Philippines
Continue fisheries modernization,
gov't urged
Benefits for fish wardens sought
National government takes over pollution case against
seaweed firm
Muro-ami fishers jump ship, won't press charges
Lingayen Gulf body chided: Be transparent
Central Visayas adjudged best maritime office
Crown of Thorns outbreak reported in Sarangani Bay
World
Fishing
at sea claims more than 70 lives daily, says UN body
Impacts of climate change to cost the world over 300-billion
dollars a year
Global appetite for farmed fish devouring world's wild
fish supplies
Billion-dollar oceans census on
Marine reserves produce enormous benefits -- experts
Storm surges increase with warming oceans
Globalization threat to world's cultural, linguistic
and biological diversity
Shellfish aquaculture helps clean coastal waters
EU environmental index aims at establishing 'name, fame
and shame policy'
International Year of Ecotourism provoking criticism
USD1 million grant funds 5-year search for cancer drugs
in the sea
Fish can be hazardous to your health
Record high number of US fish stocks in jeopardy
European Commission adopts emergency measures for recovery
of cod stocks
Norway ignores CITES ban; resumes export of whale products
Probe to make mine waste safer developed
Study indicates potentially harmful human viruses in
coastal waters
UNEP launches interactive environmental web site
Urban ecotourism guidebook released
CALL
FOR PAPERS:
"Across Portfolio Learning for Enhancing the Impacts of Integrated
Coastal Management"
Philippines
Continue fisheries modernization,
gov't urged
Former agriculture secretary Edgardo J. Angara said government must
continue the implementation of the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization
Act (AFMA), the flagship project of the previous administration.
According to Angara, AFMA raised growth in the fisheries and agriculture
sector to levels that have not been achieved in the past 10 years.
The sector grew by 6 percent in 1999 and by 3.1 percent in 2000. He
lamented that the present administration declared a moratorium on
research on genetically modified organism (GMO), saying that potential
risks to the environment and human health have yet to be established.'
Angara also called for measures to improve agriculture, including
tax incentives for certain regions, in addition to the incentives
already being granted nationally by the Board of Investments. Incentives
may come in the form of tax-free importation of inputs, he said, pointing
out that any loss in taxes will easily be offset by the gains from
the creation of jobs. M.M. Aguiba in the Manila
Bulletin, 02.25.01
Benefits for fish wardens sought
Cebu City Bantay Dagat Program Director Elpidio dela Victoria Jr.
urged all coastal town mayors to set aside funds to provide incentives
for fish wardens in their areas.
"The job of a fish warden is more risky than that of the barangay
tanods (community wardens), but they have not been given any incentives
at all," he said.
The 1998 Fisheries Code
of the Philippines does not provide for incentives for fish wardens,
but under the 1991 Local Government Code, the protection of coastal
resources has been devolved to the municipal mayors. It is thus but
proper for local governments to allocate a yearly budget for the wardens'
allowances and, if there are enough funds, for insurance coverage
as well, said dela Victoria.
Region 7 has more than 3,500 deputy fish wardens.
Most fish wardens are fishers who have undergone a four-day seminar
on fishery laws and appointed to their posts by their mayors. Like
the village tanods, they are volunteers, but unlike the tanods, who
receive monthly honoraria from their local governments, fish wardens,
except in a few places, do not receive any incentives for their work.
National government takes over pollution case
against seaweed firm
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) national
office has assumed jurisdiction over the case
filed by the Seaweed Industry Association of the Philippines (SIAP)
against FMC Marine Colloids Philippines. SIAP president Benson
Dakay said the association decided to elevate the case to the national
level because local authorities had been "slow" in responding
to their complaint.
DENR-Region 7 officials earlier reported they found the water samples
taken by SIAP at Mactan Channel to be "sediments." Dakay
argued the findings were inaccurate, as the office did not bother
to check the BOD (bio-oxygen demand) level of the SIAP samples. But
DENR officers insisted the samples were "not credible" because
they had not undergone a "scientific process."
DENR supervising science research specialist Moreno Tagra said, "It
will be very hard to prove the allegations that FMC contributed to
the pollution of Mactan Channel because the channel is generally classified
as an industrial channel." DENR uses a different water standard
and quality gauge for bodies of water near big industries like FMC,
he pointed out.
FMC has denied SIAP's accusations, saying the samples were "corrupted,"
as FMC is not the only firm discharging effluents into the Mactan
Channel.
"It is public knowledge that the Mactan Channel is contaminated
by wastes from industries and domestic activities surrounding the
channel. Any unilateral seabed sampling will not bring conclusive
results," the company said in a press statement.
FMC wants an objective baseline survey of the entire Mactan Channel,
from Liloan to Talisay, to be conducted.
DENR and its Pollution Adjudication Board opened formal hearings on
the case on February 22. ROV in Sun.Star
Cebu, 02.16.01; K.T. Lechonsito in The
Freeman, 02.16.01
Muro-ami fishers jump ship, won't press charges
Exhausted and sick, ten fishermen who escaped harsh working and living
conditions on board a fishing vessel said they would not press charges
against their former employer, a firm called Unity Fishing.
The ten are among the 35 men aged between 22 and 31 years old who
jumped ship in Barangay Mandaragat, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan
early this month.
The fishing vessel, FB Unity I, was reportedly engaged in muro-ami,
an illegal fishing method that uses divers to destroy corals and drive
fish into nets. Muro-ami was banned in 1986 following national outrage
over the discovery of a graveyard in Palawan containing 100 bodies
of muro-ami divers, mostly children, who reportedly died after being
entangled in the nets during a dive.
Mandaragat village chief Francisco delos Reyes said the FB Unity I
fishermen complained of maltreatment but refused to take Unity Fishing
to court, because they were afraid they "might get hurt."
Officials of Unity Fishing meanwhile said only three of the 35 fishermen
are their employees. They claimed the firm has consistently observed
all commercial fishing regulations and threatened to sue their three
"errant" employees for issuing derogatory statements against
Unity Fishing. "They joined us so they could get cash advances
from the company," said a company spokesman. "Now they want
to join another fishing company, where they will get more cash advances."
