| No 9, 4 May 2000 |
| Information & Meetings | |
 |
Conferences & Events |
|
New Coastal Publications |
| Organisations | |
|
Internet database for organisations and consultancies |
|
New hyperlinks to websites |
| Environment | |
|
UNEP blames Australian operators for cyanid spill |
| Biodiversity | |
|
New WRI report confirms coastal biodiversity decline |
|
Dolphin sightings project launched |
| Development & Trends | |
|
Bridge restores 2000 ha wetlands in Dnestr Delta (Moldova-Ukraine) |
| Policy | |
|
CITES Conference: whale trade still banned, sturgeon protection enhanced, but no basking shark protection |
|
Measures to conserve bluefin tuna stocks taken |
| Funds | |
|
DG Environment published General Call for Proposals 2000 |
| Information & Meetings |
| May 25th | Conference on Sustainable Tourism "Man and Environment in Tourism Destinations", Breda, The Netherlands. Info: fax: +31 76 5302203, e-mail: 965951.stud@nhtv.nl |
Please note:
The year 2000 overview of the Coastal Guide conference and event
meeting list can be found at http://www.coastalguide.org/meetings/
| Raising environmental awareness in the Baltic
Sea area (The Finish Environment 327) M. Partanen-Hertell, ea. (1999, 128 pp.) Finnish Environment Institute, Helsinki. Distributor Edita Ltd, Tel. +358 9 566 0266, Fax +358 9 566 0380 ISBN 952 11 0528 3 Price FIM 145,00 ISSN 1238 7312 (public) This report provides information, findings and action proposals
for increasing environmental awareness in 14 countries. It is intended
to serve the European Union, HELCOM and other international, national,
local as well as sectoral actors in their activities related to
environmental awareness and public participation. |
| Life-nature and the conservation of Mediterranean
wetlands: proposals for the adaptation of the Life Instrument
to the conservation needs of Mediterranean countries. Ed. L.Balaguer (1999, 61 pp.) Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament de Medi Ambient. Diagonal 523-525 08029 Barcelona, Spain. Tel. +34 93 444 5000, Fax. +34 93 419 8703 During the Life-nature Project ‘Restoration and integrated management of the island of Buda’ a workshop was held in Barcelona, Catalonia, 4-6th November 1998. It gathered more than 40 conservation officers’ expertise in wetland management. This publication includes a selection of several speeches, as well as the Considerations and the Recommendations addressed to the European Commission and to other Administrations, in order to adapt the Life-nature Instrument to the conservation needs of Mediterranean wetlands in the 21 Century. The publication puts in common several experiences of wetland management, and will be helpful in the revision and designing of the Life-nature Instrument in consecutive editions. |
| Organisations |
Internet database for organisations and consultancies
This summer the Coastal Guide Organisations Database will be launched
on the Internet. With the increasing number of website visitors (up to
2000-3000 per month), the database will provide a unique opportunity to
all bodies carrying out research, advice and consultancy and for partner
search. The Coastal Guide Helpdesk will use the database as short list
for project partner search and expert advice.
The database will include even more items than EUCC's Coastal Register
which includes 550 University departments, research institutes and independent
consultants. This register will be included in the database.
In order to cover our administration costs, we have to ask a small fee
of 10 euro for Registration in the database. This will be invoiced after
you will have sent the Registration sheet. All EUCC Member Organisations
(as from 40 euro) will be included in the database for free.
Interested? Please ask the Registration sheet by contacting helpdesk@coastalguide.org
or register online via the Internet http://www.coastalguide.org/org/database.html
New hyperlinks to websites
Center
of Euro-Mediterranean Regions for the Environment (C.E.R.E.)
Promotion of the principles of sustainable development in the sensitive
area of the Mediterranean Regions of the European Union
Earth Summit
2002
Building Partnerships for Sustainable Development
Good Beach
Guide 2000
Guide to the quality of Britain’s bathing waters, by the Marine Conservation
Society
Infra Eco Network Europe
(IENE)
A European network of experts and institutions involved in the field of
habitat fragmentation and transportation infrastructure
Morecambe Bay (UK)
About Morecambe Bay's wildlife and shows how people are working together
to ensure we continue to use the Bay in a sustainable way
New Coastalmanagement.com
website
The coastal management.com team have completely overhauled the web site.
