BERNAMA - EAGA Mulls Joint Fishery Development Framework
Shared via AddThis
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
Wednesday, 8 July 2009
AUSTRALIA: Scientist Pushes For Coral Triangle Action
While Australia remains committed to playing an ongoing role in assisting the six nations of the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) to protect their marine environments, a leading scientist here says that an Australian-style of management in the triangle will not work.
”There is no single recipe for how to manage a reef well and the Great Barrier Reef model is not exportable to a poor country,” says Professor Terry Hughes, director of the highly-regarded Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. The centre is a partnership of several leading universities and statutory bodies - located at James Cook University in Townsville.
The future of Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR) remains uncertain: global warming threatens to devastate the GBR while other hazards such as pollution, over-fishing and tourism also exist. Nonetheless, it remains in good condition compared to many other reef systems around the world.
Central to this is the extensive protection afforded to the GBR by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. This body advises the government on matters related to the GBR and is responsible for protecting the world's largest reef system through zoning and management plans, assessing environmental impacts and conducting research.
Hughes told IPS that Australia's ability to fund the management of such marine environments sets it apart from developing nations.
”Australia is very much the lucky country when it comes to having the resources to manage reefs and to pay for science and reef management,” he says.
”There's a huge contrast between Australian investment in science and reef management compared to almost anywhere else in the world because most coral reef countries in the tropics are developing countries and just don't have the resources that we do,” he adds.
But the signing of the declaration of the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security at the CTI summit in Manado, Indonesia in May indicates that where the political will exists, less-affluent nations can also undertake action to protect their marine environments for the benefit of current and future generations.
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands - the so-called Coral Triangle Six (CT6) - have committed to cooperate to preserve the biologically diverse yet highly-populated Coral Triangle, an area which covers some 5.7 million square kilometers in Southeast Asia and Melanesia.
Although it represents just one percent of the Earth's surface area, the triangle is home to 76 percent of coral species which support the world's highest diversity of marine life.
The CT6 have instigated a ten-year ”Regional Plan of Action” to cover the management of marine zones, fisheries and other resources, establish marine protected areas, introduce plans to adapt to the effects of climate change and improve the status of threatened species including corals, mangroves, sea turtles, birds and sharks.
However, coral ecosystems within the ”amazon of the seas” are under severe pressure, as outlined in a joint report by conservation group WWF and the University of Queensland. The release of this report coincided with the CTI meet in Manado, which looks at the impact of climate change in the Coral Triangle.
While describing the detrimental effects on the triangle's marine environments caused by coastal deforestation, the reclamation of wetlands for urban development, destructive fishing practices and poor water quality resulting from aquaculture, agriculture, sewerage and other pollutants, the report identifies global warming - manifested by rising sea temperatures and increased ocean acidification - as a major threat to the triangle's biodiversity.
And with the area's resources vital for the survival of 150 million people living in and around the coastal regions of the Coral Triangle, WWF has urged Australia to fully support the fledgling CTI.
”Australia has built considerable expertise in coral reef conservation, science and management, and could play an important role in building the capacity of Coral Triangle countries to protect these critical marine environments,” said Gilly Llewellyn, WWF-Australia's manager of conservation.
Yet Australia is currently involved in researching marine environments in the triangle and in the Pacific region, with the Centre for Reef Studies working already in the Philippines, Indonesia, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.
”The initiative is new and it's wonderful to see it, but Australian scientists see this as an opportunity to ramp-up an existing engagement. It's not as if we're starting from scratch,” says Hughes.Additionally, of the Centre's current batch of 155 PhD students, 95 are from the immediate region. Australia was quick to pledge an initial AUD$2 million to fund critical projects within the CTI - part of the USD$300 million to be provided by the Global Environment Facility, the Asian Development Bank, the United States and other partners. The Rudd government describes the first phase of this as an ”ongoing plan” to back the CT6.
”This investment will focus on areas where we can make the greatest contribution by sharing our knowledge and directly supporting capacity building in marine biodiversity conservation, sustainable fisheries, protecting vulnerable marine species and community empowerment,” said Peter Garrett, the country's environment minister.
Australia's role as a supporter of the CT6 stems from a request sent to it by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at a CTI meeting in Bali in Dec. 2007. He asked for Australian technical expertise to aid in protecting the triangle.
Hughes told IPS that Australia is compelled to act. ”Australia has a capacity that, in my opinion, obligates it to be a major player in the Coral Triangle region,” he said.While he supports the view that the threat faced by the inhabitants of the triangle's coastal areas requires a multilateral approach, the diversity of marine environments within the Coral Triangle means that a one-size-fits-all solution to management is not viable.
”You need to tailor-make the management style to what will work on the ground in the different regions,” says Hughes
”There is no single recipe for how to manage a reef well and the Great Barrier Reef model is not exportable to a poor country,” says Professor Terry Hughes, director of the highly-regarded Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. The centre is a partnership of several leading universities and statutory bodies - located at James Cook University in Townsville.
The future of Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR) remains uncertain: global warming threatens to devastate the GBR while other hazards such as pollution, over-fishing and tourism also exist. Nonetheless, it remains in good condition compared to many other reef systems around the world.
Central to this is the extensive protection afforded to the GBR by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. This body advises the government on matters related to the GBR and is responsible for protecting the world's largest reef system through zoning and management plans, assessing environmental impacts and conducting research.
Hughes told IPS that Australia's ability to fund the management of such marine environments sets it apart from developing nations.
”Australia is very much the lucky country when it comes to having the resources to manage reefs and to pay for science and reef management,” he says.
”There's a huge contrast between Australian investment in science and reef management compared to almost anywhere else in the world because most coral reef countries in the tropics are developing countries and just don't have the resources that we do,” he adds.
But the signing of the declaration of the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security at the CTI summit in Manado, Indonesia in May indicates that where the political will exists, less-affluent nations can also undertake action to protect their marine environments for the benefit of current and future generations.
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands - the so-called Coral Triangle Six (CT6) - have committed to cooperate to preserve the biologically diverse yet highly-populated Coral Triangle, an area which covers some 5.7 million square kilometers in Southeast Asia and Melanesia.
Although it represents just one percent of the Earth's surface area, the triangle is home to 76 percent of coral species which support the world's highest diversity of marine life.
The CT6 have instigated a ten-year ”Regional Plan of Action” to cover the management of marine zones, fisheries and other resources, establish marine protected areas, introduce plans to adapt to the effects of climate change and improve the status of threatened species including corals, mangroves, sea turtles, birds and sharks.
However, coral ecosystems within the ”amazon of the seas” are under severe pressure, as outlined in a joint report by conservation group WWF and the University of Queensland. The release of this report coincided with the CTI meet in Manado, which looks at the impact of climate change in the Coral Triangle.
While describing the detrimental effects on the triangle's marine environments caused by coastal deforestation, the reclamation of wetlands for urban development, destructive fishing practices and poor water quality resulting from aquaculture, agriculture, sewerage and other pollutants, the report identifies global warming - manifested by rising sea temperatures and increased ocean acidification - as a major threat to the triangle's biodiversity.
And with the area's resources vital for the survival of 150 million people living in and around the coastal regions of the Coral Triangle, WWF has urged Australia to fully support the fledgling CTI.
”Australia has built considerable expertise in coral reef conservation, science and management, and could play an important role in building the capacity of Coral Triangle countries to protect these critical marine environments,” said Gilly Llewellyn, WWF-Australia's manager of conservation.
Yet Australia is currently involved in researching marine environments in the triangle and in the Pacific region, with the Centre for Reef Studies working already in the Philippines, Indonesia, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.
”The initiative is new and it's wonderful to see it, but Australian scientists see this as an opportunity to ramp-up an existing engagement. It's not as if we're starting from scratch,” says Hughes.Additionally, of the Centre's current batch of 155 PhD students, 95 are from the immediate region. Australia was quick to pledge an initial AUD$2 million to fund critical projects within the CTI - part of the USD$300 million to be provided by the Global Environment Facility, the Asian Development Bank, the United States and other partners. The Rudd government describes the first phase of this as an ”ongoing plan” to back the CT6.
”This investment will focus on areas where we can make the greatest contribution by sharing our knowledge and directly supporting capacity building in marine biodiversity conservation, sustainable fisheries, protecting vulnerable marine species and community empowerment,” said Peter Garrett, the country's environment minister.
Australia's role as a supporter of the CT6 stems from a request sent to it by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at a CTI meeting in Bali in Dec. 2007. He asked for Australian technical expertise to aid in protecting the triangle.
Hughes told IPS that Australia is compelled to act. ”Australia has a capacity that, in my opinion, obligates it to be a major player in the Coral Triangle region,” he said.While he supports the view that the threat faced by the inhabitants of the triangle's coastal areas requires a multilateral approach, the diversity of marine environments within the Coral Triangle means that a one-size-fits-all solution to management is not viable.
”You need to tailor-make the management style to what will work on the ground in the different regions,” says Hughes
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Semester break
Wainhira ami iha ferias semester iha universidade, hau ho kolega Timor oan sira ami lao sai husi sidade nebe bain-bain ami hela, ba fatin ida iha Ilha Norte, ami nia intensaun lao para hare ema Kiwi (refere ba Nova Zelandia nia ema husi nasaun seluk maibe sai ona sidadaun NZ) no Mouri (ema rai nain NZ) nia rai no akumpainha mos oinsa ema sira ne'e dezenvolve sira nia meio ambiente. Iha ne'e ita bele hare katak husi rai rohan ba rohan sempre verde tamba buat hotu organizadu hotu.
Buat ida nebe hau siente intersante iha ne'e maka sira konsiensia atu kuidadu sira nia ambiental, mesmu iha lei sira nebe uza hodi regula meio ambiental. Intersante liu tan wainhira mai to'o iha distritu ida naran Taupo. Distritu ida ne'e sai hanesan premeiru lugar alein sidade Auckland no Wellington hanesan kapital Nova Zelandia. Distritu ne'e sai hanesan fatin turista nebe famouza liu iha Ilha Norte ne'e. Distritu ida ne'e nia rendementu husi parte oin-oin hanesan, peska, floresta, turismo inckui industria (hotel ho restaurante sira) turismo nian, agrikultura (hakiak animal, hakiak du'ut hodi sustenta animal sira). Distritu ida ne'e nia mean annual income $25,000 (vinte cinco mil dolares NZ) equlibru ho US$ 14,100 numiru ida ne'e as liu mean nasional nebe NZ$ 24,000.
Atu bele proteza meio ambiente sira iha lei Resources Management Act, ida ne'e hanesan baze ba lei protesaun hotu-hotu ba ambiente no sst. Regulamentus seluk hanesan peska, biodiversidade, Transporte maritima, Biosecurity Act. Sira ne'e hotu bazeia ba National Policy Statement nebe foka liu problema nasional no objectivu dezenvolvimentu nebe sustentavel. Alien ida ne'e, Rezion no distritus sira hotu tenki halo sira nia lei nebe labele kontrariu fali ho regulamentus nebe mai husi nasional. Katak strutura ba regulamentu sira ne'e iha hirarkia ida.
Hirarkia lei sira ne'e maka hanesan:
National Policy statement
Regional Policy statement
Regional District Plan
Distric plan
Ho hirarkia ida ne'e ita bele hatete katak buat hotu nebe tau iha National Policy statement ikus liu sei aplika iha Distritu nebe regula husi district plan. Signifika katak monitorizaun ba actividade hotu - hotu, sei hala'o husi distritu ida-idak nian.
District plan regula buat hotu iha distritu ida nian nebe bazeia ba investigasaun hodi identifika sira nia rekursu iha distritu ida - idak. iha district plan inclui sasan sira hanesan dezenvovimentu turismu (tasi no terestres) cultural heritage, infrastructura, waste management inclui canalizasaun foer, fatin investigasaun sencias, discharge contaminants, no sst nebe mos inklui standard assessment nebe uza hodi halo assessmentu ba atividade nebe hala'o. sira ne'e hotu distritu maka dezenhu bazeia ba objectivu dezenvolvimentu nasional.