N. Ramirez in Cebu Daily News, 02.23.01
Lingayen Gulf body chided: Be transparent
Amidst complaints by concerned citizens and former employees against
its executive director, a former provincial board member admonished
the Lingayen Gulf Coastal Area Management Commission (LGCAMC) to be
"transparent" in the disposition of public funds and the
management of its resources.
The agency is the subject of a comprehensive audit by the Commission
on Audit (COA) for allegedly being involved in "ghost purchases",
overpricing, lending of funds for the construction of illegal fishpens,
and use of office vehicles by the friends and relatives of its executive
director, Henry Fernandez.
The LGCAMC was created in 1994 by then President Fidel V. Ramos to
protect the Lingayen Gulf following studies that classified the Gulf
as an environmentally critical area threatened by overfishing and
other man-made and natural factors.
Fernandez was appointed LGCAMC head by former President Joseph Estrada,
replacing General (ret.) Valerio Perez, who served as executive director
since the commission's creation.
Former Provincial Board Member Roberto Ferrer, an environmentalist
and a proponent of the creation of LGCAMC, said management failed
to exercise transparency in the management of its resources.
Last month, about a dozen former LGCAMC employees also filed a complaint
against Fernandez after Fernandez allegedly refused to renew their
contracts, which expired in December 31, 2000, only to hire new employees
for the same functions.
Ferrer said the employees, although contractual, have vested rights
to their position because they had been there for the last six years.
L.V. Micua in Manila
Bulletin, 02.04.01
Central Visayas adjudged best maritime office
For the second year in a row, the 7th Regional Maritime Office (RMO
7) was named "Best Regional Maritime Office" among 15 regional
maritime offices in the Philippines.
A plaque of merit was awarded to Supt. Edgardo Ingking by Philippine
National Police (PNP) Chief Leandro Mendoza during the 10th foundation
anniversary celebration of the PNP Maritime Group last February 13
in Camp Crame, Quezon City.
In 1999, RMO 7 received a similar award, and Ingking was named "Best
Senior Field Officer."
RMO 7 was cited for garnering the highest overall performance evaluation
rating.
Two organizations representing national government and the local government
were also given Special awards. These were the Coastal
Resource Management Project and the League of Municipalities -
Bohol Chapter, which support RMO 7 in training police officers and
deputy fish wardens in coastal law enforcement, and were instrumental
in the formal launching of the RMO 7 "Adopt Maribojoc Bay"
program, along with the local governments of Tagbilaran City, Maribojoc,
Cortes, Dauis and Panglao, NGOs, and people's organizations.
Ingking, who will complete his two-year tour of duty in Central Visayas
in March, has been appointed assistant director for intelligence of
the Maritime Group, National Headquarters.
Crown of Thorns outbreak reported in Sarangani
Bay
A serious outbreak of crown of thorns in Sarangani, first reported
last year in Barangay Taluya, Glan, appears to have spread into Sarangani
Bay. Reports from the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA)
indicate the infestation has reached some areas in Kapatan and Kingery
Beach, also in Glan, within the Bay.
Volunteer divers collected six sacks of the coral-eating starfish
in two outings last year. Last month, divers collected 2,500 individuals
at Kingery Beach alone. The outbreak, they reported, has reached the
intertidal areas.
The triton, a major predator of the crown of thorns, has not been
spotted in Sarangani Bay in recent years. Another predator, the triggerfish,
still occurs there, but not abundantly since it is a major target
species.
World
Fishing at sea claims more than 70 lives daily,
says UN body
Rome, 25 January 2001 -- With more than 70 fatalities per day, fishing
at sea may be the most dangerous occupation in the world, according
to a new report released by the UN Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The annual death toll among fishermen, estimated at 24,000 worldwide
by the International
Labour Organization (ILO), may be considerably lower than the
true figure because only a limited number of countries keep accurate
records on occupational fatalities in their fishing industries, says
the report.
More than 97 percent of the 15 million fishers employed in marine
capture fisheries worldwide are working on vessels that are less than
24 meters in length, largely beyond the scope of international conventions
and guidelines, according to The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture
2000.
Where inshore resources have been overexploited, fishers have to work
farther away from shore, sometimes for extended periods, and frequently
in fishing craft designed for inshore fishing or not complying with
security regulations, FAO says.
Among the main reasons for the occurrence of fatal accidents, the
report points out the non-ratification of international legal instrument
on safety at sea. It also cites lack of national regulations or, where
they exist, weak enforcement, lack of experience of offshore fishing
operations and lack of knowledge about essential issues such as navigation,
weather forecasting, communications and the vital culture of safety
at sea.
"Many of these causes can be rectified and FAO is involved in
a number of such activities in the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific,"
FAO expert Jeremy Turner said.
In developing countries, poorly designed and built fishing craft,
lack of safety equipment and inappropriate, outdated and inadequately
enforced regulations are the main causes of fatalities. In one night,
in November 1996, during a severe cyclone, more than 1,400 fishers
perished in the State of Andhra Pradesh, India due to poorly designed
trawlers and lack of awareness of the intensity of the danger.
In developed countries, rapid progress in vessel and fishing technologies
and the application of more stringent regulations have not always
led to a significant decrease in fatalities. "It seems that,
as vessels are made safer, operators take greater risks in their ever-increasing
search for good catches," the report says.
For example, in the United States the fatality rate among fishers
is 25 to 30 times the national average in other occupations. In Italy,
it is more than 21 times the national average, and in Australia it
is 143 per 100,000, compared with the national average of 8.1 per
100,000.
In 1981, Norway was one of the first countries to offer safety courses
for fishers. They became obligatory in 1989. The other Nordic countries
followed, and all of them established safety education when Finland
introduced safety courses for fishers in 1999.
The FAO report also tackles the issue of illegal, unreported and unregulated
(IUU) fishing that the FAO ministerial meeting on fisheries in March
1999 had pointed out as a major fisheries management issue. It calls
for "concerted international cooperation towards greatly reducing
or eliminating IUU catches which account, in some important fisheries,
for up to 30 percent of the total catches."
