| No 25, 15 December 2000 |
| Information & Meetings | |
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Conferences & Events |
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New Coastal Publications |
|
Courses |
|
Feedback |
|
Johannesburg will host the Earth Summit in 2002 |
|
UK launches very successful floods advice website |
| Organisations | |
|
New hyperlinks to websites |
| Development & Trends | |
|
First UK offshore windfarm unveiled |
| Policy | |
|
EU fisheries ministers agreed big cuts in fishing quotas |
|
Second package of measures to avoid a new Erika disaster |
|
Treaty aims at ban of persistent organic pollutants |
| Information & Meetings |
Events recently announded
2001
| February 19 - 20 | BAGIS'01 - Baltic Sea Region Geographic Information Infrastructures Workshop, Stockholm, Sweden. Info: fax: +46-980-67180, e-mail: marta.syren@satellus.se, Website |
Please note:
The overview of the Coastal Guide conference and event meeting list
can be found at http://www.coastalguide.org/meetings/
| Vers une gestion stratégique et durable
des ressources hydriques This is a new study by the European Commission about sustainable water management in the Mediterranean Region. It discusses in detail the Structural Funds investments in water purification and distribution, and pays attention on water management ideas from a European spatial development point of view. The publication is currently available in French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. The different editions contain a general part about the regions studied and a specific part about France, Spain, Italy and Portugal, respectively. |
| The Green Travel Guide Thanks to the modern travel industry, we can visit many parts of the world and marvel at its wealth. In the same act, if we are not careful, we can destroy it. This guide steers us through the tangle of issues, reviewing the history of tourism, its impacts on ecosystems and local communities and the various forms of "green" travel and holidays available. |
ICZM distance learning course for North Sea region
The Inter North Sea University (I-Sea-U) starts an International Masters Programme "Integrated Coastal Zone Management" in 2001 - 2003. The course is intended for students and professionals alike, promoting the need for knowledge in coastal zone management of the North Sea region. The course is based at Oldenburg University on a distance-learning basis, with teachers from other areas in the North Sea region. Contact: adminstrator@i-sea-u.hsh.no, further info: http://www.i-sea-u.hsh.no
Feedback
Environmental impacts of windfarms deserve more attention
Following our Coastal Guide News Special on using wind power as a renable erergy source (http://www.coastalguide.org/windpower/), Dr. Henning von Nordheim from the Federal German Agency for Nature Conservation in Vilm, Germany, pointed out that discussions on environmental and planning aspects of offshore windfarms are continuing, especially in the North Sea and the western Baltic. The expected impacts of climate change have resulted in international commitments to increase the application of renewable energy resources, of which wind energy is a very promising one. However, reflecting on plans to erect windfarms of up to 600 turbines off the German coast, marine experts are warning for the planning implications of massive development projects. Possible impacts include those to marine mammals, sea birds (disturbance, collision), fish and benthic communities, hydrology as well as increasing collision risks for cargo vessels and especially oil tankers. Henning von Nordheim proposes to stringently follow the precautionary approach as agreed for the OSPAR and HELCOM regions. In his view this would lead to a development ban in ecologically sensitive areas, to a temporary ban on offshore windparks larger than 100 turbines, to comprehensive environmental impact assessments and monitoring, and to building locations further offshore. The full paper by Henning von Nordheim can be found on http://www.coastalguide.org/windpower/
Johannesburg will host the Earth Summit in 2002
The United Nations General Assembly on Environment and Sustainable Development has chosen South Africa to host the Earth Summit in 2002. The Rio+10 event will carry the title World Summit on Sustainable Development. CSD10 will function as the preparatory committee (prepcom). The first prepcom is scheduled for 30 April to 2 May 2001 in New York. The event and its preparatory process will include active participation of NGOs and other major groups, including multi-stakeholder dialogues, open to accreditation of new NGOS interested in making a contribution. For further information, visit http://www.earthsummit2002.org/es/Press%20Release/pb2.htm
UK launches very successful floods advice website
After the heavy rainfalls and numerous floods of the past months, the
UK Environment Agency saw the need for the launch of a floods web site
on 7 December (http://www.environment.agency.gov.uk/flood).
The aim is to inform residents in risky areas on how to get prepared.
