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MEDIA REPORTS
WATER, OCEANS
AND WETLANDS
This page was updated
on: 01/12/10
2008
Water, Oceans and Wetlands Media Report Archives:
2010;
2009;
2007;
2006;
2005;
2004;
2003;
2002
DECEMBER 2008
UNGA PRESIDENT HOLDS
PRESS CONFERENCE ON WATER AS A HUMAN RIGHT
In a press conference held at UN
Headquarters in New York, US, UN General Assembly (UNGA) President
Miguel d'Escoto
Brockmann (Nicaragua) said one priority for the Assembly during
his tenure would be to define the role of corporations in the area of
water in a manner that does not contradict the human right to clean
water. Maude Barlow, Senior Adviser to the UNGA President on water
issues, underlined that more children die from water-borne disease every
day than from HIV/AIDS, war and traffic accidents combined. Speaking at
the 9 December 2008 event, on the eve of the celebration of the 60th
anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, she called for
honoring those with the original vision to create the Declaration, and
taking "the next step by adding water as a full covenant to it." She
urged the creation of a binding instrument that would declare water a
human right and public trust belonging to all people. Barlow stressed
that humanity's abuse of water through pollution and displacement was
among the major causes of climate change and has enormous human health
impacts.
Link to further information
UN Press Release, 9 December 2008
OCTOBER 2008
WTO TUNA-DOLPHIN CASE RENEWED
Seventeen
years after the original complaint by Mexico to the World Trade
Organization (WTO) on US restrictions to imports of tuna (which were
based on environmental standards related to fishing practices), Mexico
has filed a new request for WTO consultations. The request, filed on 24
October 2008, contests the US refusal to allow the dolphin-safe label to
be used on Mexican tuna products fished using encircling or
"purse-seine" nets. Mexico claims that the trade restrictions are
illegal and discriminatory, and have resulted in a loss of more than a
third of its tuna fleet due to its hampered ability to market Mexican
tuna effectively in the US.
Links to
further information
WTO Dispute Settlement News, 31 October 2008
ICTSD Bridges, 30 October 2008
RAMSAR CONVENTION, IUCN AND DANONE GROUP PARTNER
AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
On the
sidelines of the 10th Conference of Contracting Parties to the Ramsar
Convention on Wetlands, which took place in Changwon, Republic of Korea,
from 28 October to 4 November 2008, the Ramsar Secretariat, the Danone
Group and IUCN have entered into a partnership targeting climate change.
The partners
plan to highlight the importance of carbon capture in wetlands,
particularly mangrove swamps. Danone has committed to minimize its
emissions and, in partnership with Ramsar and IUCN, to offset its
remaining emissions through wetlands restoration. The Danone Fund for
Nature, administered by all three partners, will accomplish the latter
goal by supporting projects combining water resources management,
biodiversity conservation, improving wetland food quality, and
strengthening the capacity for carbon capture. Speaking about the new
partnership, Julia Marton-Lefèvre, IUCN Director General, noted that the
project was consistent with the organization's mission of "promoting
biodiversity as a fundamental pre-requisite for ecosystems to be able to
support the fight against climate change and poverty."
Link to
further information
UNEP Press Release, 29 October 2008
ITLOS CHAMBERS
RECONSTITUTED
The Chambers of the International Tribunal
for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) were reconstituted by the Tribunal at a
meeting held on 2 October 2008. These Chambers are: the Seabed Disputes
Chamber; the Chamber of Summary Procedure; the Chamber for Fisheries
Disputes; the Chamber for Marine Environment Disputes; and the Chamber
for Maritime Delimitation Disputes.
Link to further information
ITLOS Press Release, 23 October 2008
NEW CONVENTION ON SHARED
TRANSBOUNDARY AQUIFERS SUBMITTED TO THE UNGA
On 27 October 2008, the UN Educational
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) submitted to the UN
General Assembly (UNGA) the draft Convention on Transboundary Aquifers,
which applies to underground aquifers, most of which straddle national
boundaries, and that represent 96% of the planet's freshwater resources.