Consequences include failure to achieve fisheries management goals
and the loss of social and economic opportunities. "In extreme
cases, IUU fishing can lead to the collapse of a fishery or seriously
affect efforts to rebuild fish stocks that have been depleted,"
FAO emphasizes.
Reviewing trends in production, utilization and trade, the report
underlines that fisheries and aquaculture remain very important as
a source of food, employment and revenue in many countries and communities.
"Reported global capture fisheries and aquaculture production
contracted from 122 million tonnes in 1997 to 117 million tonnes in
1998. This was mainly owing to the effects of El Niño on some
major marine capture fisheries. However, production recovered in 1999,
for which the preliminary estimate is 125 million tonnes," the
report says.
"During the past decades, per capita fish consumption has expanded
globally along with economic growth and well-being. However, growth
will not go on forever. There is a limit to how much food - including
fish - each individual will consume, and long-term ceilings for consumption
will develop. While in OECD countries, the image of fish is changing
from the basic food it once was to a culinary speciality, in the developing
countries, fish is still very much an essential food contributing
an important part of the animal protein in many people's diet,"
the report also says.
The State of the World Fisheries and Aquaculture is available on FAO's
web site http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/003/X8002E/X8002E00.htm
Impacts of climate change to cost the world over
300-billion dollars a year
Nairobi February 3 2000- Global warming may cost the world
several billion dollars a year unless urgent efforts are made to curb
emissions of carbon dioxide and the other gases linked with the "greenhouse
effect".
A report by insurers, members of the United
Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) financial services initiative,
indicates that losses due to more frequent tropical cyclones, loss
of land as a result of rising sea levels and damage to fishing stocks,
agriculture and water supplies, could annually cost around $304.2
billion.
In some low lying states such as the Maldives, the Marshall Islands
and the Federated States of Micronesia the losses linked with climate
change could, by 2050, exceed 10 per cent of their national wealth
or Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report,
jointly sponsored by UNEP and the World Meteorological Organization,
had underscored the need for swift action. The panel, made up of thousands
of scientists from around the world, believes that average temperatures
across the world could climb by between 1.4 and 5.8 degrees Centigrade
over the coming century.
Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of UNEP, said, "The time to
act is now. We must all work to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
But mitigation is not enough. The world has already signed up to a
certain level of human-induced, climate change, as a result of over
a century of industrial emissions primarily from the developed world.
We must help vulnerable areas of the world, primarily in the developing
countries, to adapt to the consequences of global warming. We have
a moral responsibility to our fellow men and women to protect them
and their families from food shortages to devastating floods."
Toepfer said it was also crucial for countries to re-start the climate
change talks, which were stalled in The Hague at the end of 2000 so
that nations can take the first steps to deliver meaningful emission
reductions. The estimates, published in UNEP's Our Planet magazine,
come in an article from Munich Re, one of the world's biggest re-insurance
companies, which has been monitoring the cost of natural disasters
since the 1960s.
Dr Gerhard Berz, head of Munich Re's Geoscience Research group, told
UNEP's Our Planet that "there is reason to fear that climatic
change will lead to natural catastrophes of hitherto unknown force
and frequency. Studies have indicated , disturbingly, that climatic
changes could trigger world wide losses totalling many hundreds of
billions of dollars per year. Most countries can expect their losses
to range from a few tenths of a percent to a few percent of their
gross domestic product each year. And certain countries, especially
small island states, could face losses far exceeding 10 per cent."
It is estimated that in low-lying countries like the Deltas of Bangladesh
and small island states the cost could be significantly higher. Eco-system
losses, including mangrove swamps, coral reefs and coastal lagoons,
could run at over $70 billion by 2050. Such areas are vital nurseries
for fish, upon which many poor communities rely for protein, as well
as being homes to precious marine life.
Global appetite for farmed fish devouring world's
wild fish supplies
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, 19 February 2001 - Just as the California energy
crisis shows what happens when you don't plan ahead for increasing
demands on limited resources, we may be headed for a similar crisis
in the seas.
An international group of scientists presented new findings on unintended
impacts of fish farming that put both oceans and the aquaculture industry
at risk. Dr. Daniel Pauly of the University of British Columbia Fisheries
Centre released a new global study, "Farming Up Marine Food Webs"
showing that major sectors of the booming aquaculture industry are
literally feeding on world fisheries.
Aquaculture, the fastest growing sector of the world food economy,
is increasing by 11% a year. Many people expect this growth to relieve
pressure on ocean fish stocks, most of which are now fished beyond
capacity, and to provide a reliable source of food to a world population
that adds 78 million people each year. Paradoxically, Pauly's new
study shows that the increasing trend toward farming carnivorous fish
means that many types of aquaculture are pushing us towards a worldwide
collapse of wild fisheries. Production of a single pound of fish-eating
species such as shrimp, salmon, tuna or cod demands 2 to 5 lbs. of
wild caught fish that is processed into meal and oil for feeds.
Pauly previously discovered a global pattern of fishing down the food
chain, putting more pressure on lower level species as we exhaust
the bigger carnivorous fish. (Pauly et al. Feb.6,1998, Science) Conversely,
his new analysis demonstrates that the mean trophic level (relative
position of organisms within food chains) of farmed fish has been
rapidly increasing in almost all regions of the world outside Asia.
The new study discovered that traditional aquaculture -farming fish
that eat plants and detritus-is being replaced by modern intensive
farming of large, carnivorous fish because overfishing has decimated
these fish in the wild. Even in Asia, the ancient home of aquaculture,
vegetarian fish like tilapia and carp are now being fed fishmeal and
fish oil for faster weight gain and marketability. "The new trend
in aquaculture is to drain the seas to feed the farms. Meanwhile capture
fisheries now focus on what we once considered bait. These two trends-
farming up and fishing down the food web imply massive impacts on
marine ecosystems that are clearly unsustainable," said Pauly.
A panel of seven international scientists presented data showing that
aquaculture is necessary to the world's future food security, but
warned that the growing demands of the world's food production systems
upon a finite quantity of resources means that all aquatic and terrestrial
farming systems must become more efficient. Cost-benefit analyses
into the viability of certain kinds of aquaculture must incorporate
externalities: fisheries decline, aquatic pollution, habitat destruction
and impacts on wild stocks. Examples of "good aquaculture"
practices include farming vegetarian species and employing polyculture
that recycles nutrients and minimizes effluents.