Saturday, 4 July 2009
Agricultura No Meio Ambiente
Wainhira Timor Leste hamrik, iha nanis ona problema meio ambiente nian nebe mosu iha mundu no sai ema hotu-hotu nia prekupasaun. Pior liu tan problema ne’e halo ema barak paniku no moris iha frustasaun nia laran no sai ameasa piskologia ba nasaun kiik sira inklui mos Timor Leste, amesa piskologia tamba iha evidensia sensia hatete katak rai manas (temperature sae) afeta zelu iha Antartica no Artic naben lalais rezulta ba tasi sae, no ida ne’e afeta ba ema sira nebe moris iha tasi ibun no halo nasaun sira nebe iha ilha kiik sira sei mout. Ida ne’e realidade nebe agora mundu tomak hasoru.
Maibe, antes ita koalia konaba kestaun ne’e (rai manas) ita hare uluk problema simples nebe akuntese iha ita nai rai laran no kontribui duni ba problema nebe boot iha mundu ne’e. Oinsa maka ita hare kestaun husi ita nia nasaun nia prespektiva. Atu bele involve an iha kazu global ne’e, ita tenki hare no resolve uluk problema sira iha nasaun laran, liu-liu oinsa maka ita nia politika (inklui sufisiente no apropiadu regulamentus) meio ambiente atu resolve ita nia problema domestiku. Iha parte seluk, kestaun hanesan pobreza, edukasun, saude, infrastrutura no seluk – seluk tan sai problema nebe importante liu atu ita hadia lalais.
Maibe perguntas maka ne’e, wainhira maka ita aplika kestaun meio ambiente nian? Atu bele responde ida ne’e, depende ba ita nia kapasidade, ita nia politika meio ambiente, no ema hotu-hotu nia konsensia katak meio ambiente mos importante no presiza hadia lalais. Tamba iha situasaun global agora ne’e, hakarak ka lakohi ita tenki hasoru no hamrik hadia ita nia meio ambiente, se lae wainhira sektores seluk dezenvolve tiha ona, susar ba ita atu fila hadia. Sei dificil liutan wainhira kustu nebe uza hodi hadia meio ambiente no lori tempu naruk.
Atu bele kumesa dezenvolve, ita mos presiza sistema ida, detailhu estudus, hodi bele suporta sustantevel dezenvolvimento. nebe signifika katak, saida deit maka ita halao no uza tenki hare husi aspektu oi-oin (ambiente, biodiversidade, economico no natural estetika) hodi bele fo benefisiu ba aspektu sira ne’e hotu sein iha redusaun ba rekursus nebe ita uza no bele sustatenta mos nesesidade gerasaun aban bai rua nian (la inclui rekursu minerais). Ida ne’e konseitu geral nebe kuandu spesifiku liu, aplika ba setore hotu-hotu inclui setor agricultura.
Iha Timor Leste, faktores sira nebe afeta meio ambiente husi atividade agricultura maka hanesan:
Ida, frequensia loke tos foun. ida ne’e akontese tamba agrikultor sira la iha kuineshementu nebe suficiente. Iha ne’e dala barak sira hili tos fatin foun la tuir padraun tos nian, hanesan tos loke foun nebe oras ne’e dadauk iha Carimbala (ezemplu deit), parte distritu Liquiςa. Iha ne’e ita bele hatete katak produsaun mai husi tos ne’e iha tinan premeiru bele diak maibe ikus fali fatin ne’e labele ona fo produsaun ida ke diak. Kazu hanesan ne’e akuntese iha fatin barak iha Timor Leste. Impaktu negative maka rai sai la forsa kuandu udan tau bebeik sei akuntese rai halai resulta ba estrada iha fatin ne’e bele kotu.
Rua, sunu rai. Iha Timor Leste, buat ida commun tamba iha tempu bai loron ita hare ema sunu rai, akuntese iha fatin barak. Iha Dili ita bele hare iha rai lolon sira iha Dili nia leten neba. Rezultadu husi atividade ne’e maka plantasaun barak mate no sai estragus. Rezultadu seluk husi aktividade ne’e maka estaraga habitat ba animal sira (manu fuik, manu kiik, invertebrates no sst) nebe hamutuk forma ekosistem ida. Inundasaun iha tempu udan, produs barak carbon monoxide afeta rai manas, no redus capasidade rai nian hodi forma be’e.
Tolu, husik animal, ne’e dala barak estraga ecologia, mayoria agricultor sira husik sira nia animal, tamba agricultor sira falta kuineshementu konaba oinsa dezenvolve agricultura sai komersiu no mantein natural ecologia, no mos kuineshementu konaba oinsa husik animal afeta ba ecologia.
Hat, falta kuineshementu, sistema agricultura iha Timor Leste sei bazea ba substensial agricultura. Tamba ne’e, presiza forma rekursu humanus agricultura nebe forte no presiza assistensia makas hodi hasa’e produsaun, inclui mos centru investigasaun nasional ida. Para hare mos kestaun aktual no bele fasilita transforma informasaun ba publiku liu-liu agrikultor sira.
Lima, falta lei no regulamentu, parte ida nebe ita bele hare iha Timor Leste katak lei no regulamentu seidauk suficiente no ema nebe atu halo’o funsaun ne’e sei falta.
Nen, seidauk funsiona relevante funsaun publika nebe bele halo monitorizaun konaba apalikasaun lei no regulamentus iha sosiadade nia let. Karik lei regulamentus disponivel, hanesan se maka atu halo’o monitorizasaun, guvernu central ka authoridade lokal sira.
Kestaun sira iha leten sei bele redus no rezulta ba hadia’a qualidade ambiental kuanndu, oragaun kompetente no sidadaun hotu – hotu bele iha neon katak problema ambiental mos sai hanesan problema importante ba ita nia nasaun. Iha lia fuan seluk bele hatete katak, investementu iha meio ambiente bele hahu dadauk hamutuk ho problema sira seluk iha nasaun nia laran hodi aban bairua lalika investe dala rua ba problema nebe hanesan.
Kualidade ambiente nebe diak mos ajuda aselera dezenvolvimentu iha parte turismo nian tamba nia fo benifisiu boot ba nasaun, pontu ida ne'e hanesan intrumentu positivu ba turismo tamba natural estetika nebe esiste, mai husi kualidade ambiental nebe diak.
Thursday, 25 June 2009
Timor seeks help to protect whale, dolphin hotspot
The government of East Timor says it plans to establish a national park to protect a bounty of dolphins and whales — some of them endangered species — recently discovered mingling and feeding off the coast of Asia's youngest country.
But officials say they will need foreign assistance to preserve the area and develop eco-tourism in one of the few places in the world with such numbers and variety of large sea mammals, thanks to its unusual geography and, possibly, to years of relative isolation.
Aerial surveys of the hotspot by scientists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science recorded "an exceptional diversity and abundance" of dolphins and whales, according to findings recently handed to officials in Dili.
"What you have in East Timor is a period of the year where there really is an incredible diversity of cetacean species, of dolphins in particular, small whales and even large whales," lead scientist Mark Meekan said. "That makes Timor quite unique."
Between April and November, the Australian and Timorese researchers spotted endangered blue whales, sperm whales and sei whales during flights along the island's northern and southern coasts.
Activity peaked in November, when they recorded spinner and spotted dolphins — internationally classified as depleted species — gathered in groups or pods of several hundred and mixing with small whales.
The waters around the mountainous island are squeezed into a narrow, deep sea trench that brings the animals together in vast numbers. More research is needed to learn why they are there and if it is an annual migration route, Meekan said.
The discovery has prompted vows from the Timorese leadership to declare the area a protected national park and develop it for ecotourism. Funding is being sought from the Asian Development Bank, the newly established six-nation Coral Triangle Initiative and other foreign donors, he said.
The marine institute recommended that East Timor promote whale watching and conduct follow-up studies to identify migratory pathways and establish guidelines for protecting species.
Mariano Sabino, the minister for agriculture and fisheries, told The Associated Press in an interview that it has become a priority to implement the recommendations. "It is our moral responsibility to implement them for the affluence of the Timorese people," he said. Sabino said outside help was essential for the effort, but did not immediately have a firm estimate of how much was needed.
The discovery of world-class marine life within a mile (2 kilometers) of East Timor's shores poses an opportunity to help reduce towering unemployment for the country's 1 million people, said Curt Jenner, managing director of the Australian Centre for Whale Research. "It shows the world that intensely productive areas such as this only exist in a very few and special places on the planet," Jenner said. "If tourism and science can help protect these areas, then that's perfect."
Source:http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hIkKEzCp34bNlVyP0J0C9F4CtMEQD991HQAO0
But officials say they will need foreign assistance to preserve the area and develop eco-tourism in one of the few places in the world with such numbers and variety of large sea mammals, thanks to its unusual geography and, possibly, to years of relative isolation.
Aerial surveys of the hotspot by scientists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science recorded "an exceptional diversity and abundance" of dolphins and whales, according to findings recently handed to officials in Dili.
"What you have in East Timor is a period of the year where there really is an incredible diversity of cetacean species, of dolphins in particular, small whales and even large whales," lead scientist Mark Meekan said. "That makes Timor quite unique."
Between April and November, the Australian and Timorese researchers spotted endangered blue whales, sperm whales and sei whales during flights along the island's northern and southern coasts.
Activity peaked in November, when they recorded spinner and spotted dolphins — internationally classified as depleted species — gathered in groups or pods of several hundred and mixing with small whales.
The waters around the mountainous island are squeezed into a narrow, deep sea trench that brings the animals together in vast numbers. More research is needed to learn why they are there and if it is an annual migration route, Meekan said.
The discovery has prompted vows from the Timorese leadership to declare the area a protected national park and develop it for ecotourism. Funding is being sought from the Asian Development Bank, the newly established six-nation Coral Triangle Initiative and other foreign donors, he said.
The marine institute recommended that East Timor promote whale watching and conduct follow-up studies to identify migratory pathways and establish guidelines for protecting species.
Mariano Sabino, the minister for agriculture and fisheries, told The Associated Press in an interview that it has become a priority to implement the recommendations. "It is our moral responsibility to implement them for the affluence of the Timorese people," he said. Sabino said outside help was essential for the effort, but did not immediately have a firm estimate of how much was needed.
The discovery of world-class marine life within a mile (2 kilometers) of East Timor's shores poses an opportunity to help reduce towering unemployment for the country's 1 million people, said Curt Jenner, managing director of the Australian Centre for Whale Research. "It shows the world that intensely productive areas such as this only exist in a very few and special places on the planet," Jenner said. "If tourism and science can help protect these areas, then that's perfect."
Source:http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hIkKEzCp34bNlVyP0J0C9F4CtMEQD991HQAO0
Friday, 8 May 2009
Aquatic food webs and the effect on humans lives
The world's waters were once seen as a boundless source of fish for humans to eat, but over-fishing and aquaculture have depleted some species and left others famished and weak. These conditions accumulated with climate change and degrade which cause more stressful to fish populations. Different temperature causes uncertainty water masses in the ocean. This means warm water more forced to the poles. These differences affect food webs and habitats.
While, in many countries in developing aquaculture, are not supplied with sufficient sustainable management, which is in turning, the food linkages are being cut, such as mangrove areas have been changed for the aquaculture site. Changing the natural functions of mangrove also contributed in increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. When the excessive carbon dioxide present, photosynthesis eliminates and the rest absorbed by ocean. In the ocean, this may lead to acidic condition that causes coral bleaching. It then causes breaking off food web and biodiversity.
In addition, the big fish seems mostly appeared on the wealth countries. For example, salmon and tuna have been over-fished. When these are hard to obtain, then small fish is targeted and it’s under pressure. Which is not supposedly used for human consumption. The potential problems are remained lying ahead, and all about how we are going to deal with these situations to sustain our lives.
Aquaculture is the option, but how sustainable management can be reached to address the issues and to derive maximum production in sustaining human life. There have been many adverse effects raised. In future, development has to be considering the adverse effects. And any single project has to be included a comprehensive assessment which is environmentally friendly. The objective is to minimise any impact that may rise and allow sustainable resources management.