Many shared aquifers are under environmental threats caused by climate
change, increased population pressure, over-exploitation and
human-induced water pollution. The draft articles for an international
framework convention on transboundary aquifers were adopted by the
International Law Commission (ILC) in August 2008. These draft articles
represent six years of work by the ILC with the assistance of experts
from UNESCO's International Hydrological Programme, and are intended to
fill a gap in the law on the protection and management of groundwater
resources, which have been neglected as a subject of international law
despite the social, economic, environmental and strategic importance of
groundwater. The draft treaty requires that aquifer States cause no harm
to existing aquifers and cooperate to prevent and control their
pollution.
Link to further information
UNESCO Press Release, 22 October 2008
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT SUPPORTS EMPHASIS ON CHALLENGE OF WATER SCARCITY AND
DROUGHT IN UNCCD AND UNFCCC
The European Parliament adopted an own-initiative report on water
scarcity and droughts in the EU on 9 October 2008. In doing so, the
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) urged the European Commission
and Member States to acknowledge that deforestation and unrestrained
urban development are contributing to growing water scarcity. The
Parliament also emphasized that any supply of water, regardless of the
purpose of its consumption, must comply with the principle of fair water
tarification.
MEPs also supported the view that the environmental value
of forests and agricultural production must be reassessed in a context
of climate change, and supported the Commission's commitment to continue
to highlight the challenge of water scarcity and drought at the
international level, in particular through the UN Convention to Combat
Desertification and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Link to further information
European Parliament Press Release, 9 October 2008
NEW ITLOS SWORN IN,
PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT ELECTED
The International Tribunal for the Law of
the Sea (ITLOS) has announced that Boualem Bouguetaia (Algeria) and
Vladimir Vladimirovich Golitsyn (Russian Federation) were sworn in as
members of the Tribunal on 1 October 2008. The two judges were elected
on 13 June 2008 at the 18th Meeting of States Parties to the UN
Convention on the Law of the Sea to serve a term of nine years,
commencing 1 October 2008. Golitsyn previously served as Director, UN
Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, from 2004–2007. On
the same day, Judge José Luis Jesus was elected as President of ITLOS
for the period 2008–2011 by the 21 members of the Tribunal. The
President is elected for a period of three years and may be re-elected.
Furthermore, on 2 October 2008, Judge Helmut Tuerk (Austria) was elected
as Vice-President for the same period.
Links to further information
ITLOS Press Release, 1 October 2008
ITLOS Press Release, 1 October 2008
ITLOS Press Release, 2 October 2008
SEPTEMBER 2008
WORLD MARITIME DAY CELEBRATED
World Maritime Day was celebrated by the International Maritime
Organization (IMO) on 24 September 2008, under the theme "IMO:
60 years in the service of shipping." On the occasion, IMO
Secretary-General Efthimios Mitropoulos noted that "It is because of the
extensive network of global regulations that
IMO
has developed and adopted over the years that shipping is, nowadays, a
safe and secure mode of transport, clean, environmentally-friendly and
energy-efficient." The IMO was created in 1948 to address the needs of a
world hugely dependent on naval passage for transporting goods. More
recently, the Organization has focused on environmental concerns and has
attempted to address the challenges posed by climate change.
Link to further information
IMO Press Release, 25 September 2008
FAO URGES GLOBAL FISHING
INDUSTRIES TO CURB SEABIRD KILLINGS
The UN Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) has urged regions using fishing
techniques such as trawl nets and gillnets, to implement safeguards in
areas where seabirds are at greatest risk. The call follows the success
of strategies to protect seabirds from longline fishing activities. The
FAO has indicated that
the number of birds killed as a result of
Chilean longline fishing dropped from 1,600 in 2002 to zero in 2006,
while the number in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica was reported to
have fallen from 6,500 in 1996 to zero last year. Following an expert
consultation held in Bergen, Norway, in September 2008, best practice
guidelines have been outlined that work to extend the International Plan
of Action for Reducing Incidental Catch of Seabirds
in Longline Fisheries – developed by FAO and approved by member
countries in 1999 – to include trawl and gillnet fisheries in
areas of high seabird density.
Link to further information
FAO Press Release, 22 September 2008
WWF
REPORTS THAT ICCAT PERFORMANCE REVIEW CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE CLOSURE OF
MEDITERRANEAN BLUEFIN TUNA FISHERY
The international
conservation NGO WWF has reported that a review commissioned last
November by the International Commission for the Conservation of
Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) to assess its own performance concludes that its
management of the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery is "an
international disgrace." The still confidential review calls for an
immediate suspension of fishing, which should remain in force until the
fishing nations that make up the members of ICCAT show that they "can
control and report on their catch." Failing that, WWF reports that the
review recommends that ICCAT's own secretariat take over the
responsibility for catch auditing and inspection.