Dr. Jason Clay also released the findings of a three-year study by
WWF, the World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization and the Network
of Aquaculture Centres in Asia Pacific on the best and worst practices
of shrimp farming. Shrimp farming now produces half of all internationally
traded shrimp. Raising 800,000 metric tonnes yearly world wide, for
a total value of US $6 billion, the industry is said to generate benefits
for cash strapped countries. Ironically, disease-induced "boom
and bust" shrimp farming has resulted in increasing poverty and
landlessness, declining food security, and break down of traditional
livelihood systems. Impacts have included the destruction of mangroves
and wetlands, the large-scale capture of wild larvae and brood-stock,
pollution, use of chemicals and antibiotics, intensive fish meal demands
and the privatization of public resources.
Consumer markets ultimately dictate the type of fish farming that
farmers will employ. Consumers should look for vegetarian fish that
feed low on the food web including catfish, tilapia, oysters and other
shellfish.
Aquaculture also needs new policies that will reward the aquaculture
industry for engaging in best sustainable practices. " To date,
fish farming has been separated from ocean fisheries in regulation,
management and mindset," said Stanford economist Dr. Roz Naylor
who chairs today's session at AAAS. "It is high time both public
and private interests think of these sectors jointly. Without sound
ecological practices, the expanding aquaculture industry poses a threat
not only to ocean fisheries, but also to itself."
More details are posted at http:
//www. seaweb.org/AAAS
Billion-dollar oceans census on
HOBART, Australia, 20 February 2001 - Life Senior marine scientists
from across Australia met Tasmania as part of an ambitious plan to
record all life in the world's oceans.
The Census is being championed by Jesse Ausubel of the US-based, Alfred
P. Sloan Foundation, a private philanthropic organisation that fosters
important scientific programs. Ausubel is seeking Southern Hemisphere
participation in the 10-year project, which began last year with a
$4 million investment in a system for storing, linking and accessing
census information.
"Scores of people around the world - at 63 institutions in 15
countries - have begun work on the Ocean Biogeographical Information
System that will support the census," Ausubel said. "This
catalogue of life will be linked with information on environmental
features such as seabed geology and ocean currents, providing a basis
for studying changes in marine populations."
Ausubel said the benefits of the census will extend way beyond research,
to all users of information about life in the sea. "Anyone, at
a computer anywhere in the world, will be able to click on any ocean
location and discover what is reported to live there. This capability
will guide marine conservation, helping nations to comply with the
International Convention on Biodiversity, and to improve the management
of fisheries, marine reserves and other human uses of the oceans."
Ausubel said the success of the census will depend on the participation
of marine research institutions, and the political and financial support
of countries including Australia.
Chief of Australia's Commonwealth
Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation's (CSIRO) Marine
Research, Dr Nan Bray, says Australia has much to contribute to the
census, and stands to benefit from the momentum created by this major
international initiative.
"Australia's marine research institutions are storehouses of
knowledge about one of the world's more pristine and biodiverse marine
regions," said Bray. "A good example is the Ian Munroe Fish
Collection at CSIRO Marine Research, which houses 120 000 specimens
representing 2700 species from the tropics to Antarctica. Much of
our marine region, however, has yet to be explored. At present funding
levels, it will take another 100 years just to map Australia's 11-million-square-kilometre
Exclusive Economic Zone. Intensive surveys have so far recorded only
5% of its physical terrain, and less than 2% of its marine life and
habitats. The Census of Marine Life is an opportunity for international
assistance to fill these gaps in our knowledge, and deserves our support."
The census itself will involve field projects designed to observe
marine populations in a variety of regions. These will link with surveys
conducted by marine laboratories and fisheries and environmental agencies.
Advanced electronic data-storage tags will be used to track and monitor
the behaviour of large animals at the top of the food chain, such
as whales, sea turtles, and tuna, offering clues to the distribution
and abundance of many other marine species.
A history of marine animal populations is also being developed as
part of the census. This will enable the study of changes in marine
species in the past 500-1000 years. It will also enable historic visualisations
of the marine environment, helping to guide the planning of marine
protected areas.
The Census of Marine Life is led and guided by an international Scientific
Steering Committee from marine research institutions in US, Europe
and Japan. The committee is due to release a scientific strategy for
the data collection component of the census later this year.
Marine reserves produce enormous benefits --
experts
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, 19 February 2001 - A scientific consensus statement
signed by 150 of the world's leading marine scientists declared there
is now compelling scientific evidence that marine reserves conserve
both biodiversity and fisheries, and could help to replenish the seas.
"All around the world there are different experiences,"
said Dr. Jane Lubchenco, past president of the American Association
for Advancement of Science (AAAS), "but the basic message is
the same: marine reserves work, and they work fast. It is no longer
a question of whether to set aside fully protected areas in the ocean,
but where to establish them. We urge the immediate application of
fully protected marine reserves as a central oceans management tool."
The declining state of the oceans and the collapse of many fisheries
creates a critical need for more effective management of marine biodiversity,
populations of exploited species and the overall health of the oceans.
While marine protected areas (MPA's) and Marine Sanctuaries have been
designated to enhance conservation, they often allow extractive activities
whereas marine reserves do not. Fully protected marine reserves are
viewed by many as a key tool to help reverse widespread overfishing
and habitat disturbance. Yet because there are gaps of knowledge about
how reserves work and because they are perceived to be taking something
else away from dwindling fisheries, they are often vigorously resisted.
At present, fully protected marine reserves encompass only 1/100 of
1 % of the seas.
The new scientific theory of marine reserves, the culmination of three
years of study by an international group of leading marine scientists,
now provides the scientific evidence necessary to establish additional
reserves that scientists can be confident will work.
"The results are startling and consistent," states Dr. Robert
Warner of the University of California, Santa Barbara. Furthermore
these averages were attained after only 1-2 years of protection:
- population densities were on average 91% higher
- b iomass was 192% higher
- average organism size was 31% higher
- species diversity was 23% higher.