The success is overwhelming: after one day 200,000 page impressions were
noticed. Users can enter their UK postcode to see if their home is in
or near a flood risk area. The site provides practical tips for emergency
situations and gives advice on how to contact the responsible local authority
- the crisis centre in case of accidents. Maps are based on historical
flood records and geographical models. They can also be used by planners
and developers and are a key tool for local and regional authorities and
decision makers. This website initiative could become a model for other
countries to follow.
| Organisations |
New hyperlinks to websites
Arctic Environmental Atlas (GRID-Arendal): interactive map service over the Arctic region presents a variety of environmental themes on issues from conservation to climate change and biodiversity
IOI International Ocean Institute: independent, non-governmental organisation devoted to studying and preserving the world's oceans
NetCoast: New website design and address Coastal Zone Management Centre, RIKZ (NL)
RIVO Netherlands Institute for Fisheries Research: biological, technical, technological, environmental hygiene, and quality research
Check out the other Website Links on the Coastal Guide
| Development & Trends |
First UK offshore windfarm unveiled
The UK's first offshore windfarm has been unveiled 7 December off the
coast of Northumberland. The two turbines are the largest to be erected
offshore in the world. They have the capacity to power 6,000 average English
households (see also "Feedback"). http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1059000/1059486.stm
| Policy |
EU fisheries ministers agreed big cuts in fishing quotas
In the morning of 15 December, the EU fisheries ministers decided on
"the most drastic cuts we've ever had since quotas were introduced," according
to European Fisheries Commissioner Franz Fischler. For North Sea cod,
a total allowable catch (TAC) for 2001 corresponding to a 50 % reduction
in fishing mortality rate was agreed. That will bring the TAC for 2001
down to 48,600 tonnes (of which 40,340 tonnes for the Community) from
81,000 tonnes in 2000. In the coming months, the ministers will come up
with a specific recovery plan for this stock to be implemented as early
as possible in 2001, potentially including the establishment of no-fishing
zones. However, the TAC for other species in the North Sea were limited
to 10%, instead of the 20% originally planned by the European Commission.
See also Coastal
Guide News No. 23, and Coastal
Guide News No. 24
European Commission DG Fisheries: http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/fisheries/index_en.htm
Second package of measures to avoid a new Erika disaster
Following on from the legislative proposals put forward in March after the sinking of the oil tanker Erika (see Coastal Guide News No 6/2000), the European Commission adopted on 6 December a second package of measures which consists of three proposals:
- Stricter control of maritime traffic. In order to ensure that substandard ships do not escape the controls provided for in the first package of measures, the Commission is proposing to tighten up the monitoring and control arrangements for vessels in transit off European Community's coasts.
- Better compensation for coastal pollution damage. The Commission is proposing the establishment of a European pollution damage compensation fund (COPE Fund) to provide additional compensation up to a ceiling of €1 billion for victims where the current ceiling of €200 million under the existing rules is exceeded.
- Setting up a European Maritime Safety Agency. The Agency's tasks would include the collection of information and the operation of data bases on maritime safety, evaluation and audit of maritime classification societies, and the organisation of inspection visits in the Member States to check the conditions under which Port State control is carried out.
These proposals are consistent with the first "Erika" package aimed at
stepping up vessel inspections in ports, supervising the activities of
the classification societies, and phasing out single-hull oil tankers
more quickly. The Commission wants the Council and European Parliament
to reach agreement as soon as possible on the measures contained in the
first package. Full press release: http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/
(Connect to RAPID with guest access, fill in date: 6/12/2000 and choose
"all documents")
Treaty aims at ban of persistent organic pollutants
The fifth and final Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) adopted the text of a legally binding treaty that will require governments to minimise and eliminate some of the most toxic chemicals every created. Highly stable compounds, they can last for decades before breaking down and accumulate in fish, predatory birds and mammals. The decline of seal populations in the North Sea and dolphins off the Atlantic coast of France have been linked to POPs. Most of the 12 chemicals are subject to an immediate ban. DDT, however, was granted an exemption for fighting mosquitoes that transmit malaria. PCBs, widely used in electrical transformers and other equipment, may be used to maintain existing equipment until 2025, giving time to arrange replacements. The treaty will be formally adopted and signed at a Diplomatic Conference in Stockholm on 22-23 May 2001. Governments must then ratify and when 50 have done so, the treaty will enter into force. For further information, contact anila.shah@unep.org and read the UNEP press release at http://www.unep.org/Documents/Default.asp?DocumentID=186&ArticleID=2712
Deadline for submitting contributions to Coastal Guide News No 1/2001:
Wednesday January 10, 2001
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.
© Articles may be reproduced free of charge with acknowledgement and citation of Coastal Guide News and the URL of the Coastal Guide (http://www.coastalguide.org). The articles of this and previous issues of Coastal Guide News can be found at http://www.coastalguide.org/news
Members of the Coastal Guide News editorial team: Erik Devilee, Irene Lucius, Hanneke Mesters, and Albert Salman.
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© EUCC, 2000