Link to further information
WWF press release,
12 September 2008
AUGUST 2008
SEA-LEVEL RISE THREATENS MANGROVES
Initial results of
research carried out by IUCN and three universities show that mangrove
ecosystems are under threat from climate change, as their sediment
surface level generally does not keep pace with sea-level rise.
The greatest impact is expected to be on those mangroves where there is
limited area for landward migration, such as
Pacific Island
mangroves. IUCN notes, however, that adaptation measures can offset
these anticipated mangrove losses and increase resilience to climate
change. Some management options to this end include: adaptive coastal
planning; better control of activities within the catchment that affect
long-term trends in the mangrove sediment levels; rehabilitation of
degraded mangrove areas; and designation of protected area networks that
include mangroves and functionally linked ecosystems.
Link to further information
IUCN press release, 29 August 2008
IUCN RED LIST UPDATE: SOME BIG WHALES
RECOVERING
According
to the cetacean update of the 2008 IUCN Red List, some
large whale species such as the humpback, minke and southern right whale
are recovering from a threat of extinction, helped by curbs on hunts
since the 1980s. However, a quarter of the cetaceans reviewed, mostly
small species, are in danger. A global moratorium on all whale hunts was
imposed in 1986 after many species were driven towards extinction by
decades of exploitation for meat, oil and whalebone. Japan, Norway and
Iceland still hunt minke whales. Whales are under threat in many areas
from ship strikes, entanglement in fishing gear, habitat deterioration,
declining prey and noise disturbance.
Link to further information
IUCN press release, 12 August 2008
JULY 2008
SPECIAL AREAS
DISCHARGE REQUIREMENTS TAKE EFFECT
Special Areas, in which the discharge of
wastes from ships is prohibited as an additional protection from
pollution from shipping under the International Convention for the
Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), entered into force on 1
August 2008 in the "Gulfs area" and off southern South Africa. The
"Gulfs area" was established as a Special Area in 1973, but the
discharge requirements could not take effect until States in the area
had ratified MARPOL and provided adequate reception facilities.
Following a ten-year regional project on the implementation of MARPOL,
this requirement has now been completed. The Southern South African
waters Special Area was adopted in 2006, and a resolution was adopted in
2007 by the International Maritime Organization's Marine Environment
Protection Committee, establishing 1 August 2008 as the date on which
the discharge requirements take effect.
Link to further information
IMO press release, 31 July 2008
PHILIPPINES SEEKS
IMO'S GUIDANCE ON SALVAGE PLANS
The Government of the Philippines has
requested the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to provide
guidance on assessing the technical aspects of the salvage proposals
being considered in the case of the Princess of the Stars. The ferry was
carrying 861 passengers and crew when it went aground and sank on 21
June 2008 in the Philippines. Almost all those on board lost their
lives. The ferry was carrying various hazardous materials, including 10
metric tonnes of endosulfan, a toxic pesticide. After an initial request
from the Government of the Philippines, IMO consulted salvage experts
and consolidated technical information that was shared with the
Government and the UN Country Team. Based on the technical information
provided by IMO, the Philippines requested IMO to mobilize a salvage
expert to provide guidance in this complex salvage process.
Link to further information
IMO press release, 17 July 2008
US SENATE PASSES LEGISLATION ON AIR
POLLUTION FROM SHIPS
The US Senate has passed a
new bill aimed at reducing toxic air pollution from ships, which would
enable the country to join the International Convention for the
Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) and its Annex VI that
governs air pollution from large ocean-going ships. "The Marine
Pollution Prevention Act of 2008" was passed by the US House of
Representatives last year. The US Government has proposed protective
measures for international adoption as part of the MARPOL treaty that
would make progress in reducing high emissions from these ships. This
clean air blueprint will be considered at the next meeting of the
International Maritime Organization's Marine Environment Protection
Committee in October 2008.
Link to further information
Environmental Defense Fund, 8 July 2008
PLUMMETING PENGUIN POPULATIONS INDICATE CHANGES
IN OCEANS -- STUDY
A study published in the journal
Bioscience indicates that penguin populations have plummeted in
Argentina, mirroring declines in many species of the marine flightless
birds due to climate change, pollution and other factors.