The size and abundance of exploited species also increases in
areas adjacent to reserves. Reserves serve as natural hatcheries,
replenishing populations regionally by larval spillover beyond
reserve boundaries. Marine reserves differ from parks on land
because most marine species disperse through the water as larvae
or spores, moved by tides and currents. Dispersal distances of
20 to 50 kms are not uncommon and 500 to 1000 kms is possible
in some cases due to currents. "You want to design reserves
so that they have a spillover effect in helping replenish the
ocean beyond the protected area," says Dr. Steve Palumbi
of Harvard University. "Well- designed networks are the key."
Using new knowledge of larval dispersal patterns, scientists can
determine the optimal span, spacing and size of the pieces. Studies
demonstrate that networks of fully protected marine reserves linked
ecologically (through larval dispersal) and physically (through
currents) are much more likely to achieve the full array of benefits
that marine resource managers are being called upon to deliver-rather
than the current tendency to establish single isolated reserves.
The scientists also presented a new computer-based tool that can
map and design reserve systems for fishery managers across the
world. Fisheries managers will be able to map out reserves based
on specific conservation goals - such as how representation of
20% of all habitats might translate in the water in ways that
make stakeholders happy.
"Conservationists can be reassured that marine reserves are
protecting biodiversity, and while fishermen may lose access to
some areas, they will reap the benefits outside the reserves.
The overall lesson is that all stakeholders can be served by well
designed networks of marine reserves," said Dr. Lubchenco.
More details are posted at http://www.
Seaweb.org/AAAS
Storm surges increase with warming oceans
HOBART, Australia, 06 February 2001 - Ocean warming and thermal expansion
will be the largest contributor to sea-level rise during the 21st
century, says an Australian scientist.
Coastal storm surges will become an increasing threat to life and
property, says Dr John Church, a scientist at Australia's Commonwealth
Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the
Antarctic Cooperative Research Centre.
Church was a lead author on sea-level rise for the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change's assessment approved in Shanghai, China last
month.
The Third Assessment Report - Climate Change 2001:The Scientific Basis
- was prepared over the past three years by several hundred experts
reviewing the published science, and more than 100 scientific authors
drawing this together into the final report.
Global average sea level is projected to rise between 9 and 88 cm
between 1990 and 2100 for a global average surface temperature rise
projected to be between 1.4 and 5.8 degrees Celsius.
Addressing a national conference in Hobart of climate scientists and
meteorologists today, Church said computer calculations indicate increasing
atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases will result in warmer
atmospheric and ocean temperatures.
The assessment provides the most comprehensive scientific benchmark
for the issue to be managed by future generations.
"For the 21st century, models indicate that ocean thermal expansion
will be the largest contributor to sea-level rise, although the melting
of non-polar glaciers and ice caps will also contribute. During the
21st Century there will be almost no melting of the Antarctic ice
cap, and it takes centuries for the flow of ice sheets to respond
to changes in climate. Beyond 2100, sea level will continue to rise
for centuries after greenhouse gas concentrations have stabilised,"
he said.
After 500 years, sea-level rise from thermal expansion may only have
reached half of its eventual level," Church said. "Changes
in the mean sea surface height will increase the frequency of storm
surges of a given height. This will have significant impact on populations
living in coastal regions. Changes in the frequency or intensity of
storms could exacerbate the effects of sea level rise on flooding
risks."
Globalization threat to world's cultural, linguistic
and biological diversity
Nairobi, 8 February 2001- Nature's secrets, locked away in the songs,
stories, art and handicrafts of indigenous people, may be lost forever
as a result of growing globalization, the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) warns.
Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of UNEP, said: "The freeing
up of markets around the world may well be the key to economic growth
in rich and poor countries alike. But this must not happen at the
expense of the thousands of indigenous cultures and their traditions".
"Indigenous peoples not only have a right to preserve their way
of life. But they also hold vital knowledge on the animals and plants
with which they live. Enshrined in their cultures and customs are
also secrets of how to manage habitats and the land in environmentally
friendly, sustainable, ways," he said.
Much of this knowledge is passed down from generation to generation
orally, in art works or in the designs of handicrafts such as baskets,
rather than being written down. So losing a language and its cultural
context is like burning a unique reference book of the natural world.
"If these cultures disappear they and their intimate relationship
with nature will be lost forever. We must do all we can to protect
these people. If they disappear the world will be a poorer place,"
Toepfer said during the 21st session of UNEP's Governing Council held
in Nairobi this month.
Research, carried out on behalf of UNEP and drawing on work by hundreds
of academics, highlights the way native farmers in parts of West and
East Africa , such as the Fulbe of Benin and tribes in Tanzania, find
and encourage termite mounds to boost the fertility and moisture content
of the soil. The research , edited by Professor Darrell Addison Posey
of the Federal University of Maranhao, Sao Luis, Brazil, and the Oxford
Centre for the Environment, Ethics and Society at Mansfield College,
University of Oxford, in Britain, claims many indigenous languages
and cultures are already teetering on the brink of extinction in the
face of globalization.
Many native people have a vested interest in maintaining a wide variety
and animals and plants in their area so they are not reliant on just
one source of food.
But encroachment by western-style civilization and its farming methods
mean that many of these varieties, encouraged by tribal and native
people, are fast disappearing along with their genetic diversity.
It is increasing the threat of crop failures across the globe as a
result of genetic uniformity in the world's major crops.
The report cites work by UNEP's World Conservation Monitoring Centre
in Cambridge, England, and other researchers on the disappearance
of diversity in common crops. In 1903 there were 13 known varieties
of asparagus. By 1983 there was just one, or a decline of 97.8 per
cent. There were 287 varieties of carrot in 1903 but this has fallen
to just 21 or a fall of 92.7 per cent. Over 460 varieties of radish
were known in 1903 but this has dropped to 27 or a decline of 94.2
per cent. Nearly 500 varieties of lettuce were catalogued at the turn
of the century but this has fallen to 36.
The report cites four key reasons why conserving native cultures should
be urgently addressed.
- "(They) have traditional economic systems that have a
relatively low impact on biological diversity because they tend
to utilize a great diversity of species, harvesting small numbers
of each of them. By comparison settlers and commercial harvesters
target far fewer species and collect or breed them in vast numbers,
changing the structure of ecosystems," it argues.
