Private Islands

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Artificial Islands: A Unique Alternative

By Islomaniac | June 16, 2007

It seems that as the human population grows so to does our need and desire to expand into new areas. We see this happening all over the globe, with people moving into deserts, rainforest’s and arctic areas. Regions that have tended to be sparsely populated in the past. In addition urban areas, particularly along coastal areas are becoming more crowded and polluted.

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Given these trends there has been an increase in the demand for private islands. Private islands offer individuals a chance to escape the crowds, pollution and noise that seem to infiltrate every aspect of modern life. However like most regions on Earth, private islands are starting to become scarcer, as they are lost beneath the rising seas, or bought by others who share a similar affinity for private islands. Given this lack of supply there is an increasing demand to create more artificial or man made islands. Click below to read more about artificial islands around the world.

Despite recent renewed interest in artificial islands, they have actually been in existence for many hundreds of years, dating back to the crannogs of prehistoric Scotland to the still existent floating Islands of Lake Titicaca. In fact the city of Tenochtitlan, the Aztech predecessor of Mexico City stood on a small natural island that was surrounded by countless artificial islands.

Man made island

Man made island

Tenochtitlan

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Artificial islands are usually constructed on an existing reef or may be an expansion of a natural islet. Traditionally islands have been made through a process of land reclamation in which soil is moved to the site of the island, as seen at the Ile Notre-Dame in Montreal or the new Kansai International Airport in Japan. Other methods of building private islands have involved renovating oil platforms or other artificial structures in the water (i.e. Sealand). However, some have debated whether or not these structures are truly islands. Finally, an island can be constructed by building a canal that essentially separates a piece of the mainland.

Today some of the most ambitious projects are occurring in the Middle East, particularly Dubai, UAE where they are building some of the largest artificial island complexes in the world. Projects in development include the “Three Palm Islands” project, “The World” project and the Dubai Waterfront, the later of which will be the largest in scale.

The Palm

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There are also unique political considerations with regards to building an artificial island. Under the United Nations Convention in the Law of the Sea Treaty (UNCLOS), artificial islands have little legal recognition. Such islands are not considered harbor works and are under the jurisdiction of the nearest coastal state (within 200 nautical miles). Artificial islands are not considered islands for the purpose of having their own territorial waters or exclusive economic zones, and only the coastal state may authorize their construction. However, on the high seas beyond national jurisdiction, any “state” may construct artificial islands. Essentially these laws are in place to ensure that other states do not set up satellite states on another nation’s coast and prevent individuals from building states within territorial waters.

Reference: “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_island

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Topics: Man made islands, Island Technology, Sovereignty |

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