Dee Boersma, a
University of Washington professor who led the research, noted that
since 1987, the population of the largest
breeding colony of Magellanic penguins located at Punta Tombo on
Argentina's Atlantic coast has decreased by 22
percent. She listed warming climate, oil
pollution, depletion of fisheries, becoming entangled in fishing nets,
and coastal development that eliminates breeding habitats as causes of
this decline.
Link to further information
Reuters, 1 July 2008
EUROPEAN COURT REJECTS CLAIM TO CLOSE AZORES' WATERS TO FISHING
The European Court of First Instance has
ruled in favor of a 2003 decision by the Council of Ministers to open
the waters of the Azores to the fishing fleets of all EU member States.
Previously, these waters were only fished by vessels from the Azores and
a few from mainland Portugal. Three environmental organizations,
Greenpeace, Seas at Risk and WWF, had filed a claim to overturn a
Council decision that provides open access to one of Europe's best
preserved deep-sea environments. The environmental organizations
expressed their disappointment with the decision. They noted that it
will lead to a significant increase in commercial fishing in a region
that supports a diverse range of marine life, including turtles, sharks,
whales and dolphins and deep-sea corals, and that is especially
vulnerable to intensive fishing activities like trawling and longlining.
Links to further information
Judgement of the Court of First Instance
WWF press release, 1 July 2008
JUNE 2008
EC ANNOUNCES EARLY CLOSURE
OF THE MEDITERRANEAN BLUEFIN TUNA FISHERY
In a new regulation, the
European Commission (EC) announced the closure of the bluefin tuna
fishery on 16 June 2008 for the purse seine fleets of France, Italy,
Cyprus, Malta and Greece. The closure for the six seiners that make up
the Spanish fleet will be delayed until 23 June. From these dates
forward, 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. The fishery's closure had originally been planned for 1
July 2008, according to the measures put in place by the Bluefin Tuna
Recovery Plan adopted by the EU. The European Commission emphasized the
fact that member States have not complied with community legislation for
this threatened species.
Link to further information
European Commission press release, 13 June 2008
OCEAN DAY FOCUSES ON CLIMATE CHANGE
World Ocean Day,
celebrated on 8 June, was first proposed in 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit
by the Government of Canada. Although not yet officially designated by
the UN, a number of countries mark 8 June each year to raise awareness
of issues related to the protection of the marine environment. This
year's celebrations revolved around the theme "helping our
climate/helping our ocean," with a special focus on coral reefs, to take
advantage of International Year of the Reef 2008.
Link to further
information
World Ocean Day website
EUROPEAN PROJECT ON OCEAN ACIDIFICATION LAUNCHED
The European Project on
Ocean Acidification (EPOCA) was launched on 10 June 2008. This EU
research project is a consortium of over 100 scientists from 27
organizations in nine countries to address ocean acidification. Its goal
is to document ocean acidification, investigate its impact on biological
processes, predict its consequences for the next 100 years, and advise
policy-makers on potential thresholds or tipping points that should not
be exceeded.
Link to further information
EPOCA website
GPA
COORDINATION OFFICE TO RELOCATE
In a letter dated 30 May
2008, Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director, officially communicated
the relocation of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of
the Marine Environment from Land-based Sources (GPA) Coordination Office
from The Hague, the Netherlands, to Nairobi, Kenya. In his letter,
Steiner emphasizes the multiple benefits of this move and extends UNEP's
gratitude to the Government of the Netherlands for their invaluable
support. The move is expected to take place in August 2008 (IISD RS
Sources).
European Maritime Day celebrated
To
celebrate the achievements and potential of Europe's oceans, the EU has
declared 20 May "European Maritime Day." The official launch ceremony
was held in Strasbourg, France, on 20 May 2008, with the presidents of
the Parliament, Commission and Council. The aim of European Maritime Day
is to highlight the crucial role that oceans and seas play in the
everyday life of not only of coastal communities, but all EU citizens,
and their importance for Europe's sustainable growth and jobs at large.