While, in many countries in developing aquaculture, are not supplied with sufficient sustainable management, which is in turning, the food linkages are being cut, such as mangrove areas have been changed for the aquaculture site. Changing the natural functions of mangrove also contributed in increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. When the excessive carbon dioxide present, photosynthesis eliminates and the rest absorbed by ocean. In the ocean, this may lead to acidic condition that causes coral bleaching. It then causes breaking off food web and biodiversity.
In addition, the big fish seems mostly appeared on the wealth countries. For example, salmon and tuna have been over-fished. When these are hard to obtain, then small fish is targeted and it’s under pressure. Which is not supposedly used for human consumption. The potential problems are remained lying ahead, and all about how we are going to deal with these situations to sustain our lives.
Aquaculture is the option, but how sustainable management can be reached to address the issues and to derive maximum production in sustaining human life. There have been many adverse effects raised. In future, development has to be considering the adverse effects. And any single project has to be included a comprehensive assessment which is environmentally friendly. The objective is to minimise any impact that may rise and allow sustainable resources management.
Saturday, 14 March 2009
Climate Change and Overfishing Trigger Food Problem. Sustainable Aquaculture Is Suggested
The UN body of FAO warns that climate change and overfishing would drive fishing – reliant community in the developing countries to be more vulnerable. Fisheries authorities must do more to understand and prepare for rising temperatures. To cope with climate change and overfishing, fishing practices must be widely implemented and management plans should be expanded.
Aquaculture currently contributes 47 percent of total fish consumed by human as food. Whereas, many fisheries are being exploited at the top range of their productive capacity. The areas with the highest proportions of fully-exploited fish stocks are the Northeast Atlantic Ocean, the Western Indian Ocean and the Northwest Pacific Ocean.
Aquaculture continues to be the fastest-growing animal food producing sector and is poised to provide half of all fish consumed worldwide, finds the FAO report, adding that future developments should move towards hatchery-based aquaculture, cutting dependence on wild stocks. With aquaculture set to be the basis of all future growth in global seafood production, the global environment organization WWF responded to the new report with an urgent call to put aquaculture on a more sustainable basis.
"The dramatic growth in aquaculture makes it more and more urgent to ensure that aquaculture becomes more sustainable and that supplying the stock and the feed for fish farming becomes less of a burden on traditional fisheries. Coastal aquaculture must also stop making inroads into fish habitat such as mangrove areas, it must become less polluting and less of a disease risk and it must be carried out without making communities more vulnerable to natural disasters. They warn that conversion of wetlands and mangrove forests into shrimp ponds contributes to climate change by releasing stored carbon in the soil into the atmosphere and by nullifying the mangroves' function of sequestering carbon.
On the other hand, with long roots that shelter juvenile fish and protect coastlines from erosion, hurricanes, storm surges, and tsunami, mangrove trees grow in the intertidal areas and estuary mouths between land and water.
"Producers want to see some change in the industry, They are willing to change farming practices to protect the environment. Shrimp dialogue participants have identified some key impacts they want to try to minimize - water pollution, salt water from shrimp farms can seep into the groundwater; chemicals and antibiotics; destruction of natural habitat; and the clearing of mangrove forests."
The aquaculture’s standards would ne soon produced to guide industries and farmers. This is an unprecedented effort to ensure that future aquaculture is environmentally sustainable, and well-positioned to meet the growing demand for seafood worldwide."These new standards will raise the bar in the industry, giving consumers assurance that their food purchases are good for the environment.
For more detail: http://www.fao.org/docrep/011/i0250e/i0250e00.htm
Friday, 6 March 2009
Reducing carbon dioxide on the earth
European Union (EU) raises a project in term to reduce carbon dioxide to atmosphere. It is believed that by conducting this project would be able to capture and store carbon dioxide in underground or seabed. This sophisticated and crucial technology is built in order to reduce global warming impact of fossil fuel and gases that the word is relying. Relying on these sources of energies has been estimated to continue for decades.
This project could be raised from experimental data that has been obtained since 1996. The data show that this project will be successful and visible project in future. The experimental result shows burry 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in a sandstone formation 1,000 metres underneath seabed, has no negative impact up to date. Further study shows that the liquid CO2 tend to sink deeper underground instead return to the surface. Burying 10 million tonnes every year is equivalent to carbon emission from 300,000 cars.
Although the project seems visible but scientists still argue releasing carbon dioxide into seabed may be harmful for marine ecosystem especially coral reef. A recent study shows that excesses carbon dioxide would cause acidic condition in the sea. The more acids the more energy would be need to sustain coral reef. The more energies spend on it would cause coral to be die off. This suggested that more experiments need to be carried out before the implementation of the project.
For more detail: http://www.euractiv.com/en/climate-change/carbon-capture-storage/article-157806
This project could be raised from experimental data that has been obtained since 1996. The data show that this project will be successful and visible project in future. The experimental result shows burry 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in a sandstone formation 1,000 metres underneath seabed, has no negative impact up to date. Further study shows that the liquid CO2 tend to sink deeper underground instead return to the surface. Burying 10 million tonnes every year is equivalent to carbon emission from 300,000 cars.
Although the project seems visible but scientists still argue releasing carbon dioxide into seabed may be harmful for marine ecosystem especially coral reef. A recent study shows that excesses carbon dioxide would cause acidic condition in the sea. The more acids the more energy would be need to sustain coral reef. The more energies spend on it would cause coral to be die off. This suggested that more experiments need to be carried out before the implementation of the project.
For more detail: http://www.euractiv.com/en/climate-change/carbon-capture-storage/article-157806
Monday, 23 February 2009
Major Environmental Problems of Asia
Throughout the Asia-Pacific region, rapid economic and population growth creates serious social consequences from environmental problems of urban excess, deforestation, overfishing, global warming, air pollution, and limited safe water supplies. The Asian economic crisis has aggravated this trend. Economic policies have encouraged growth in some sectors while ignoring damage to others. Further, little regard is given to sustainability of the exploited resources. The social costs in terms of health, economic efficiency, and cultural dislocation are immediate, while the long-term costs of environmental rehabilitation are humbling. Left unbridled, environmental damage can lead to economic decline.
Urban exess
Urban Excess Environmental problems arise from the urban by-products of transport, industrial activities, and the overcrowding of human habitation. Economic policies have encouraged mass migration of labor to urban industries. The shift from rural to urban Asia will accelerate in the coming century, aggravating urban crowding and increasing the risk of social and political conflict. Asia’s urban profile increased from 27% (0.7B people) in 1980 to 38% (1.4B) in 2000 and will rise to 50% (2.3B) in 2020.
To date, governments have stimulated urban migration by maintaining low food costs, which reduce rural incomes and increase the flight to the cities. About a third of the people in the Third World’s cities live in desperately overcrowded slums and squatter settlements, with many people unemployed, uneducated, undernourished and chronically ill. Conditions will worsen as their numbers swell and transport, communication, health and sanitation systems break down. One solution to urban excesses is to divert industry and its induced labor migration away from the mega cities towards surrounding areas. This requires significant infrastructure investment, however, and establishes competing centers of political power.
Deforestation/Desertification
Asian food security is threatened by deforestation and desertification. More than a third of the arable land in Asia is at risk. Nearly 75% of Southeast Asia’s original forest cover has been destroyed at an annual loss rate that is the size of Switzerland. The loss of forests and agricultural land is due to both the exploitation for profit and the ignorance of good practices. Isolated, rogue regimes such as Burma exploit timber, oil, and mineral resources to support their governments. Poor farmers across Asia use improper irrigation and fertilization practices, resulting in increased salinity and toxic soils.
Regardless of motive and method, the loss of workable land hurts not only the harvester, but also has broad consequences for his neighbors in terms of erosion, downstream flooding, and pollution. Indonesia’s provinces refuse to properly manage the annual smog threatening the health and productivity of its own people as well as in neighboring Singapore and Malaysia. These failings point to an obvious need to invest in improved oversight, management, monitoring, methods, and conservation.
Landmines and Unexploded Ordnance After years of conflict, large quantities of mines and other unexploded ordnance (UXO) litter the landscape, killing and maiming thousands of innocent victims annually. The problem is most acute in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos.
In Cambodia, one out of every 245 individuals is an amputee. Landmines and/or UXO maim or kill 100 people per month in Cambodia. Death or injury remove many victims from the work force during their productive years, further debilitating economically disadvantaged families.
Landmines and UXO create vast numbers of internally displaced people, remove valuable real estate from productive use, serve as physical barriers to the movement of people, goods and services, and dramatically increase the mortality rate of both people and livestock.
Cambodia’s 4 to 6 million landmines are scatter over 1,800 square kilometers, or roughly 1% of the country. Estimates are that 200,000 tons of UXO affect up to 50% of the Laotian landmass.
Major projects have been delayed, and, before activities proceed, accountants must set aside up to 10% of project costs for mine clearance. Large-scale development is difficult or impossible because of landmines.
Agricultural production could increase by 135% in Cambodia without the impediments of mines and UXO. The United States has provided millions of dollars in monetary aid and has carried out or proposed a number of projects to help these countries deal with this problem. Progress toward removing all mines and UXO is slow, and may be impossible due to technical difficulties in identifying mines and UXO in the field.
Areas of greatest economic value should receive highest priority for clearance, barriers need to be constructed for those areas that cannot be cleared at this time, and educational programs should be initiated. The U.S. military’s unique technical knowledge helps these clearing efforts, but domestic programs need sound funding and implementation.
Water
As the demand for water grows with population and the economy, water supplies will be increasingly polluted from untreated sewage, from industrial discharges, and from salt-water intrusion of overexploited water tables.
As the demand for water grows with population and the economy, water supplies will be increasingly polluted from untreated sewage, from industrial discharges, and from salt-water intrusion of overexploited water tables.
In Jakarta, it costs $20M to $30M annually to boil water for home use. In Manila Bay, heavily polluted by sewage, fish catches have dropped 40% in the last decade. Fish catches near cities in India and China also have experienced major declines. Of Taiwan's 20 million people, less than 1 million are served by sewers. Each day in Hong Kong, about 1 million tons of sewage and industrial effluent pour untreated into the sea - a volume to fill 500 Olympic swimming pools, according to Hong Kong officials. Projecting to 2025, water shortages will affect India, China, North and South Korea, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Water disputes have affected international relations for years. Although an agreement was reached in 1996, India and Bangladesh have disagreed on the sharing of the waters of the Ganges for more than 20 years. Greater numbers of international disputes will arise and be more difficult to resolve as populations increase and economies grow, thereby placing a greater demand on scarce resources.
A domestic resource allocation problem that is common to the Pacific Islands soon will prevail over Asia: high-use agriculture will compete with populations for scarce water supplies. While more than 80% of the water consumed in Asia is used for agricultural purposes, 60 to 75% is lost to evaporation before reaching the crops. A technological solution may be to encourage the use of water-efficient drip irrigation techniques, which are employed in less than 1% of all irrigated areas.
Overfishing
Fish are a key source of food for virtually all Asian states, providing one of the largest sources of animal protein to the world's fastest growing commodity market. The world’s largest tuna fishery crosses the jurisdiction of at least 21 countries—as well as extensive high-seas areas of the Pacific Ocean—and involves harvesting by fishing vessels from 26 different nations.
Across the Pacific and in many coastal and riparian parts of Asia, fishing is a significant part of the economic base, providing food, employment, revenue, and foreign exchange earnings. World fisheries are being overfished as marine catches increased from 17 million metric tons (MMT) in 1950 to a peak of 87.1 MMT in 1996. As a result, there has been a steady increase in the frequency of clashes and incidents at sea caused by foreign fishing trawlers illegally encroaching into Exclusive Economic Zones and territorial seas.
Aquaculture production is a growing part of the fisheries sector. In 1996, 20% of all global fisheries production was from aquaculture. Asia dominates world aquaculture for fish, shrimp and shellfish, with China producing 68% of the global total. If done in an environmentally friendly manner, aquaculture can be a positive contributor to the world food supply.
