CONAO
National Commission for Ocean Affairs
A strategic architecture for the Argentine Sea
In 2014, Fundación Argentina ASE promoted the conceptual and technical foundations of a bill submitted to the Argentine Senate to create the National Commission for Ocean Affairs (CONAO). The initiative was formally sponsored and introduced by former national senator Rosana Bertone, representing Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands.
Filed as S-3138/14, the bill proposed a national authority capable of integrating science, technology, the environment, production, defense, international cooperation and maritime sovereignty into a long-term ocean policy.
“The sea is our reservoir of life for the future.
Brazil and a shared maritime agenda
The proposal drew on Brazil’s Interministerial Commission for Marine Resources, a model that coordinates ministries, science, defense, the environment, production and foreign policy around a common maritime strategy.
Argentina needed an equivalent institution to coordinate dispersed capabilities, prevent duplication, establish national priorities and make the sea a permanent focus of public policy.
Placing the sea alongside atomic energy and space
Just as Argentina built national capabilities through the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) and the National Space Activities Commission (CONAE), ocean policy also required a central governing institution.
The ocean combines technical complexity, geopolitical value, industrial potential, advanced research, defense, environmental regulation, human-capital development and federal coordination. CONAO sought to raise maritime policy to that strategic level.
What the bill proposed to create
CONAO would report directly and exclusively to the President of Argentina and would be empowered to act in both the public and private spheres on scientific, technical, industrial, environmental and administrative matters.
Its structure would be interministerial, involving foreign affairs, science and technology, planning, agriculture, fisheries, defense, security, economy and finance.
CONAO’s main functions
The commission was conceived to assess, design, implement, oversee, manage and administer ocean-related projects and initiatives while respecting the responsibilities of existing institutions.
Propose a National Ocean Plan for responsible resource use and protection of the marine environment.
Propose a National Ocean Technologies Plan for peaceful purposes and national defense.
Centralize, organize, administer and implement both national plans.
Promote research and development in advanced engineering.
Train researchers, professionals, technicians and specialized personnel.
Transfer ocean technology to the State and, under license, to the private sector.
Maintain a registry of activities carried out in the Argentine Maritime Space.
Promote international cooperation and advise the State in intergovernmental forums.
Environment, production and sovereignty in one framework
ASE’s vision does not separate the environment from development. Ocean policy had to reconcile productive use of the sea with environmental sustainability, ecosystem preservation and national capability building.
Fisheries, energy, minerals, transport, ports, defense, research, conservation, climate change, biodiversity, shipbuilding, connectivity in Argentina’s southern regions and its Antarctic presence all form part of a single strategic system.
Environment
Scientific criteria to protect biodiversity, coasts and marine ecosystems.
Production
Technology, ports, energy, fisheries and industry within a sustainable blue economy.
Sovereignty
Domestically generated knowledge, a strong State presence and the capacity to make decisions concerning Argentina’s maritime space.
Argentina does not end at the coastline
Viewing the country from the sea means recognizing another dimension of its sovereignty, environment, wealth and international responsibility. For ASE, the sea is a long-term strategic platform.
- Haven for life
- Platform for scientific knowledge
- Source of food and resources
- Haven for biodiversity
- Infrastructure for trade and connectivity
- Domain of defense and sovereignty
- Domain for technological innovation
- Driver of Austral, South American and emerging development
The technical and conceptual contribution
The bill’s explanatory grounds expressly acknowledge the interest and collaboration of Fundación Argentina ASE. Its studies, proposals and research provided the conceptual and technical foundations of the initiative introduced by Senator Rosana Bertone.
CONAO embodied a line of work sustained since the Foundation’s beginnings: understanding the environment in relation to human development, production, science, technology, territory and the State’s capacity for strategic planning.
More than a decade later, the question remains
What national institution does Argentina need to turn the Argentine Sea into a genuine development policy? ASE’s answer remains an integrated, federal, scientific, environmental, productive and sovereign ocean policy.
CONAO proposed neither passive conservation nor unlimited exploitation. It sought to organize knowledge, protect ecosystems, develop technology, foster sustainable production and strengthen Argentina’s presence in its maritime space.
The Argentine Sea is not the periphery. It is the future.