Link to further information
European Maritime Day website
MAY 2008
NEW ZEALAND PLANS TO
PROTECT RARE DOLPHINS
Hector's dolphin is endemic to the coastal
waters of New Zealand, where it is threatened by fisheries bycatch,
pollutants and boat disturbances. The New Zealand government has
announced plans to ban commercial fishing near its coast and set up
marine reserves to protect this species. One of its sub-species, the
Maui dolphin, is said to be the rarest in the world and facing
extinction with as few as 111 animals left.
Link to further information
Reuters, 28 May 2008
MARSHALL ISLANDS
ACCEDES TO FIVE UN TREATIES ON MARINE POLLUTION AND SAFETY
The Marshall Islands, one of the world's
major shipping nations, has acceded to five International Maritime
Organization (IMO) conventions that aim to prevent marine environmental
pollution and promote safety on the high seas. The Pacific island nation
has acceded to: the 1996 Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of
Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter of 1972; the
International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems
on Ships of 2001; the Protocol of 2005 to the Convention for the
Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation;
the Protocol of 2005 to the Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful
Acts against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental
Shelf of 1988; and the International Convention on Civil Liability for
Bunker Oil Pollution Damage of 2001.
Link to further information
Marine Link, 12 May 2008
Oxygen depletion in
oceans threatens sea life
A study in
the publication Science shows that oxygen-depleted
regions of tropical oceans are expanding, restricting habitats for fish
and other marine life.
Continued
expansion of these zones could have dramatic consequences for both sea
life and coastal economies. The study was carried out as part of a
long-running programme on climate variability and predictability led by
the World Climate Research Programme, which looks at climate through the
interaction of ocean and atmosphere.
Link to
further information
Science article abstract, May 2008
AFP, 1 May 2008
UK GOVERNMENT proposes network of MPAs
The UK Government has released a draft Marine Bill that sets out
plans for a new network of marine conservation zones. The country aims
to meet the goal of having an ecologically coherent network of
well-managed marine protected areas (MPAs) by 2012. Currently 2.2% of UK
waters are in MPAs, according to government figures. Release of the
draft Marine Bill, which also includes a proposed marine planning system
and other measures, is the latest in a series of steps taken by the
Government to revise its approach to ocean management. In 2007, the
Government released a white paper that introduced several of the
proposals now included in the draft Marine Bill.
Link to further information
The draft Marine Bill
SOUTH AFRICAN COURT
RULES ON PRE-PAID WATER METERS AND WATER QUANTITY
On 30 April 2008, the High Court of South Africa ruled that the city of
Johannesburg's forced prepayment water meters scheme in Phiri, a
township in Soweto, is unconstitutional, on the basis of differentiation
between low-income, historically black townships and wealthy,
historically white suburbs. The Court also ordered the city to provide
residents of Phiri with 50 liters of free water per person per day, on
the basis of the needs of the residents, the availability of the water
and financial resources to do so. The Court also indicated that the
State is obliged by the constitutional protection of the right to water
to provide free basic water to the poor.
Link to further information
Full judgment
BUSINESS
LEADERS HIGHLIGHT WATER AND SANITATION CRISES
In a letter circulated by the UN Global Compact Office, the CEOs of 19
corporations have called on the Group of Eight (G8) countries to
urgently address the emerging global crisis in water and sanitation
during their upcoming Hokkaido Toyako Summit on 7-9 July 2008 in Japan.
The letter states that the lack of access to clean water and sanitation
in many parts of the world has major adverse humanitarian, social,
environmental and economic implications, and seriously undermines
development goals. In addition, the business leaders urge the G8 leaders
to work more actively with the international business community, through
initiatives such as The CEO Water Mandate. UN Global Compact's CEO Water
Mandate is a voluntary call to action, as well as a strategic framework,
for companies seeking to incorporate water sustainability in their
operations.
Link to
further information
The
UN Global Compact letter
The
CEO Water Mandate
APRIL 2008
UK
announces new financial contribution to the International Seabed Fund
The UK
Government has announced a new financial contribution to increase the
activities of the International Seabed Authority Endowment Fund. The
Fund aims to expand research opportunities in
the deep-sea environments for the participation and inclusion of
developing country scientists and other technical and research
personnel. The UK announced the funding during the Ad Hoc
Open-ended Informal Working Group of the General Assembly to study
issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of marine
biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction, convened
from 28 April - 2 May 2008, at UN headquarters in New York.