For example, giant tiger prawn production in Thailand has exploded from 900 to 277,000 tons in the last decade. However, reckless pumping of seawater into shrimp ponds can damage neighboring fields and hurt coastal marine life. To protect fisheries and insure sustainability, cooperative resource management schemes such as fishing quotas need to be established and enforced. Militaries, coast guards, law enforcement, and courts should cooperate to reduce the possibility of disputes, collisions, and pollution, such as negligent oil spills.
Global Warming
Carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), methane, and nitrous oxide act like a glass in a greenhouse, letting the sun’s rays in but trapping heat that would otherwise be released back into space. Carbon dioxide accounts for more than half of the warming affect, while CFCs contribute about a quarter and methane and nitrous oxide cause the remainder. Temperatures have increased .3 to .6 degrees C over the last century, consistent with the rise in greenhouse gases as predicted in recently developed computer models. Climate models predict that temperatures will be 1 to 3 degrees C higher in 2100.
Rising ocean temperatures and melting polar caps will elevate sea levels by 15 to 95 cm in the next century. Bangladesh could lose 17% of its land area to rising seas, while several island nations, such as the Maldives and Tuvalu will become uninhabitable or disappear. Parts of Northern Europe and Canada will benefit from better harvests, but crop yields in India could decline by 30% by 2050.
The controversial solution of the Kyoto Protocol of December 1997 places legally binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions. The protocol aims to reduce emissions from developing countries to approximately 95% of their 1990 levels by the 2008 to 2012 timeframe.
Air Pollution
Air pollution from vehicles, power plants, incinerators and industry is a major problem in Asia. Outdated pollution control technology and the use of high polluting fuels compound this problem.
Health.
Nine of the fifteen cities with the highest particulate levels in the world and six out of the fifteen cities worst affected by sulfur dioxide are in East Asia. Air pollution in China caused more that 175,000 premature deaths in 1995 and nearly 2 million cases of chronic bronchitis. Damage to health and buildings cost Bangkok $1B annually, while air pollution in Delhi decreased crop yields by 30%.
Cross-impacts.
Air pollution, in the form of acid rain, can be transported hundreds of miles by wind before being deposited through fog, rain or snow. The acidic deposition damages buildings, degrades the environment and reduces crop yields. In India, wheat growing near a power plant suffered a 49% reduction in yield compared with that grown 22 kilometers away.
Transnational interest.
South Korea and Japan are concerned about economic and health effects of airborne pollutants and acid rain from coal burning power plants in nearby China. China's heavy use of air-polluting coal blurs the distinction between domestic economics and transnational threats.
Technology.
The developed countries have dramatically reduced the amount of pollutant emissions in the last 20 years through the implementation of new technologies. Widespread use of these proven technologies in developing and advanced Asian economies, coupled with cleaner burning fuels such as unleaded gasoline, natural gas and low sulfur coal can reduce total emissions regardless of rising energy consumption. Implications for Cooperation Since trade has a significant effect on environmental conditions, the World Trade Organization (WTO) is making efforts to address these problems in a multilateral forum. Also, the APEC forum is discussing environmental policy, technologies, sustainability, and education and information.
Countries are increasingly participating in global and regional conventions on atmosphere and oceans, protection of wildlife and habitat, and the handling of hazardous substances. The United Nations and the World Bank are providing aid through the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for countries suffering from spillover pollution of neighboring countries.
Fledgling regional organizations are develop a dialog for resolving contentious issues by discussing environmental management; nature conservation; industrial, marine, and urban settings; and education, training, and information.
Among these organizations are ASEAN, the South Asia Cooperative Environment Program (SACEP), the South Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP), and the Lower Mekong Basin Development Environment Program (LMBDEP). The latter organization links economic cooperation and development in Laos, Vietnam and Thailand, addresses food and power production, flood control, and navigation in the lower Mekong River basin.
Conclusions
Environmental issues are an underlying—and often neglected—cause for conflicts, disasters, or dislocations. Militaries in the region may be called upon not only to resolve conflicts, but—like the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers—to use their organizational skills and resources to address both crisis relief and long-term issues of security and infrastructure. Further—at the micro-economic level—each country's military faces a broad array of environmental challenges from the impact of their infrastructure and operations. The U.S. military is highly skilled in confronting these challenges. By sharing these environmental security practices with other countries, the U.S. military promotes good governance and sets an example for reducing environmental threats.
Environmental issues are an underlying—and often neglected—cause for conflicts, disasters, or dislocations. Militaries in the region may be called upon not only to resolve conflicts, but—like the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers—to use their organizational skills and resources to address both crisis relief and long-term issues of security and infrastructure. Further—at the micro-economic level—each country's military faces a broad array of environmental challenges from the impact of their infrastructure and operations. The U.S. military is highly skilled in confronting these challenges. By sharing these environmental security practices with other countries, the U.S. military promotes good governance and sets an example for reducing environmental threats.
World's fisheries face climate change threat
A new international study has warned that millions of people dependent on fisheries in Africa, Asia and South America
could face unprecedented hardship as a consequence of climate change.
Researchers examined the fisheries of 132 nations to determine which were the most vulnerable, based on the potential environmental impact of climate change, how dependent their economy and diet were on fisheries, and the capacity of the country to adapt.
Climate change can affect the temperature of inland lakes, the health of reefs and how nutrients circulate in the oceans, the researchers say.
They identified 33 countries as "highly vulnerable" to the effects of global warming on fisheries.
These countries produce 20 per cent of the world's fish exports and 22 are already classified by the UN as "least developed". Inhabitants of vulnerable countries are also more dependent on fish for protein — 27 per cent of dietary protein is gained from fish, compared with 13 per cent in other countries. Two-thirds of the most vulnerable nations identified are in tropical Africa.
The study, led by the Malaysia-based WorldFish Center, was published inFish and Fisheries this month (6 February).
Using an approach developed from the International Panel on Climate Change's methods for assessing the vulnerability of nations to climate change as a whole, the authors determined that both coastal and landlocked African countries such as Guinea, Malawi, Senegal and Uganda; Asian countries including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan, and Yemen; and Colombia and Peru in South America, are among the most vulnerable.
The 33 countries should be a priority for climate change adaptation efforts and, more importantly, their fisheries should be maintained or enhanced to ensure they can make contributions to poverty reduction, say the authors.Edward Allison, director of policy, economic and social science at WorldFish Center and the paper's lead author, says that to ensure fisheries continue to support the poorest people policies should be implemented on two fronts: mitigation and adaptation.
But while mitigation can be valuable — because of relationships between emission reductions, energy saving and responsible fisheries — "the challenge of adaptation is both significant and potentially urgent", he says.
"Policy support for adaptation involves supporting measures to reduce exposure of fishing people to climate-related risks, reducing dependence of peoples' livelihoods on climate-sensitive resources, and supporting people's capacity to anticipate and cope with climate-related changes", he concludes.
Source cited from http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/39359
could face unprecedented hardship as a consequence of climate change.
Researchers examined the fisheries of 132 nations to determine which were the most vulnerable, based on the potential environmental impact of climate change, how dependent their economy and diet were on fisheries, and the capacity of the country to adapt.
Climate change can affect the temperature of inland lakes, the health of reefs and how nutrients circulate in the oceans, the researchers say.
They identified 33 countries as "highly vulnerable" to the effects of global warming on fisheries.
These countries produce 20 per cent of the world's fish exports and 22 are already classified by the UN as "least developed". Inhabitants of vulnerable countries are also more dependent on fish for protein — 27 per cent of dietary protein is gained from fish, compared with 13 per cent in other countries. Two-thirds of the most vulnerable nations identified are in tropical Africa.
The study, led by the Malaysia-based WorldFish Center, was published inFish and Fisheries this month (6 February).
Using an approach developed from the International Panel on Climate Change's methods for assessing the vulnerability of nations to climate change as a whole, the authors determined that both coastal and landlocked African countries such as Guinea, Malawi, Senegal and Uganda; Asian countries including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan, and Yemen; and Colombia and Peru in South America, are among the most vulnerable.
The 33 countries should be a priority for climate change adaptation efforts and, more importantly, their fisheries should be maintained or enhanced to ensure they can make contributions to poverty reduction, say the authors.Edward Allison, director of policy, economic and social science at WorldFish Center and the paper's lead author, says that to ensure fisheries continue to support the poorest people policies should be implemented on two fronts: mitigation and adaptation.
But while mitigation can be valuable — because of relationships between emission reductions, energy saving and responsible fisheries — "the challenge of adaptation is both significant and potentially urgent", he says.
"Policy support for adaptation involves supporting measures to reduce exposure of fishing people to climate-related risks, reducing dependence of peoples' livelihoods on climate-sensitive resources, and supporting people's capacity to anticipate and cope with climate-related changes", he concludes.
Source cited from http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/39359
Thursday, 19 February 2009
Climate Change Erodes Marine Reserves
Shifting species may mean less protection for imperiled fisheries
By Andrew McGlashen.
Climate change has undermined fundamental assumptions about oceanic conservation, challenging the notion that today’s sanctuaries will protect tomorrow’s fish.
Conservationists have long assumed fish harvested at a sustainable rate will forever be available for future generations. Instead, scientists now find that a warming ocean is mobilizing fish populations, sending them to the poles with little regard for marine preserve boundaries.
Many of the areas set aside for fish protection are the most vulnerable to climate change, scientists say.
“This basic belief behind conservation is no longer the case,” said Emily Pidgeon of Conservation International, speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.Conservationists must adapt their management plans to that poleward shift, Pidgeon said.On average, fish are expected to migrate 25 miles per decade, according to a new study led by William Cheung of the University of East Anglia.
"Our research shows that the impact of climate change on marine biodiversity and fisheries is going to be huge," Cheung said. "We must act now to adapt our fisheries management and conservation policies to minimize harm to marine life and to our society.”The oceans are suffering from “a pretty significant overdose of temperature, acidification and nutrients,” said Patrick Halpin, director of the Geospatial Analysis Program at Duke University.
Worse, climate models predict that the areas where marine preserves are most prevalent—coastal regions in the northern hemisphere—will see greater increases in temperature than the oceans as a whole, Halpin said. Those same areas are also especially susceptible to other environmental disturbances, like nutrients from agricultural runoff, which can create oxygen-depleted “dead zones” where most marine life can’t survive. According to Pidgeon, inflexible political boundaries are ill-suited to protecting fish in our rapidly changing seas, and conservationists must find a way to include species migration in their strategies.“This stuff’s critical to conservation in the future,” she said.
Ocean Acidification Hits Great Barrier Reef
By David Biello
Coral growth has been sluggish since 1990 due to an increase in both sea temperature and acidity as a result of global warming
The largest coral reef system in the world—and the biggest sign of life on Earth, visible from space—is not growing like it used to. A sampling of 328 massive Porites coral (large structures resembling brains that are formed by tiny polyps) from across the 133,000-square-mile (344,000-square-kilometer) reef reveals that growth of these colonies has slowed by roughly 13 percent since 1990.
The largest coral reef system in the world—and the biggest sign of life on Earth, visible from space—is not growing like it used to. A sampling of 328 massive Porites coral (large structures resembling brains that are formed by tiny polyps) from across the 133,000-square-mile (344,000-square-kilometer) reef reveals that growth of these colonies has slowed by roughly 13 percent since 1990.
The most likely reason is climate change caused by increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, according to a new paper published today in Science.
The burning of fossil fuels over the past century or so has driven atmospheric CO2 levels from 280 parts per million (ppm) to 387 ppm—and growing. More than 25 percent of this extra CO2 is absorbed by the world's oceans and reacts with seawater to form carbonic acid. A rising carbonic acid level means a more acidic ocean. And a more acidic ocean is bad news for coral and other sea creatures, which form their shells from calcium carbonate they extract from seawater. The more acidic the water, the more difficult it is to build the shells in the first place—as well as keeping them from dissolving.
To probe how corals are faring, marine biologist Glenn De'ath and colleagues at the Australian Institute of Marine Science in Townsville, Queensland, examined Porites coral samples stretching as far back as 1572. Because Porites lay down annual layers—like tree rings—changing environmental conditions are etched into their skeletons.The record has not been good in recent years: Since 1990 coral have been extending and thickening by less and less each year.