The objectives of the overhaul were simple: make it easier for coastal
managers to get to the information they need quicker
Ocean Trust
Provide a balanced source of information on ocean issues and innovative
solutions that bridge the interests of science, conservation, and food
production for humanity
Standing Conference
on Problems Associated with the Coastline (SCOPAC)
Works to promote sustainable shoreline management, and to facilitate the
duties and responsibilities of local authorities and other organisations
managing the coastal zone of central southern England
Wise Coastal
Practices for Sustainable Human Development
(username= csi; password= wise) hosted by UNESCO-CSI: Environment and
development in Coastal Regions and Small Islands
Check out the other Website
Links on the Coastal Guide
| Environment |
UNEP blames Australian operators for cyanid spill
A recently published report by the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) reveals negligence on the side of Esmeralda Exploration, the Australian
operators of the Aurul S.A. gold and silver producing plant in Baia Mare
(Romania), which lead to a spill of 50-100 tonnes of cyanide, as well
as heavy metals into the Lapus/Somes/Tisza/Danube river catchment system
before reaching the Black Sea end of January this year (see Coastal Guide
News No. 4). UNEP sent a team of international experts to the affected
area from 23 February – 6 March 2000 to carry out a scientific analysis
of the environmental damage.
The report concludes that the breach in the retention dam was probably
caused by a combination of inherent design deficiencies in the process,
inadequate operating conditions and bad weather. The actual capacity of
the pond at that stage was insufficient to store the slimes and the unexpected
quantities of water resulting from heavy precipitation. There were no
provisions for coping with such situations. Acute effects occurred for
long stretches of the river system down to the confluence of the Tisza
with the Danube: phyto- and zooplankton were down to zero when the cyanide
passed and fish were killed or immediately after. The amount of killed
fish is still not clear. Soon after the cyanide plume passed, the aquatic
micro-organisms recovered relatively quick due to the inflow of unaffected
water from upstream. Consequently, immediate human health risk seems to
be minimal from this spill alone, but chronic health impacts due to long-term
pollution by heavy metals are possible.
However, the company was operating in line with Government permits. The
plant was assessed as being of ‘regular’ risk and had been wrongly classified
by Romanian authorities as one that needed no special monitoring or contingency
plans. The spill occurred in an area already contaminated with heavy metals
from a long history of mining and metal processing. The report recommend
a broad, cross border, longer term environmental rehabilitation and management
plan and a sustainable development strategy amongst nations along the
entire catchment area of the Tisza river.
For further information visit:
http://www.natural-resources.org/environment
/Baiamare
http://www.unep.ch/roe/baiamare.htm
http://www.zpok.hu/~jfeiler/baiamare/index.htm
http://www.reliefweb.int/ocha_ol/index.html
| Biodiversity |
New WRI report confirms coastal biodiversity decline
In an exhaustive, two year study "World Resources 2000-2001", 175 scientists
from the World Resources Institute and several UN agencies gathered alarming
data on the state of the world’s ecosystems, including coastal ecosystems:
While forty percent of the world’s population lives within 100 km of a
coastline, population increase and conversion for development, agriculture
and aquaculture are reducing mangroves, coastal wetlands, sea-grass areas
and coral reefs at an alarming rate. Coastal ecosystems have already lost
much of their capacity to produce fish because of over-fishing, destructive
trawling techniques, and destruction of nursery habitats. Engineering
at the coast for harbours and sea defence disturbs the physical integrity
of the coasts, causing immediate habitat loss, changing natural buffering
and adaptation capacities. It often causes a change in water quality and
increases the potential threat of spills, the introduction of alien species
etc. Rising pollution levels (70-80 % of marine pollution is from land
based sources) are associated with increasing use of synthetic substances
and fertilisers. Many of the findings confirm the report from 1996-1997
in which it was stated that coastal ecosystems are threatened by development
related activities along roughly half of the world’s coasts. In this study
86 % of Europe’s coasts and 69 % of Asia’s coast was estimated at either
high or moderate risk.
The study points out global data and information gaps, indicating where
more information should be collected in the future. Soon excerpts from
WR 2000-2001 will be available at: http://www.igc.org/wri/wr2000/coastlines.html
Dolphin sightings project launched
The Durlston Marine Project
and marine conservation charity EarthKind have launched a dolphin sightings
project, including a 'hotline' and ‘Dolphin Encounter Guide’. Water users
can contribute to marine mammal research by recording where (latitude/
longitude or OS) they have seen which animals, how many, and where they
were going. A Dolphin Encounter Guide including a code of conduct
will be available from 29 May.
Contacts: Dr Cathryn Owens, Project Officer, Durlston Marine Park, tel.:
+44-1929-421111. Paul Kelway, Public Relations Officer, EarthKind, +44-1202-682344.
Website: http://www.earthkind.org.uk
| Development & Trends |
Bridge restores 2000 ha wetlands in Dnestr Delta (Moldova-Ukraine)
2000 Hectares of coastal wetlands have been restored through the construction
of a bridge in the Dnestr Delta, at the border of Ukraine and Moldova.