- "Indigenous peoples try to increase the biological diversity
of the territories in which they live, as a strategy for increasing
the variety of resources at their disposal and, in particular,
reducing the risk associated with fluctuations in the abundance
of individual species".
- "Indigenous people customarily leave a large 'margin of
error' in their seasonal forecasts for the abundance of plants
and animals. By underestimating the harvestable surplus of each
target species, they minimize the risk of compromising their food
supplies".
- "Since indigenous knowledge of ecosystems is learned and
updated through direct observations on the land, removing the
people from the land breaks the generation to generation cycle
of empirical study. Maintaining the full empirical richness and
detail of traditional knowledge depends on continued use of the
land as a classroom and laboratory".
Shellfish aquaculture helps clean coastal waters
KINGSTON, Rhode Island, 16 February 2001 - As environmental engineers,
regulators and government agencies seek ways to clean the waters of
local bays, harbors and other coastal areas, a University
of Rhode Island researcher advocates using a natural cleaning
system that provides economic benefits at the same time - shellfish
aquaculture.
Michael Rice, professor and chairman of the URI Department of Fisheries,
Animal and Veterinary Science, says that the natural feeding method
of bivalves like clams, mussels, oysters and quahogs serves as "an
estuarine filter, increasing the clarity of coastal waters and facilitating
the removal of nitrogen and other nutrients."
By increasing the quantity of shellfish in local waterways through
the establishment of aquaculture facilities, these waters can be continually
cleaned naturally at little or no cost to the state or community.
All of the economically important bivalve shellfish derive most of
their nutritional needs by filtering particles from the water. They
actively sort particles according to their nutritional value, ingesting
food particles and depositing rejected particles into the seabed.
When the shellfish are harvested, the nutrients absorbed in their
tissues and shells are permanently removed, too.
"Healthy assemblages of shellfish can filter a substantial fraction
of the water in coastal estuaries on a daily basis," said Rice.
"Aquaculture operations may mitigate the effects of coastal housing
developments or other activities that promote excessive coastal eutrophication."
Eutrophic waters have low levels of dissolved oxygen and increased
plant life, especially algae, at the expense of other life forms.
The input of inorganic nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous into
coastal waters is seen as a significant environmental problem that
is expected to intensify as coastal development continues. These nutrients
come primarily from sewage treatment facilities, individual sewage
disposal systems, lawn fertilizers and various agricultural practices.
The result is eutrophication: reduced dissolved oxygen levels, increased
algae blooms, and generally poor water quality and clarity.
EU environmental index aims at establishing 'name,
fame and shame policy'
A European Union (EU) environmental index is to be published this
spring, allowing for a comparison of the environmental performance
of the 15 member states. This index will enable the European Commission
to put pressure on member states to comply with EU regulations by
highlighting countries that fail to implement legally binding EU environmental
law.
Margot Wallstrom, the European Union Environment Commissioner, told
Reuters that the proposal for the environmental ranking system was
ready and waiting to be published in the spring. The Commission will
present the index as an integral part of the EU sustainable development
policy. According to Wallstrom, the index will measure energy consumption
and moves taken to tackle climate change.
By launching the ranking system, the EU aims at establishing a 'name,
fame and shame' policy that will add to the pressure on countries
to comply with EU regulations, without having to pursue laggard countries
through the EU courts. There has, until now, been no formal ranking
system to judge the member states' environmental performance objectively.
Coastal
Guide News, 02.09.01
International Year of Ecotourism provoking criticism
While preparations have started for celebrating the International
Year of Ecotourism (IYE) in 2002, a coalition of NGOs is lobbying
for a more critical approach to the event. In recognition of the global
importance of the growing ecotourism sector both economically and
ecologically, the United Nations designated the year 2002 as the International
Year of Ecotourism.
The United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) and the World
Tourism Organisation (WTO) are taking a leading role in co-ordinating
activities. WTO and UNEP are encouraging the establishment of inter-ministerial
working groups, national and local committees, and national strategies
on eco-tourism worldwide. The year will culminate in the World Ecotourism
Summit in Quebec, Canada, 19-22 May 2002.
The NGO coalition against the IYE as it stands argues that many forms
of ecotourism today are not sustainable and that its promotion consequently
will have adverse effects on the environment and on local communities.
They therefore launched the Campaign "International Year of Reviewing
Eco-Tourism". Coastal
Guide News.
USD1 million grant funds 5-year search for cancer
drugs in the sea
KINGSTON, R.I., 21 February 2001 - Most cancer fighting drug treatments
currently in use yield low cure rates or undesirable side effects.
While widespread and aggressive efforts to develop new anti-cancer
drugs focus on terrestrial plants, a University
of Rhode Island researcher has pioneered the search for potential
anti-cancer agents in the oceans.
Yuzuru Shimizu, URI professor of biomedical sciences, has spent 30
years studying marine microorganisms, first to better understand the
cause of red tides, and later to identify organisms that may be potential
sources of anti-cancer drugs. Shimizu has just been awarded a five-year
$1 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to continue this
promising work. This is his second five-year grant from the institute.
Shimizu's research is part of the National Cooperative Natural Products
Drug Discovery Group, a partnership between academia and the pharmaceutical
industry aimed at finding new drugs. He is collaborating with researchers
at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Bristol-Myers Squibb
Pharmaceutical Research Institute.
"We've found a number of good leads that need further investigation,"
said Shimizu. "Some of the same toxic organisms that cause red
tides also have the potential to produce useful drugs. Drugs and poisons
can sometimes be synonymous."
Shimizu primarily investigates the potential pharmaceutical uses of
microalgae, which he says are a great source of interesting and unexplored
chemical compounds. Microalgae are primitive, single-celled organisms
that live in a variety of unique environments and have a high potential
for producing novel chemical structures and potent biological activities.