"The data suggest that such a severe and sudden decline in calcification is unprecedented in at least the past 400 years," the researchers wrote."This study put all this worry and discussion [about ocean acidification] into a real-world context," says marine biologist John Bruno of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "It shows that coral growth is indeed slowing—over a huge range and at many reefs—potentially due to increased acidity.
"Slower growth will mean both that existing coral will find it difficult to cope with escalating acidity and rising sea levels. This will have enormous knock-on effects in sea life that relies on coral reefs for habitat—as well as human fisheries and other ecosystem services.
In the meantime, it appears that changes in sea temperatures and increased acidity are already beginning to impact the Great Barrier Reef. "Our data show that growth and calcification of massive Porites in the Great Barrier Reef are already declining and are doing so at a rate unprecedented in coral records reaching back 400 years," the researchers wrote. "These organisms are central to the formation and function of ecosystems and food webs, and precipitous changes in the biodiversity and productivity of the world's oceans may be imminent."
Monday, 16 February 2009
Tuna in Transition
Troubles in the global economy catch up with Soccsksargen’s main industry
Once considered a backdoor entrance to the Cotabato region, General Santos City has risen to become one of the key cities in Mindanao. In many respects, it has outpaced its peers. And when one thinks about General Santos—or the neighboring province of Sarangani for that matter—tuna comes to mind.
The tuna industry has been responsible for the vibrancy of Soccsksargen’s economy.
The country produces over 400,000 metric tons of fresh, canned, and processed tuna every year, generating more than US$280 million in annual export revenues. It accounts for 4 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
General Santos City annually produces 100 to 200 metric tons of fresh yellow fin tuna, which are exported to Japan, the United States, and Europe. The industry directly and indirectly employs 120,000 workers.
But these figures belie the gloomy outlook of the industry.
Recent developments in the world economy have caught up with the business of catching, storing, and canning tuna. They threaten the growth of not only General Santos, but of the neighboring provinces as well.
The tuna industry, which is export-oriented, has naturally fallen prey to the surging costs of fuel. Worse, the waters in which fishermen can catch tuna have become limited, considerably decreasing the industry’s output. Stiffer competition from countries that are also in the business of catching, canning, and exporting tuna has not helped either.
The industry is not yet in panic mode, but it is raising the alarm due to rising fuel costs. “We are raising this alarm because the volume of landed catch has dramatically declined in the first semester of this year,” said South Cotabato Boat Owner and Tuna Association president Domingo Teng.
Fuel costs alone eat up 45 to 75 percent of the production overhead, depending on the engine, size, and make of the ship, according to Jerry Damalerio of Damalerio Fishing.
Richie Rich Tan, vice president for operations of San Andres Fishing Industries Inc. (SAFI), said that their company consumed about 600,000 liters of diesel and gasoline products per month before the fuel crisis. SAFI owns several of the more than 70 registered large purse seine ships, which have over 100 service boats among them. (There are also a number of small- and medium-sized purse seine owners that account for 750 more fishing vessels. These numbers exclude the tuna handline fishing vessels, which number close to 4,000.)
Many vessels have been grounded, further reducing the amount of fish caught.
Even as oil prices have recently gone below $100 per barrel, tuna industry stalwarts have proposed a number of measures aimed at mitigating the negative effects of the sharp increases in the price of fuel commodities. For one, big tuna producers and small fisherfolk here are asking the government to extend a P5-per-liter discount on petroleum products to keep the tuna industry from collapsing.
The volume of catch from January to June has dropped by 34 percent, year-on-year. The output for 2007 also paled in comparison to the year before that. Industry players pointed to the increase in global temperatures as the culprit for the decline in 2007.
If tuna producers are granted a discount of P5 per liter on fuel products, the industry could save as much as P1.2 billion in operating costs in one year.
The tuna producers are also looking into directly importing and supplying the fuel needs of the vessels, according to some industry insiders. However, some oil companies have shot down the idea. Officers of an oil company operating in General Santos said that while they welcome the move to allow tuna producers to import their own fuel requirements, they doubt if it will be viable from the standpoint of business.
In a deregulated environment such as ours, the tuna producers’ idea is possible. There is a downside, however: the tuna industry “will have to put up their own depot facilities and distribution network,” said a marketing official of a big oil company, who requested anonymity due to lack of authority to speak on behalf of the company and the oil industry.
The same marketing official said that if tuna producers are allowed to import fuel, they should be made to also pay the corresponding taxes and import duties that all oil companies are paying the government. The same market forces that govern oil companies should govern tuna producers as well.
Oil companies are understandably threatened. They stand to lose a major share of the market if producers can independently import their fuel requirements. Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) director Malcolm Sarmiento said that the tuna industry consumes between 18 and 20 million liters of petroleum products a month, making it the single largest consumer of fuel products in the whole of Soccsksargen region.
But there’s a flipside to the issue of rising fuel costs. Japan, another major player in the tuna market, recently announced the suspension of its tuna fishing operations. As of August 1, all its 233 member vessels have suspended operations.
Masahiro Ishikawa, president of Japan Tuna Fisheries Cooperative Association (Tuna Japan), said that they “cannot make profit at all from fishing operations because of the prohibitively high fuel prices.” The suspension will run from two months to two years, according to Infofish Trade News.
The Japanese decision drove up the prices of Philippine yellow fin tuna to record levels this year. Local landed price of sashimi-grade yellow fin tuna reached P350 per kilo at the General Santos City Fish Port complex immediately after Japan made the announcement. In lean months, yellow fin tuna goes for as high as P250 per kilo (usually during the months of July to early November); when in abundance, it can go for as low as P180.
This rise in prices may help the local industry temporarily, but many players are saying that not all stakeholders can take advantage of the increase because of the prohibitive price of fuel. So far, many local fishermen have had to stay at home, severely affecting the livelihood of some 50,000 residents in General Santos who are dependent on the tuna industry.
The shortage in fisherfolk catching and hauling tuna has left some companies without tuna to can. Canneries, such as Philbest, have resorted into importing frozen tuna to keep up with its export supply contracts in the US and Europe.
The problem of not being able to catch and haul tuna is not exclusive to the small fisherfolk. For big operators, the high cost of fuel simply means that their ships cannot sail into the high seas. “Fewer vessels going out to the high seas means less catch,” Teng said. These ships have to sail far in order to catch the tuna in their natural migratory avenues.
But going out to the high seas isn’t as simple as it used to be. Before 2006, Filipino companies or small fisherfolk were able to venture into the overlapping exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of Indonesia and the Philippines in the Sulawesi Sea.
Today, that is no longer the case. Since the expiration of the bilateral agreement between the two countries, the Philippine government has been having problems in setting up an arrangement with Indonesia. The termination of the agreement has been blamed as one of the causes of declining tuna catch landed at the General Santos City Fish Port complex.
It appears that it is not only with the Spratly Islands that the government has to concern itself when it comes to the delineation of the national baseline and the EEZ. Tuna fishing fleet operators are asking the Philippine government to immediately delineate the country’s territorial waters to protect fishermen from being apprehended in traditional fishing grounds, which they share with neighboring countries in Southeast Asia. “We have a deadline to meet on May 9 next year to define our territorial waters,” Teng said.
Not only that, there appears to have been a mix-up in the payment of membership dues to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC). Teng said the Philippines had been prevented from fully participating in policy discussions due to its failure to pay its annual dues.
This, however, has been remedied by the government. Agriculture Undersecretary Jesus Emmanuel Paras said the Department of Agriculture, through the BFAR, has assumed the payment of required WCPFC fees, which the government reportedly thought should be covered by the private sector.
The WCPFC has both binding and nonbinding powers over its 26 member countries and eight participating territories in the Western and Central Pacific Region. The governing body defines regulations in managing international fishing grounds in the region.
Among the measures adopted by the commission was the identification and subsequent authorization of fishing vessels operating in the area. The Philippines is also committed, under another WCPFC measure, to the conservation and management of big eye and yellow fin tuna in the Central and Western Pacific Region.
Paras said that despite the many problems that the tuna industry has to deal with, the government is confident it will weather the storm. “There is reason to remain bullish on the future of the tuna industry.”
The story isn’t that bad when compared to other major tuna-exporting countries such as Thailand, where canneries have started to close shop. So far, this hasn’t happened in the Philippines.
He said the Arroyo government has been addressing the clamor for wider access to more fishing grounds for the country’s tuna fishermen and purse seine operators.
“Our government has recently signed a bilateral fishing agreement with Timor Leste,” he told some 250 delegates attending the annual tuna conference.
According to him, efforts to forge similar arrangements with the governments of Palau, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Marshall Islands, and Kiribati are ongoing. More immediately, measures that will address high fuel costs have to be in place if our tuna industry has to sail again toward distant seas.
http://newsbreak.com.ph/index.phpoption=com_content&task=view&id=5853&Itemid=88889377
Once considered a backdoor entrance to the Cotabato region, General Santos City has risen to become one of the key cities in Mindanao. In many respects, it has outpaced its peers. And when one thinks about General Santos—or the neighboring province of Sarangani for that matter—tuna comes to mind.
The tuna industry has been responsible for the vibrancy of Soccsksargen’s economy.
The country produces over 400,000 metric tons of fresh, canned, and processed tuna every year, generating more than US$280 million in annual export revenues. It accounts for 4 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
General Santos City annually produces 100 to 200 metric tons of fresh yellow fin tuna, which are exported to Japan, the United States, and Europe. The industry directly and indirectly employs 120,000 workers.
But these figures belie the gloomy outlook of the industry.
Recent developments in the world economy have caught up with the business of catching, storing, and canning tuna. They threaten the growth of not only General Santos, but of the neighboring provinces as well.
The tuna industry, which is export-oriented, has naturally fallen prey to the surging costs of fuel. Worse, the waters in which fishermen can catch tuna have become limited, considerably decreasing the industry’s output. Stiffer competition from countries that are also in the business of catching, canning, and exporting tuna has not helped either.
The industry is not yet in panic mode, but it is raising the alarm due to rising fuel costs. “We are raising this alarm because the volume of landed catch has dramatically declined in the first semester of this year,” said South Cotabato Boat Owner and Tuna Association president Domingo Teng.
Fuel costs alone eat up 45 to 75 percent of the production overhead, depending on the engine, size, and make of the ship, according to Jerry Damalerio of Damalerio Fishing.
Richie Rich Tan, vice president for operations of San Andres Fishing Industries Inc. (SAFI), said that their company consumed about 600,000 liters of diesel and gasoline products per month before the fuel crisis. SAFI owns several of the more than 70 registered large purse seine ships, which have over 100 service boats among them. (There are also a number of small- and medium-sized purse seine owners that account for 750 more fishing vessels. These numbers exclude the tuna handline fishing vessels, which number close to 4,000.)
Many vessels have been grounded, further reducing the amount of fish caught.
Even as oil prices have recently gone below $100 per barrel, tuna industry stalwarts have proposed a number of measures aimed at mitigating the negative effects of the sharp increases in the price of fuel commodities. For one, big tuna producers and small fisherfolk here are asking the government to extend a P5-per-liter discount on petroleum products to keep the tuna industry from collapsing.
The volume of catch from January to June has dropped by 34 percent, year-on-year. The output for 2007 also paled in comparison to the year before that. Industry players pointed to the increase in global temperatures as the culprit for the decline in 2007.
If tuna producers are granted a discount of P5 per liter on fuel products, the industry could save as much as P1.2 billion in operating costs in one year.
The tuna producers are also looking into directly importing and supplying the fuel needs of the vessels, according to some industry insiders. However, some oil companies have shot down the idea. Officers of an oil company operating in General Santos said that while they welcome the move to allow tuna producers to import their own fuel requirements, they doubt if it will be viable from the standpoint of business.
In a deregulated environment such as ours, the tuna producers’ idea is possible. There is a downside, however: the tuna industry “will have to put up their own depot facilities and distribution network,” said a marketing official of a big oil company, who requested anonymity due to lack of authority to speak on behalf of the company and the oil industry.