The bridge replaces a dam in order to allow Dnestr river water to access
a 2000 ha wetlands area again. The project was co-ordinated by the Natural
Heritage Fund of Ukraine and the European Union for Coastal Conservation
(EUCC) with funding from the EECONET Action Fund (EAF).
The opening of the bridge (named “EcoMost”) on 28 April was attended by
many representatives of Ukrainian and Moldovan authorities and NGO’s.
This project has also given a boost to the preparation of National Parks
in the Dnestr Delta, both at the Ukrainian and the Moldovan side (Lower
Dnestr Valley), providing the perspective of a transboundary Dnestr Delta
Biosphere Reserve in the near future.
More information: http://www.eucc.nl/activiti/projects/projects.htm
or contact Dr. Ivan Rusev (EUCC Co-ordinator, Odessa) at wildlife@paco.net
| Policy |
CITES Conference: whale trade still banned, sturgeon protection enhanced, but no basking shark protection
In a secret ballot vote on April 20th, Norway lost its final attempt at reviving international whale trade. Norway annotated their existing minke whale downlisting proposal to state that trade would be limited to, "products from animals of these stocks taken inside areas of national jurisdiction." Also, Norway said it would, "trade only between countries where DNA-based identification systems for trade control exist." In opposition to the proposal, the US stated that neither Norway nor Japan implemented acceptable DNA identification systems, nor were they transparent in reporting on their current whaling activities. Iceland and Japan voiced their support for the Norwegians.
At the same day, the United Kingdom lost its campaign to list the basking
shark under CITES Appendix II protection. This would have set an important
conservation precedent by placing a commercially valuable marine fish
under CITES trade protection for the first time. The basking shark is
currently listed as "vulnerable" by the IUCN. IFAW has campaigned strongly
for the protection of the basking shark, noting that commercial fishing
for fins and oil for international trade have seriously depleted shark
stocks. Fins continue to increase in value as an ingredient in shark fin
soup.
In presenting the revised UK proposal, Elliot Morley, UK Minister of Fisheries
stated that the scientific information available showed that the basking
shark meets the CITES and IUCN criteria for listing on Appendix II. Most
opposition to the proposal centred on the debate over whether the UN Food
and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) or CITES should be responsible for
managing threatened fish species.
On April 19th, the resolution on the conservation of sturgeons and paddlefish
(listed on Appendix II) submitted by the Russian Federation and with amendments
by Iran was adopted.
This resolution includes a request to CITES Parties to establish both
export and catch quotas, and text indicating that Parties failing to report
quotas would be automatically allowed a zero quota for the following year.
For further information visit:
CITES: http://www.cites.org
IFAW: http://www.ifaw.org
International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD): http://www.iisd.ca/cites/cop11/index.html
Traffic: http://www.traffic.org
WWF: http://www.panda.org/resources/publications/species/cites/index.html
Measures to conserve bluefin tuna stocks taken
Since 18 April, a new European Council regulation is in force which aims
at avoiding excessive fishing pressure on bluefin tuna. Council Regulation
No 812/2000 forbids to take bluefin tuna with an encircling net in the
Mediterranean Sea for certain periods in summer. Member States shall ensure
that all vessels flying their flag or registered in them comply with the
regulation.
Council Regulation No 812/2000:
http://www.europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/dat/2000/l_100/l_10020000420en00030004.pdf
| Funds |
DG Environment published General Call for Proposals 2000
DG Environment of the European Commission (EC) launched a call for proposals
to co-finance grants in areas such as climate change, preparation
of Earth Summit 2002, MED CSD implementation of MCSD work programme, and
METAP III and preparation of METAP IV. The EC is planning to assist between
100 and 200 projects, allocating a total of some 6 million EURO. The call
is open until 30 June 2000.
Application forms and more details can be found at:
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment/funding/general/call2000_en.htm
Deadline for submitting contributions to Coastal
Guide News No 10:
Wednesday, 17 May 2000
COASTAL GUIDE NEWS is a biweekly newsletter published by the European Union for Coastal Conservation (EUCC) with financial support of Stichting DOEN, the foundation of the Dutch lottery "Postcode Loterij" and the Department of International Nature Affairs of the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries. For free subscriptions, comments or contributions to this newsletter, please contact news@coastalguide.org.
Members of the Coastal Guide News editorial team: Erik Devilee,
P.J. van der Hulst, Irene Lucius, René van Oers and Albert Salman.
Established in 1989, the European Union for Coastal Conservation (EUCC)
is an association involving the largest coastal network in Europe with
750 members and member organisations in 40 countries. For more information
please contact EUCC International Secretariat, POBox 11232, NL-2301 EE
Leiden, the Netherlands, tel.: +31-71-5122900, internet: http://www.eucc.nl
© European Union for Coastal Conservation