Link to
further information
International Seabed Authority press release,
30 April 2008
AustraliaN REQUEST FOR jurisdiction over larger
seabed area approved
The UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf has
approved, at its meeting in April 2008, in New York, US, the request of
Australia for jurisdiction over an additional 2.5 million km2 of its
continental shelf, extending beyond the previous 200-nautical mile limit
of the country's Exclusive Economic Zone. The added area is equal to
five times the size of France. The Commission's decision provides the
country with exclusive rights on the seabed, including oil, gas and
biological resources. Government officials expressed hope the extension
would yield oil and gas reserves, but also noted that it offered
opportunities for designating new marine protected areas.
Link to further information
Geoscience Australia press release, 22 April 2008
ADB SETS UP JOINT VENTURE FOR CHINA WASTEWATER
TREATMENT
The Asian
Development Bank (ADB) announced a joint venture firm with three
Singapore partners, which will address wastewater issues in China. The
Bank will contribute
four million dollars for a 40
percent stake in the new company, Asia Infrastructure Project
Development Co., which will help local governments develop projects in
water supply, sanitation and wastewater treatment.
Link to further information
AFP, 16 April 2008
Japanese whaling
catch smaller than intended
According to the Japanese fishery agency,
its whaling fleet is to return to port after killing about 550 whales
over a five-month period. The catch is just over half the
intended number, 1000
whales in the Antarctic, that Japan announced when the fleet set out.
This lesser catch has been attributed to the harassment of the Japanese
fishing vessels by conservation activists. Japanese Vice-Minister for
Agriculture Toshiro Shirasu
indicated that the government would continue to catch these mammals for
research.
Link to further information
AFP, 14 April 2008
Istanbul Urban Water Consensus launched
During the celebration of World Water Day
in Istanbul, Turkey, which will host the fifth World Water Forum in
2009, the Istanbul Urban Water Consensus was launched. The Mayor of
Istanbul appealed to leaders of cities around the world to better manage
their water resources and to facilitate access to water and sanitation
for all citizens. The Istanbul Water Consensus contains a series of
commitments to improve urban water management. The document has been
released in draft version for comments. After being finalized in October
2008, it should be ready for signature by cities worldwide.
Link to further information
Fifth World Water Forum website
CEO WATER MANDATE
MEETING RELEASES SUMMARY REPORT
The UN Global Compact and the Pacific Institute have issued a
summary report from the working conference of the CEO Water Mandate,
which convened from 5-6 March 2008 at UN headquarters in New York, US.
Some of the key points offered in the report include: that business
water strategies should entail innovation to increase product
efficiencies as well as invest in the restoration of ecological systems
that affect water flows. The report also underlines the challenges of
setting corporate-wide standards for implementation, due to countries'
varying hydrological, cultural and political environments. The CEO Water
Mandate was launched in 2007 by the UN Global Compact and is designed as
a learning and action platform for companies and other stakeholders
committed to making water sustainability a priority.
Link to further information
The
CEO Water Mandate summary report
The
CEO Water Mandate
MARCH 2008
FAO SUPPORTS PROJECT TO
MANAGE WATER RESOURCES IN AFGHANISTAN
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
has announced the launch of a new hydrological station at the Qargha Dam
near Kabul on 26 March 2008, as part of an effort to better manage water
resources in Afghanistan. The hydrological station is one of a network
of 174 hydrological stations and 60 snow gauges and meteorological
stations being erected around Afghanistan, attributable to a joint
endeavor of FAO, the World Bank and the national Ministry of Energy and
Water, to measure water levels, precipitation, temperature and water
quality.
Link to further information
The Frontier Post, 26 March 2008
WORLD WATER DAY
CELEBRATED
The international
observance of World Water Day, on 22 March, is an initiative that grew
out of the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in
Rio de Janeiro. Events around the world recognized WWD on 22 March 2008,
including the creation of the "world's longest line for a loo" by
the Prince of Orange and the UN Water team in New York, US, in order to
raise awareness for the 2.6 billion people who do not have access to
sanitation.
Links to
further information
World Water Day website
US Committee for the UN Development Program's website
FIVE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS DEVELOP NEW
AGRICULTURAL WATER STRATEGY
Five international organizations (the World Bank, the African
Development Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the
International Fund for Agricultural Development and the International
Water Management Institute) have launched a new agricultural water
initiative. The "Initiative for Agricultural Water in Africa" was
prepared for the New Partnership for Africa (NEPAD), and launched during
the First African Water Week, held in Tunis, Tunisia, from 26-28 March
2008. The Initiative aims to provide a platform to support agricultural
water in the region and will bring together financing instruments
including loans, grants and other multilateral and bilateral funding in
order to aid governments in improving water management.