The same marketing official said that if tuna producers are allowed to import fuel, they should be made to also pay the corresponding taxes and import duties that all oil companies are paying the government. The same market forces that govern oil companies should govern tuna producers as well.
Oil companies are understandably threatened. They stand to lose a major share of the market if producers can independently import their fuel requirements. Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) director Malcolm Sarmiento said that the tuna industry consumes between 18 and 20 million liters of petroleum products a month, making it the single largest consumer of fuel products in the whole of Soccsksargen region.
But there’s a flipside to the issue of rising fuel costs. Japan, another major player in the tuna market, recently announced the suspension of its tuna fishing operations. As of August 1, all its 233 member vessels have suspended operations.
Masahiro Ishikawa, president of Japan Tuna Fisheries Cooperative Association (Tuna Japan), said that they “cannot make profit at all from fishing operations because of the prohibitively high fuel prices.” The suspension will run from two months to two years, according to Infofish Trade News.
The Japanese decision drove up the prices of Philippine yellow fin tuna to record levels this year. Local landed price of sashimi-grade yellow fin tuna reached P350 per kilo at the General Santos City Fish Port complex immediately after Japan made the announcement. In lean months, yellow fin tuna goes for as high as P250 per kilo (usually during the months of July to early November); when in abundance, it can go for as low as P180.
This rise in prices may help the local industry temporarily, but many players are saying that not all stakeholders can take advantage of the increase because of the prohibitive price of fuel. So far, many local fishermen have had to stay at home, severely affecting the livelihood of some 50,000 residents in General Santos who are dependent on the tuna industry.
The shortage in fisherfolk catching and hauling tuna has left some companies without tuna to can. Canneries, such as Philbest, have resorted into importing frozen tuna to keep up with its export supply contracts in the US and Europe.
The problem of not being able to catch and haul tuna is not exclusive to the small fisherfolk. For big operators, the high cost of fuel simply means that their ships cannot sail into the high seas. “Fewer vessels going out to the high seas means less catch,” Teng said. These ships have to sail far in order to catch the tuna in their natural migratory avenues.
But going out to the high seas isn’t as simple as it used to be. Before 2006, Filipino companies or small fisherfolk were able to venture into the overlapping exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of Indonesia and the Philippines in the Sulawesi Sea.
Today, that is no longer the case. Since the expiration of the bilateral agreement between the two countries, the Philippine government has been having problems in setting up an arrangement with Indonesia. The termination of the agreement has been blamed as one of the causes of declining tuna catch landed at the General Santos City Fish Port complex.
It appears that it is not only with the Spratly Islands that the government has to concern itself when it comes to the delineation of the national baseline and the EEZ. Tuna fishing fleet operators are asking the Philippine government to immediately delineate the country’s territorial waters to protect fishermen from being apprehended in traditional fishing grounds, which they share with neighboring countries in Southeast Asia. “We have a deadline to meet on May 9 next year to define our territorial waters,” Teng said.
Not only that, there appears to have been a mix-up in the payment of membership dues to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC). Teng said the Philippines had been prevented from fully participating in policy discussions due to its failure to pay its annual dues.
This, however, has been remedied by the government. Agriculture Undersecretary Jesus Emmanuel Paras said the Department of Agriculture, through the BFAR, has assumed the payment of required WCPFC fees, which the government reportedly thought should be covered by the private sector.
The WCPFC has both binding and nonbinding powers over its 26 member countries and eight participating territories in the Western and Central Pacific Region. The governing body defines regulations in managing international fishing grounds in the region.
Among the measures adopted by the commission was the identification and subsequent authorization of fishing vessels operating in the area. The Philippines is also committed, under another WCPFC measure, to the conservation and management of big eye and yellow fin tuna in the Central and Western Pacific Region.
Paras said that despite the many problems that the tuna industry has to deal with, the government is confident it will weather the storm. “There is reason to remain bullish on the future of the tuna industry.”
The story isn’t that bad when compared to other major tuna-exporting countries such as Thailand, where canneries have started to close shop. So far, this hasn’t happened in the Philippines.
He said the Arroyo government has been addressing the clamor for wider access to more fishing grounds for the country’s tuna fishermen and purse seine operators.
“Our government has recently signed a bilateral fishing agreement with Timor Leste,” he told some 250 delegates attending the annual tuna conference.
According to him, efforts to forge similar arrangements with the governments of Palau, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Marshall Islands, and Kiribati are ongoing. More immediately, measures that will address high fuel costs have to be in place if our tuna industry has to sail again toward distant seas.
http://newsbreak.com.ph/index.phpoption=com_content&task=view&id=5853&Itemid=88889377
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
Indian Ocean linked to Australian droughts
Wed Feb 4, 2009 9:01am EST
By Michael Perry
SYDNEY, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Droughts in Australia have traditionally been linked to El Nino events in the Pacific Ocean, but a new study says the key driver of major droughts has been a warming and cooling cycle in the Indian Ocean.
The research shows Australia's major droughts over the past 120 years, including the Federation drought (1895-1902), the World War Two drought (1937-1945), and the present drought (post-1995), all coincide with fluctuations in ocean temperature known as the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD).
Researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) say their study explains why a series of La Nina weather events, which usually bring Pacific rains to Australia, have failed to break the current drought, the worst in 100 years.When the IOD is in a negative phase it creates cool Indian Ocean water west of Australia and warm Timor Sea water to the north.
This generates winds that pick up moisture from the ocean and sweep across southern Australia, delivering wet conditions.In a positive phase, the pattern of Indian Ocean temperatures is reversed, weakening the winds and reducing the amount of moisture picked up and transported across Australia, said the study to be published in Geophysical Research Letters.
"What we have found is that there has not been a single wet event, not a single negative event in the Indian Ocean Dipole since 1992," said Caroline Ummenhofer from the UNSW Climate Change Research Centre, who led the research."That means all you are left with in southeast Australia is dry events.
The cause of the "Big Dry", the current drought, is actually due to a lack of negative Indian Ocean Dipole events that remove the wet years from southeast Australia."Dipole events tend to last for about six months and it was unclear if there would be another positive event this year.There have been positive IODs for the past three years."In a few months' time it will be more certain if there is an Indian Ocean Dipole event is occurring (in 2009)," said Ummenhofer.
KEY DROUGHT DRIVERTraditionally, scientists have linked El Nino events in the Pacific Ocean with Australian droughts.El Nino occurs when the eastern Pacific Ocean heats up, with warmer, moist weather moving towards the east, leaving drier weather in the western Pacific and Australia.La Nina occurs when the eastern Pacific Ocean cools, leaving the western Pacific warmer and increasing the chance of wetter conditions over Australia.
The researchers compared the IOD and La Nina and El Nino events and droughts between 1889 and 2006 and found positive IODs matched major droughts."We have shown that the state of the Indian Ocean is highly important for rainfall and droughts in southeast Australia, more than the variability associated with the El Nino/La Nina cycle in the Pacific Ocean," said Ummenhofer in a briefing on the study.
"The Indian Ocean Dipole is the key factor for driving major southeast Australian droughts over the past 120 years."The researchers said more study was needed to pinpoint the cause of IODs, with half linked to La Nina events in the Pacific and the other half dependent purely on the Indian Ocean.
"The Indian Ocean is the least studied and therefore it's a lot less clear...what sets off these events," said Ummenhofer.But the researchers said the IOD, like El Nino and La Nina, was predictable three to six months out. Indian Ocean Dipole events usually appear around May, June and peak in September to November."There are some indications that positive Indian Ocean Dipole are becoming more frequent and negative events less frequent. However, this needs to further investigation." (Editing by David Fogarty
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSSP405890
By Michael Perry
SYDNEY, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Droughts in Australia have traditionally been linked to El Nino events in the Pacific Ocean, but a new study says the key driver of major droughts has been a warming and cooling cycle in the Indian Ocean.
The research shows Australia's major droughts over the past 120 years, including the Federation drought (1895-1902), the World War Two drought (1937-1945), and the present drought (post-1995), all coincide with fluctuations in ocean temperature known as the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD).
Researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) say their study explains why a series of La Nina weather events, which usually bring Pacific rains to Australia, have failed to break the current drought, the worst in 100 years.When the IOD is in a negative phase it creates cool Indian Ocean water west of Australia and warm Timor Sea water to the north.
This generates winds that pick up moisture from the ocean and sweep across southern Australia, delivering wet conditions.In a positive phase, the pattern of Indian Ocean temperatures is reversed, weakening the winds and reducing the amount of moisture picked up and transported across Australia, said the study to be published in Geophysical Research Letters.
"What we have found is that there has not been a single wet event, not a single negative event in the Indian Ocean Dipole since 1992," said Caroline Ummenhofer from the UNSW Climate Change Research Centre, who led the research."That means all you are left with in southeast Australia is dry events.
The cause of the "Big Dry", the current drought, is actually due to a lack of negative Indian Ocean Dipole events that remove the wet years from southeast Australia."Dipole events tend to last for about six months and it was unclear if there would be another positive event this year.There have been positive IODs for the past three years."In a few months' time it will be more certain if there is an Indian Ocean Dipole event is occurring (in 2009)," said Ummenhofer.
KEY DROUGHT DRIVERTraditionally, scientists have linked El Nino events in the Pacific Ocean with Australian droughts.El Nino occurs when the eastern Pacific Ocean heats up, with warmer, moist weather moving towards the east, leaving drier weather in the western Pacific and Australia.La Nina occurs when the eastern Pacific Ocean cools, leaving the western Pacific warmer and increasing the chance of wetter conditions over Australia.
The researchers compared the IOD and La Nina and El Nino events and droughts between 1889 and 2006 and found positive IODs matched major droughts."We have shown that the state of the Indian Ocean is highly important for rainfall and droughts in southeast Australia, more than the variability associated with the El Nino/La Nina cycle in the Pacific Ocean," said Ummenhofer in a briefing on the study.
"The Indian Ocean Dipole is the key factor for driving major southeast Australian droughts over the past 120 years."The researchers said more study was needed to pinpoint the cause of IODs, with half linked to La Nina events in the Pacific and the other half dependent purely on the Indian Ocean.
"The Indian Ocean is the least studied and therefore it's a lot less clear...what sets off these events," said Ummenhofer.But the researchers said the IOD, like El Nino and La Nina, was predictable three to six months out. Indian Ocean Dipole events usually appear around May, June and peak in September to November."There are some indications that positive Indian Ocean Dipole are becoming more frequent and negative events less frequent. However, this needs to further investigation." (Editing by David Fogarty
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSSP405890
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Palau team in town to explore joint fisheries ventures
PALAU state and private sector officials start today their two-day visit to explore joint fishing ventures with counterparts in southern Mindanao, the head of the Fisheries bureau yesterday said.
Last year, the Philippines and Timor-Leste signed an agreement on access to each other’s fishing grounds.
Tuna production rose to 619,137.27 metric tons in 2007 from 560,918.57 MT in 2006 and 530,410.4 MT in 2005. Philippine export of fish and fisheries products totalled $468.786 million in 2007, up from $386.283 million in 2006 and $346.870 million in 2005, Bureau of Agricultural Statistics data show.http://www.bworldonline.com/BW020409/content.php?id=056
"[The Palau officials] will conduct an observation tour to check the facilities of local companies in General Santos. They are looking for joint ventures on fishing and processing," Malcolm I. Sarmiento, Jr., director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, said in a telephone interview.
The delegation includes Palau fisheries bureau officials, Palau Ambassador to the Philippines Ramon Rechibei, and top executives of three tuna fishing firms, he added.
The government has been looking for access to new fishing areas since last year, following Indonesia’s tighter rules on tuna fishing in its waters. In May last year, Indonesia banned the transport of tuna caught in its waters for processing in overseas markets. The Fisheries bureau projects an 80,000-metric ton output loss per year because of the ban.
The government has been looking for access to new fishing areas since last year, following Indonesia’s tighter rules on tuna fishing in its waters. In May last year, Indonesia banned the transport of tuna caught in its waters for processing in overseas markets. The Fisheries bureau projects an 80,000-metric ton output loss per year because of the ban.