Fish can be hazardous to your health
By Cat Lazaroff
WASHINGTON, DC, February 20, 2001 (ENS) - Inadequate regulations may
allow unsafe, contaminated and spoiled fish to be sold at your local
market, show studies by the General Accounting Office and watchdog
magazine "Consumer Reports." The new research adds to a
rash of recent warnings about the potential hazards of some seafoods,
ranging from mercury contamination to chemical residues. For full
text and graphics visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-20-06.html
Record high number of US fish stocks in jeopardy
WASHINGTON, DC, 13 February 2001 - The number of fish stocks in need
of stronger conservation in U.S. coastal waters has increased for
the fourth year running, despite laws requiring federal fisheries
managers to stop overfishing and rebuild overfished stocks. The number
of fish stocks in jeopardy jumped from 98 to a record high 107, according
to the new Department of Commerce year 2000 Report to Congress: Status
of Fisheries of the United States. These include such popular commercial
and sport fish as red snapper, summer flounder, and Atlantic swordfish.
The Marine Fish
Conservation Network (Network), a national alliance of 100 top
environmental organizations and fishing associations, believes the
government should work aggressively to reverse that trend.
"This report clearly demonstrates that our nation's fisheries
laws must be strengthened and vigorously enforced," said Lee
Crockett, the Network's executive director. "The National Marine
Fisheries Service has a four-year-old mandate from Congress to halt
overfishing and rebuild America's fisheries. The number of fish stocks
in trouble should be going down, not up."
When Congress passed the Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA) in 1996,
it directed the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and eight
regional fisheries management councils to prevent overfishing, rebuild
overfished stocks, minimize the incidental killing of non-target species,
and protect important fish habitat.
Yet a year ago, a Network study found that NMFS had approved the vast
majority of the Regional Councils' fisheries management plans, even
though most did not require rebuilding fish populations as quickly
as required by law. Very few contained any new measures to reduce
the incidental killing of non-target fish and other species. Meanwhile,
although NMFS and the Councils have identified essential fish habitats,
they still have not adopted fishing regulations needed to protect
these important areas - one of the major goals of the SFA.
"Despite the SFA's requirement that new more conservative criteria
be implemented by 1998, NMFS used out-of-date pre-SFA criteria to
determine the status for many stocks in this report," said Josh
Sladek Nowlis, Senior Scientist, Center for Marine Conservation, a
member of the Network. "We must not repeat such past mistakes
by allowing continued overfishing of stocks already overfished."
Despite this larger grim picture, "The report acknowledges what
New England fishermen have known for years," said Paul Parker,
executive director of Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association,
also a Network member. "Fish such as cod, haddock and flounder
are coming back, even after being severely overfished, proving that
conservation measures do work, when effectively implemented and given
sufficient time. But to bring our fish back to sustainable levels
will require much more."
The full report is available online at: www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/reports.html
European Commission adopts emergency measures
for recovery of cod stocks
The European Commission has adopted a Regulation for emergency
measures to protect spawning cod in the North Sea. These measures
set up a temporary controlled area that will be closed to all fisheries
likely to catch cod until 30 April 2001. In addition, technical and
control rules are established for the pelagic and sandeel fisheries
which will be allowed to continue during this period.
This package of measures is the first part of a three-stage approach:
emergency measures now, additional technical and control measures
in spring to protect young cod, and a proposal for a long term multi-annual
recovery plan in early June. The immediate objective is to allow as
many mature cod as possible to spawn during the period mid-February
to the end of April 2001. To this end, the Regulation provides for:
- The temporary closure of a significant area of the North Sea
to all fishing gears likely to catch cod
- Observers will be on board a sample of the vessels engaged in
pelagic and sandeel fisheries to check the species composition of
these vessels' catches.
- Each Member State must provide a list of the vessels allowed
to fish under derogation.
- A prohibition on the carrying of trawls of different net mesh
sizes on vessels operating under derogation.
- The prohibition for vessels transiting across the controlled area
to immerse their fishing gear in the water.
Coastal
Guide News, 02.09.01
Norway ignores CITES ban; resumes export of whale
products
Norway announced its intention to resume sales of minke whale blubber
and meat despite last year's decision by CITES, the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species, against such exports and
an international moratorium on whale hunting. The main markets for
the products are Japan and Iceland.
As whale blubber is not popular in Norway, it is piling up in storage
facilities. Norway argues that this is a waste of resources when the
product is highly valued in other countries such as Japan, and pledges
to apply DNA testing methods to track all exports. However, it could
not convince the CITES delegates in April of last year that this system
is sufficient enough (see Coastal Guide News No 9, 2000
http://www.coastalguide.org/news/2000-09.html#pol1).
As the blubber comes from not endangered Minke whales, Norway does
not expect international sanctions. However, Greenpeace regards the
case as a matter of principle because it ignores a CITES decision
and has called on the UK government to take strong diplomatic action.
The Dutch government also handed a statement to the Norwegian government
in which it expresses its dissatisfaction with the decision and asks
for its review. Coastal
Guide News, 01.26.01
Probe to make mine waste safer developed
CANBERRA, Australia, 07 February 2001 - A network of small oxygen
probes could avert acid damage to the environment and save mining
companies millions of dollars.
The probe, developed by Australia's Commonwealth
Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), is poised
to revolutionise the way mining companies monitor the rehabilitation
of Australia's mine sites, especially where acidic mine wastes are
present.
The presence of oxygen in sulphidic mine wastes results in oxidation
of the sulphide minerals, and with water forms sulphuric acid. The
resultant acid mine drainage causes contamination of surface and groundwater.
To reduce or eliminate this contamination, the mineral wastes are
commonly covered with earth or synthetic covers.
The CSIRO probe has successfully provided a detailed and accurate
assessment of the long-term stability and effectiveness of these covers
to prevent oxygen reaching the mineral wastes.
The instrument achieves this by accurately, cheaply and continually
monitoring oxygen levels in mine waste sealed under the covers.
Potential contamination from mine sites is a large environmental liability
for the mining industry.
"Acid mine drainage caused by the oxidation of sulphidic mining
waste is one of the biggest environmental problems faced by the mining
industry," says Dr Brad Patterson, an environmental chemist with
CSIRO Land and Water who has worked on the probes for over 5 years.
"Currently, managing these wastes costs the Australian mining
industry around $60 million a year," he says.