Still, the bureau now projects faster production growth of 7% this year from 5.75% in 2008 due to stable prices of production inputs and more areas for fishing. "We will have additional fishing grounds through joint ventures with foreign companies," Mr. Sarmiento said.
Last year, the Philippines and Timor-Leste signed an agreement on access to each other’s fishing grounds.
Tuna production rose to 619,137.27 metric tons in 2007 from 560,918.57 MT in 2006 and 530,410.4 MT in 2005. Philippine export of fish and fisheries products totalled $468.786 million in 2007, up from $386.283 million in 2006 and $346.870 million in 2005, Bureau of Agricultural Statistics data show.http://www.bworldonline.com/BW020409/content.php?id=056
Friday, 30 January 2009
Marine Experts Implore Governments to Slash Carbon Emissions
Immediate government action to halt greenhouse gas emissions is needed to limit damage to fisheries and coral reefs due to increasing ocean acidity, warned more than 150 marine scientists from 26 countries in a declaration issued today.
The Monaco Declaration on Ocean Acidification, released at an international aquatic sciences meeting in Nice, warns that levels of acidity are accelerating and that negative socio-economic impacts can only be limited by cutting back on the amounts of greenhouse gases released to the atmosphere.
Ocean acidification may make most regions of the ocean inhospitable to coral reefs by 2050, if atmospheric CO2 levels continue to increase, the declaration warns.
This reef collapse could lead to substantial changes in commercial fish stocks, threatening food security for millions of people as well as the multi-billion dollar fishing industry.
Ocean testing for acidity (Photo by Chris Sabine, Reefbase)
The declaration is based on results from a UNESCO symposium, The Ocean in a High-CO2 World, held at the Oceanography Museum in Monaco last October.
Prince Albert II of Monaco today urged political leaders to take notice of the declaration ahead of negotiations at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen at the end of the year.
"I strongly support this declaration," said the prince, whose environmental foundation provided support for the symposium. "I hope the declaration will be heard by all the political leaders meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009."
"The chemistry is so fundamental and changes so rapid and severe that impacts on organisms appear unavoidable," said symposium chair James Orr of the Monaco-based UN Marine Environment Laboratories, a division of the the International Atomic Energy Agency.
"The questions are now how bad will it be and how soon will it happen," said Orr.
The international community has been developing a global observing system for ocean carbon, using ships, buoys, and satellites to understand how the ocean absorbs atmospheric CO2.
The ocean absorbs a quarter of the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere from human activities. Observations from the last 25 years show increasing acidity in surface seawater, following trends in increasing atmospheric CO2.
"Measured recent increases in ocean acidity follow exactly what is expected from basic chemistry; meanwhile, key ocean regions reveal decreases in shell weights and corals that are less able to build skeletal material," said Orr.
"The report from the symposium summarizes the state of the science and priorities for future research, while the Monaco Declaration implores political leaders to launch urgent actions to limit the source of the problem," he said.
"The Monaco Declaration is a clear statement from this expert group of marine scientists that ocean acidification is happening fast and highlights the critical importance of documenting associated changes to marine life," says Professor Sybil Seitzinger, executive director of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, one of the sponsors of the symposium.
Other symposium sponsors were UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research, and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The other great oceanic consequence of high atmospheric CO2 concentrations from fossil fuel burning - the expansion of low oxygen dead zones - was highlighted in a report Monday from a team of Danish scientists.
Dead zones across the world's oceans would expand by a factor of 10 or more if global warming continues unchecked, the Danish team warned, based on newly developed climate models that project 100,000 years into the future.
"Such expansion would lead to increased frequency and severity of fish and shellfish mortality events, for example off the west coasts of the continents like off Oregon and Chile," said Professor Gary Shaffer of the University of Copenhagen, leader of the research team at the Danish Center for Earth System Science, with scientists from the Danish Meteorological Institute and the National Space Institute.
"If, as in many climate model simulations, the overturning circulation of the ocean would greatly weaken in response to global warming," explained Shaffer, "these oxygen minimum zones would expand much more still and invade the deep ocean."
Extreme events of ocean oxygen depletion are believed to have contributed to some of the large extinction events in Earth history, including the largest such event 250 million years ago, when 96 percent of all marine species and 70 percent of terrestrial vertebrate species went extinct.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jan2009/2009-01-30-02.asp
The Monaco Declaration on Ocean Acidification, released at an international aquatic sciences meeting in Nice, warns that levels of acidity are accelerating and that negative socio-economic impacts can only be limited by cutting back on the amounts of greenhouse gases released to the atmosphere.
Ocean acidification may make most regions of the ocean inhospitable to coral reefs by 2050, if atmospheric CO2 levels continue to increase, the declaration warns.
This reef collapse could lead to substantial changes in commercial fish stocks, threatening food security for millions of people as well as the multi-billion dollar fishing industry.
Ocean testing for acidity (Photo by Chris Sabine, Reefbase)
The declaration is based on results from a UNESCO symposium, The Ocean in a High-CO2 World, held at the Oceanography Museum in Monaco last October.
Prince Albert II of Monaco today urged political leaders to take notice of the declaration ahead of negotiations at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen at the end of the year.
"I strongly support this declaration," said the prince, whose environmental foundation provided support for the symposium. "I hope the declaration will be heard by all the political leaders meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009."
"The chemistry is so fundamental and changes so rapid and severe that impacts on organisms appear unavoidable," said symposium chair James Orr of the Monaco-based UN Marine Environment Laboratories, a division of the the International Atomic Energy Agency.
"The questions are now how bad will it be and how soon will it happen," said Orr.
The international community has been developing a global observing system for ocean carbon, using ships, buoys, and satellites to understand how the ocean absorbs atmospheric CO2.
The ocean absorbs a quarter of the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere from human activities. Observations from the last 25 years show increasing acidity in surface seawater, following trends in increasing atmospheric CO2.
"Measured recent increases in ocean acidity follow exactly what is expected from basic chemistry; meanwhile, key ocean regions reveal decreases in shell weights and corals that are less able to build skeletal material," said Orr.
"The report from the symposium summarizes the state of the science and priorities for future research, while the Monaco Declaration implores political leaders to launch urgent actions to limit the source of the problem," he said.
"The Monaco Declaration is a clear statement from this expert group of marine scientists that ocean acidification is happening fast and highlights the critical importance of documenting associated changes to marine life," says Professor Sybil Seitzinger, executive director of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, one of the sponsors of the symposium.
Other symposium sponsors were UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research, and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The other great oceanic consequence of high atmospheric CO2 concentrations from fossil fuel burning - the expansion of low oxygen dead zones - was highlighted in a report Monday from a team of Danish scientists.
Dead zones across the world's oceans would expand by a factor of 10 or more if global warming continues unchecked, the Danish team warned, based on newly developed climate models that project 100,000 years into the future.
"Such expansion would lead to increased frequency and severity of fish and shellfish mortality events, for example off the west coasts of the continents like off Oregon and Chile," said Professor Gary Shaffer of the University of Copenhagen, leader of the research team at the Danish Center for Earth System Science, with scientists from the Danish Meteorological Institute and the National Space Institute.
"If, as in many climate model simulations, the overturning circulation of the ocean would greatly weaken in response to global warming," explained Shaffer, "these oxygen minimum zones would expand much more still and invade the deep ocean."
Extreme events of ocean oxygen depletion are believed to have contributed to some of the large extinction events in Earth history, including the largest such event 250 million years ago, when 96 percent of all marine species and 70 percent of terrestrial vertebrate species went extinct.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jan2009/2009-01-30-02.asp
Obama urged not to backburner climate change
Don't put off action on global warming just because times are lean — that's the message Al Gore, world environmental leaders and U.S. executives sent Friday to President Barack Obama.
Worries are mounting that economic troubles are sapping momentum, in the U.S. Congress and in other world capitals, for costly investment in clean energy and cutting carbon emissions.
"The oceans are being choked off of oxygen. They are dying as a result of this process we are seeing before our eyes the melting of the polar ice cap," Gore said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "The assumption that we can continue on this path is an assumption that is collapsing."
Many countries are looking to Obama for aggressive action after frustration at the Bush administration's refusal to sign international pacts on reducing emissions of carbon, blamed for global warming.
Gore, U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer and executives were discussing the fate of a U.N. meeting in Copenhagen this December aiming for a global agreement on reducing emissions. Questions remain over the new U.S. government's position on the Copenhagen meeting, which is seen as crucial.
"We need an agreement this year, not next year or some other time," Gore said.
Still, Gore expressed optimism in Obama, calling him "the greenest person in the room" for making environmental funding a big chunk of the $819 billion economic stimulus bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives this week.
But he and other panelists acknowledged that the financial crisis will be a key challenge. Governments could shy from forcing polluting industries to pay for their carbon emissions or using taxpayer money for expensive new clean energy investments — even if they prove more efficient in the long term.
"Undeniably the financial crisis is making things more difficult," U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer, told Associated Press Television News. "There is a shortage of finance, you see that many renewable energy projects are being put on the back burner."
But he added, "If you look at the economic recovery packages of the European Union, the United States, Japan, China — they are all using this as an opportunity to change the direction of economic growth, and that I find encouraging."
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who will host the Copenhagen meeting, urged countries to agree to reduce global emissions by 50 percent by 2050, and said industrialized countries should reduce by 80 percent.
"We have to be vigilant so that the crisis does not derail this," he told the AP.
The onus is not only on Obama. Climate negotiators are looking anxiously at developing giants and heavy emitters China and India. And Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin disappointed some activists with his non-committal stance on climate change in his keynote address at the Davos forum.
Media magnate Rupert Murdoch, chief executive of News Corp., joined the call to ensure that investment in clean energy doesn't collapse.
"There's a real risk that the alternative energy industry could die again," he said later. "I really hope that the new president will not let that happen."
The head of the New York Stock Exchange, Duncan Niederauer, agreed.
"We've got to stay the course on energy efficiency," he said. "It's time we get serious about it and push it through."
ANGELA CHARLTON
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5joP1fpuSb6ejhPHRWqnbA2IsIh5AD961MNAO1
Worries are mounting that economic troubles are sapping momentum, in the U.S. Congress and in other world capitals, for costly investment in clean energy and cutting carbon emissions.
"The oceans are being choked off of oxygen. They are dying as a result of this process we are seeing before our eyes the melting of the polar ice cap," Gore said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "The assumption that we can continue on this path is an assumption that is collapsing."
Many countries are looking to Obama for aggressive action after frustration at the Bush administration's refusal to sign international pacts on reducing emissions of carbon, blamed for global warming.
Gore, U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer and executives were discussing the fate of a U.N. meeting in Copenhagen this December aiming for a global agreement on reducing emissions. Questions remain over the new U.S. government's position on the Copenhagen meeting, which is seen as crucial.
"We need an agreement this year, not next year or some other time," Gore said.
Still, Gore expressed optimism in Obama, calling him "the greenest person in the room" for making environmental funding a big chunk of the $819 billion economic stimulus bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives this week.
But he and other panelists acknowledged that the financial crisis will be a key challenge. Governments could shy from forcing polluting industries to pay for their carbon emissions or using taxpayer money for expensive new clean energy investments — even if they prove more efficient in the long term.
"Undeniably the financial crisis is making things more difficult," U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer, told Associated Press Television News. "There is a shortage of finance, you see that many renewable energy projects are being put on the back burner."
But he added, "If you look at the economic recovery packages of the European Union, the United States, Japan, China — they are all using this as an opportunity to change the direction of economic growth, and that I find encouraging."
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who will host the Copenhagen meeting, urged countries to agree to reduce global emissions by 50 percent by 2050, and said industrialized countries should reduce by 80 percent.
"We have to be vigilant so that the crisis does not derail this," he told the AP.
The onus is not only on Obama. Climate negotiators are looking anxiously at developing giants and heavy emitters China and India. And Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin disappointed some activists with his non-committal stance on climate change in his keynote address at the Davos forum.