Despite concerns about the long-term effectiveness of the earth coverings,
this method is, at present, one of the few cost-effective solutions
to preventing acid leaching from the mine waste into the environment.
Placed at various depths in the earth cover and buried waste, the
oxygen probes monitor the effectiveness of the cover by detecting
the amount of oxygen present. No oxygen means the covers are doing
their job.
CSIRO has also developed a probe to detect and monitor volatile organic
compounds like benzene and trichlorethene in groundwater and soil
environments. These compounds are common contaminants found as a result
of petroleum and solvent spills.
Study indicates potentially harmful human viruses
in coastal waters
IRVINE, CA, 07 February 2001 - Using a technique developed to track
pathogens in sewage, a California Sea Grant funded researcher has
shown that potentially harmful human viruses are contaminating coastal
waters in Southern California at major river mouths.
Tests have not determined whether the viruses are virulent, but their
presence does indicate that human waste is making its way into urban
waterways. Because of the health risks associated with human waste,
some groups are beginning to test their creeks and drainage culverts
for signs of human contamination.
To view full story, visit the Sea Grant web site at http://www.seagrantnews.org.
UNEP launches interactive environmental web site
Nairobi - 8 February 2001 - The launch today by UNEP of a new interactive
environmental Web site known as "UNEP
dot net" will provide an expanded series of environmental
management solutions. The network portal will offer a forum for scientific,
technical peer review; provision of insights on environmental issues
to the global community; and exchange of ideas, information and data.
Developed with industry, academic, government, and NGO partners, UNEP.Net
is an Internet-based environmental information network, or meta-system
(system of systems). This will bring together new integrated information
frameworks and harmonized, readily accessible data sets to support
assessment and decision-making across the international system, including
UNEP's own assessment activities. It will also reduce national reporting
burdens.
This portal provides impressive capabilities, previously limited to
military intelligence agencies, to travel around the Earth on any
computer connected to the Internet, and select a country or environmental
topic by pointing to a map, selecting from lists, or typing in a search
word. With UNEP.Net, any citizen can create a map of anywhere in the
world and add facts and figures from the vast statistical records
associated with each map. Citizens and government managers can quickly
appear to be advanced environmental scientists with the easy tools
available through UNEP.Net. "By making scientific facts and data
about the Earth's environment easily accessible and reported, we hope
to enhance the ability of decision makers to use accurate and up to
data information.
Better information should lead to better management of the planet's
resources," said Dr. Tim Foresman, the UNEP director of UNEP.Net.
UNEP.Net builds on the wealth of scientific information available
from numerous environmental institutions. UNEP is thus fulfilling
a part of its mandate by bringing together environmental information
and data providers while also facilitating and encouraging the exchange
of information to service the public using the most current Internet
technologies. UNEP is tapping this resource by connecting disparate,
often isolated, specialized institutions to begin a globally networked
partnership of scientific data and environmental information providers.
The site also hosts independent specialized solutions and data and
information of those experts publishing on the site to address specialized
environmental issues and concerns.
UNEP will continue negotiating contributions with various partners
maintaining respect for intellectual property, while at the same time
encouraging partners to exchange and make information and data available
free of charge in support of the Aarhus Conventions principles.
A key partner in the development of UNEP.Net is Environmental Systems
Research Institute (ESRI), a globally recognized leader in the development
of spatial or geographic information system technologies.
ESRI has been instrumental in starting the UNEP.Net initiative by
contributing technical and substantive environmental expertise as
well as global datasets. There is a rapidly growing list of institutions
joining the partnership and they will be clearly acknowledged on the
site. The UNEP.Net portal is at http://www.unep.net.
Urban ecotourism guidebook released
Green Tourism Association, a non-profit organization based in Canada,
will release what is dubbed as the "world's first urban ecotourism
guidebook" on March 1.
The association said The OTHER Guide to Toronto is the first
city guide book that unites tourism with the environment and urban
ecology. "With the upcoming 2008 Olympic Bid, the recent release
of Toronto City Council's Green Plan and the ongoing plans to redevelop
Toronto's waterfront, there couldn't be a better time to unveil Toronto's
greener side," it said. "Urban green tourism is on the cutting
edge of a trend.
Ecotourism is the fastest growing sector in the tourism industry increasing
at a rate of 4-10% each year - and now it¡¦s going urban!
People want more options when exploring a city and are looking for
a wide range of exciting, new, and off-the-beaten-track cultural,
environmental and heritage options in urban travel."
Beginning March 1, 2001, The OTHER Guide to Toronto will be
available at bookstores, Toronto heritage sites, participating green
businesses and on-line at www.greentourism.on.ca.
CALL FOR PAPERS: "Across Portfolio Learning
for Enhancing the Impacts of Integrated Coastal Management"
The challenges of integrated coastal management (ICM) that are
being addressed around the world are complex. To improve performance,
practitioners and the donor community need information on the benefits
of alternative frameworks and approaches to ICM. In order to achieve
a better understanding about what strategies and practices of ICM
planning and implementation are most effective, ICM must understand
and address:
- Cause-and-effect relations of ICM
- Methods for mapping ICM strategies and outcomes
- Ways to measure objectives and intermediate and end outcome
goals of ICM
- Ways to network for exchanging information and advancing strategies
for donor-funded ICM
- Under-investment in programs for self-assessment, monitoring,
and evaluation -- In response to these challenges, many projects
in ICM have been experimenting with activities that promote learning
across project portfolios and have constructed learning programs
to harvest experience, capture lessons learned, and assess performance.
These efforts recognize that effective practice in a maturing
field requires the documentation and analysis of experience in
order to better understand what works, what doesn't and why.
InterCoast, a newsletter on integrated coastal management,
invites papers that describe all aspects of across portfolio learning,
including:
- Experience in different approaches to learning
- Learning topics and why they were chosen
- What was learned and the impacts of learning
Please send articles to: Noëlle F. Lewis; Coastal Resources
Center, University of Rhode Island; Narragansett, Rhode Island 02882
USA; Tel: 401-874-6870; E-mail: noelle@gso.uri.edu.
Articles should be 1,000-1,700 words. Photos are strongly encouraged.
Articles are edited; please do not include references or citations.
Deadline is 1 April 2001