Media magnate Rupert Murdoch, chief executive of News Corp., joined the call to ensure that investment in clean energy doesn't collapse.
"There's a real risk that the alternative energy industry could die again," he said later. "I really hope that the new president will not let that happen."
The head of the New York Stock Exchange, Duncan Niederauer, agreed.
"We've got to stay the course on energy efficiency," he said. "It's time we get serious about it and push it through."
ANGELA CHARLTON
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5joP1fpuSb6ejhPHRWqnbA2IsIh5AD961MNAO1
Thursday, 22 January 2009
Antartica is warming, not cooling: study
ROTHERA BASE, Antarctica (Reuters) - Antarctica is getting warmer rather than cooling as widely believed, according to a study that fits the icy continent into a trend of global warming.
A review by U.S. scientists of satellite and weather records for Antarctica, which contains 90 percent of the world's ice and would raise world sea levels if it thaws, showed that freezing temperatures had risen by about 0.5 Celsius (0.8 Fahrenheit) since the 1950s.
"The thing you hear all the time is that Antarctica is cooling and that's not the case," said Eric Steig of the University of Washington in Seattle, lead author of the study in Thursday's edition of the journal Nature. The average temperature rise was "very comparable to the global average," he told a telephone news briefing.
Skeptics about man-made global warming have in the past used reports of a cooling of Antarctica as evidence to back their view that warming is a myth. Cooling at places such as the South Pole and an expansion of winter sea ice around Antarctica had masked the overall warming over a continent bigger than the United States where average year-round temperatures are about -50 Celsius (-58.00F).
The scientists wrote that the Antarctic warming was "difficult to explain" without linking it to manmade emissions of greenhouse gases, mainly from burning fossil fuels.
Until now, scientists have generally reckoned that warming has been restricted to the Antarctic Peninsula beneath South America, where Britain's Rothera research station is sited.
Temperatures at Rothera on Wednesday were 2.6 C (36.68F).
WEST ANTARCTICA
"The area of warming is much larger than the region of the Antarctic Peninsula," they wrote, adding that it extended across the whole of West Antarctica to the south.
Rising temperatures in the west were partly offset by an autumn cooling in East Antarctica. "The continent-wide near surface average is positive," the study said. Antarctica's ice contains enough frozen water to raise world sea levels by 57 meters (187 ft), so even a tiny amount of melting could threaten Pacific island states or coastal cities from Beijing to London.
West Antarctica "will eventually melt if warming like this continues," said Drew Shindell, of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, who was one of the authors. A 3 Celsius (5.4 F) rise could trigger a wide melt of West Antarctica, he said.
Greenland is also vulnerable. Together, Greenland and West Antarctica hold enough ice to raise sea levels by 14 meters. "Even losing a fraction of both would cause a few meters this century, with disastrous consequences," said Barry Brook, director of climate change research at the University of Adelaide in Australia.
Ten ice sheets on the Antarctic Peninsula have receded or collapsed since the 1990s. The Wilkins sheet is poised to break up, held in place by a sliver of ice 500 meters (1,640 ft) wide compared to 100 km in the 1950s. Other scientists said that the study did not fully account for shifts such as a thinning of ice sheets in West Antarctica. "This warming is not enough to explain these changes," said David Vaughan, a glaciologist for the British Antarctic Survey at Rothera, by an iceberg-strewn bay. He said the thinning was probably linked to shifts in the oceans.
The Nature study compared temperatures measured by satellites in the past 25 years with 50-year records from 42 Antarctic weather stations, mostly on the coast. Scientists then deduced temperatures back 50 years.
http://green.yahoo.com/news/nm/20090121/sc_nm/us_antarctica_warming.html
A review by U.S. scientists of satellite and weather records for Antarctica, which contains 90 percent of the world's ice and would raise world sea levels if it thaws, showed that freezing temperatures had risen by about 0.5 Celsius (0.8 Fahrenheit) since the 1950s.
"The thing you hear all the time is that Antarctica is cooling and that's not the case," said Eric Steig of the University of Washington in Seattle, lead author of the study in Thursday's edition of the journal Nature. The average temperature rise was "very comparable to the global average," he told a telephone news briefing.
Skeptics about man-made global warming have in the past used reports of a cooling of Antarctica as evidence to back their view that warming is a myth. Cooling at places such as the South Pole and an expansion of winter sea ice around Antarctica had masked the overall warming over a continent bigger than the United States where average year-round temperatures are about -50 Celsius (-58.00F).
The scientists wrote that the Antarctic warming was "difficult to explain" without linking it to manmade emissions of greenhouse gases, mainly from burning fossil fuels.
Until now, scientists have generally reckoned that warming has been restricted to the Antarctic Peninsula beneath South America, where Britain's Rothera research station is sited.
Temperatures at Rothera on Wednesday were 2.6 C (36.68F).
WEST ANTARCTICA
"The area of warming is much larger than the region of the Antarctic Peninsula," they wrote, adding that it extended across the whole of West Antarctica to the south.
Rising temperatures in the west were partly offset by an autumn cooling in East Antarctica. "The continent-wide near surface average is positive," the study said. Antarctica's ice contains enough frozen water to raise world sea levels by 57 meters (187 ft), so even a tiny amount of melting could threaten Pacific island states or coastal cities from Beijing to London.
West Antarctica "will eventually melt if warming like this continues," said Drew Shindell, of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, who was one of the authors. A 3 Celsius (5.4 F) rise could trigger a wide melt of West Antarctica, he said.
Greenland is also vulnerable. Together, Greenland and West Antarctica hold enough ice to raise sea levels by 14 meters. "Even losing a fraction of both would cause a few meters this century, with disastrous consequences," said Barry Brook, director of climate change research at the University of Adelaide in Australia.
Ten ice sheets on the Antarctic Peninsula have receded or collapsed since the 1990s. The Wilkins sheet is poised to break up, held in place by a sliver of ice 500 meters (1,640 ft) wide compared to 100 km in the 1950s. Other scientists said that the study did not fully account for shifts such as a thinning of ice sheets in West Antarctica. "This warming is not enough to explain these changes," said David Vaughan, a glaciologist for the British Antarctic Survey at Rothera, by an iceberg-strewn bay. He said the thinning was probably linked to shifts in the oceans.
The Nature study compared temperatures measured by satellites in the past 25 years with 50-year records from 42 Antarctic weather stations, mostly on the coast. Scientists then deduced temperatures back 50 years.
http://green.yahoo.com/news/nm/20090121/sc_nm/us_antarctica_warming.html
EU bluefin tuna fishing ban for Mediterranean
A ban on fishing for bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic has been announced by the EU for large industrial vessels after widespread evidence of illegal fishing.
EU to act on bluefin over-fishing
France forced to stop illegal drift net fishing
Tuna fishing ban for South Pacific zones
The closure of the season for purse-seine vessels which catch 70 per cent of the bluefin in the Mediterranean had been planned for July 1 but the European Commission said that the end of the fishing season was being brought forward because of EU vessels' repeated failure to comply with the rules.
Earlier this week the environmental group, Oceana, documented the use of spotter planes, which are banned, being used to round up some of the last of a breeding population which scientists say is in danger of being wiped out.
The Commission announced the closure of the bluefin tuna fishery on June 16 for the purse seine fleets of France, Italy, Cyprus, Malta and Greece, which supply the cages or "farms" in which tuna are kept before being exported, mainly to the Japanese market. The closure for the six vessels that make up the Spanish fleet will be delayed until June 23.
From these dates, it will be prohibited to retain on board, place in cages for fattening or farming, tranship, transfer or land bluefin tuna caught by these vessels.
Xavier Pastor, executive director of the organisation on board Oceana's MarViva Med vessel currently in waters around Malta, said: "This closure is necessary and urgent, as is curbing the production from the bluefin tuna fattening cages that are spread all across the Mediterranean and using tuna below the minimum legal size.
"We congratulate the Commission for adopting this measure. However, we are not sure that it will be totally respected. We will be observing these fleets very closely in order to denounce any kind of illegal fishing activity and to protect this threatened species."
Oceana is calling for the creation of a bluefin tuna marine sanctuary around the Balearic islands in the area where the bluefin breed.
Aaron McLoughlin of WWF said: "We believe this out-of-control fishery should never have been allowed to open this year at all.
"Overfishing and massive illegal catches threaten the survival of bluefin tuna. Fishing should be banned indefinitely at least during June, the key spawning month for Mediterranean bluefin tuna."
A meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT, the organisation mandated to manage this fishery) takes place in November.
Conservation organisations are calling for an overhaul of the rules which currently allow the catching of three times more tuna than scientists say should be caught if the species is to survive.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthcomment/charlesclover/3344381/EU-bluefin-tuna-fishing-ban-for-Mediterranean.html
EU to act on bluefin over-fishing
France forced to stop illegal drift net fishing
Tuna fishing ban for South Pacific zones
The closure of the season for purse-seine vessels which catch 70 per cent of the bluefin in the Mediterranean had been planned for July 1 but the European Commission said that the end of the fishing season was being brought forward because of EU vessels' repeated failure to comply with the rules.
Earlier this week the environmental group, Oceana, documented the use of spotter planes, which are banned, being used to round up some of the last of a breeding population which scientists say is in danger of being wiped out.
The Commission announced the closure of the bluefin tuna fishery on June 16 for the purse seine fleets of France, Italy, Cyprus, Malta and Greece, which supply the cages or "farms" in which tuna are kept before being exported, mainly to the Japanese market. The closure for the six vessels that make up the Spanish fleet will be delayed until June 23.
From these dates, it will be prohibited to retain on board, place in cages for fattening or farming, tranship, transfer or land bluefin tuna caught by these vessels.
Xavier Pastor, executive director of the organisation on board Oceana's MarViva Med vessel currently in waters around Malta, said: "This closure is necessary and urgent, as is curbing the production from the bluefin tuna fattening cages that are spread all across the Mediterranean and using tuna below the minimum legal size.
"We congratulate the Commission for adopting this measure. However, we are not sure that it will be totally respected. We will be observing these fleets very closely in order to denounce any kind of illegal fishing activity and to protect this threatened species."
Oceana is calling for the creation of a bluefin tuna marine sanctuary around the Balearic islands in the area where the bluefin breed.
Aaron McLoughlin of WWF said: "We believe this out-of-control fishery should never have been allowed to open this year at all.
"Overfishing and massive illegal catches threaten the survival of bluefin tuna. Fishing should be banned indefinitely at least during June, the key spawning month for Mediterranean bluefin tuna."
A meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT, the organisation mandated to manage this fishery) takes place in November.
Conservation organisations are calling for an overhaul of the rules which currently allow the catching of three times more tuna than scientists say should be caught if the species is to survive.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthcomment/charlesclover/3344381/EU-bluefin-tuna-fishing-ban-for-Mediterranean.html
Blue fin tuna banned
ROME (Reuters) - An influential global network of governments, scientists and conservationists has called for a ban on fishing for the Mediterranean bluefin tuna, a highly prized species which is threatened with extinction.
Members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) passed a resolution which urges a total ban on fishing the species and for the creation of a sanctuary for bluefin tuna around Spain's Balearic islands.
Although non-binding, the motion passed late Monday will strengthen the hand of parties seeking tough new rules on tuna fishing at a meeting next month of the global body which overseas the industry, the Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna.
"Common sense is now promising to bring an end to the real shame in the international system of fisheries management," said Sergi Tudela of WWF (formerly the World Wild Fund for Nature) who welcomed the result of the vote at a IUCN congress in Barcelona. "The message that we need to close the fishery now or have few fish and no fishery into the future is now coming from scientists, from consumers, from communities and from countries," Tudela said.
Bluefin tuna are known for their huge size, power and speed, with maximum weights recorded in excess of 600 kg (1,300 lb). Since last year, market prices for the delicacy have tripled: in Japan a single fish can cost up to $100,000. The fish are prized as a delicacy, especially in sushi and sashimi dishes where cuts are often known as toro or maguro.
The European Unions shortened this year's hunting season to try to protect the species but WWF says many tuna are fished illegally, bypassing hunting and quota rules.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