Link to further
information
World Bank press release, 28 March 2008
2008 STOCKHOLM WATER
PRIZE AWARDED TO "VIRTUAL WATER" PIONEER
Professor John Anthony Allan from King's
College London and the School of Oriental and African Studies has been
awarded the 2008 Stockholm Water Prize in recognition for his work in
education and raising the awareness internationally of interdisciplinary
relationships between agricultural production, water use, economies and
political processes. In particular, Allan introduced in 1993 the
"virtual water" concept, which measures how water is embedded in the
production and trade of food and consumer products.
Link to further information
Stockholm International Water Institute press release, 19 March 2008
compliance committee created TO PROMOTE WATER
PROTOCOL IN EUROPE
The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
and the Regional Office for Europe of the UN World Health Organization
have created a new and independent Compliance Committee to promote the
prevention, control and reduction of water-related diseases and to
increase the number of Europeans with access to adequate sanitation. The
Commission will comprise nine experts, including scientists and
environmental lawyers, and is to ensure compliance with the London
Protocol on Water and Health to the Convention on the Protection and Use
of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, which seeks to
increase access to safe water. UNECE has reported that over
100 million
Europeans still lack access to safe drinking water, resulting in the
deaths from diarrhea of nearly 40 children every day.
Link to further information
UN Economic Commission for Europe press release, 14 March 2008
SWISS RE INVITES ReSOURCE AWARD 2009 APPLICATIONS
Swiss Re, the world's leading reinsurer, has invited applications for
its "ReSource Award 2009." The award was established in 2002 as an
annual competition for innovative watershed management projects and is
worth US$150,000, which will be granted to one or several projects
selected by an international jury. NGOs, private, scientific or public
institutions and similar bodies are invited to apply by 31 May 2008.
Link to
further information
Swiss Re ReSource Award webpage
US Navy bound by environmental laws on sonar EQUIPMENT
A US federal
court has ruled against US President Bush's bid to exempt the US Navy
from environmental laws when it uses sonar equipment that is considered
potentially harmful to whales and other marine life. The federal appeals
court held that the Navy is to take safety precautions to reduce
possible harm to whales and other marine mammals when it employs sonar
for training exercises off the coast of California.
Link to
further information
Agence France Presse, 1 March 2008
FEBRUARY 2008
SHARK SPECIES FACE EXTINCTION
The scalloped hammerhead will be listed on the 2008 IUCN Red List as
globally endangered due to overfishing and high demand for its fins,
according to a member of the IUCN's shark specialist group. The number
of many other large shark species has been greatly reduced due to
increased demand for their fins and meat, shark fisheries and bycatch.
Currently, fishing for sharks in international waters is unrestricted.
Links to
further information
Environment News Network, 17 February 2008
The Guardian, 18 February 2008
PROTECTED AREAS
UPDATE: UGANDA, RWANDA AND CONGO ESTABLISH TRANSBOUNDARY RESERVE,
KIRIBATI CREATES WORLD'S LARGEST MARINE RESERVE
In a declaration signed during the Third
World Congress of Biosphere Reserves in Madrid, Spain, the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda have launched an initiative to
create a transboundary biosphere reserve to safeguard their shared
biodiversity, providing the habitat of the great apes.
In related news, the Pacific island nation
of Kiribati has created the world's largest marine protected area: the
Phoenix Islands Protected Area, covering 410,500 square kilometers, is
one of the planet's last intact coral archipelagos and is threatened by
over-fishing and climate change.
Links to further information
UNESCO press release, 5 February 2008
Reuters news, 14 February 2008
NORWAY SETS QUOTAS FOR 2008 WHALING
The Government of Norway has
authorized its whalers
to harpoon 1,052 whales in the 2008 season. The Ministry of Fisheries
and Coastal Affairs stated that the quota was
within an interval that researchers believe
provides satisfactory security in regard to protecting the minke whale
stocks.
Link to further information
Terra Daily, 7 February 2008
WORLD WETLANDS DAY
CELEBRATED
World Wetlands Day was celebrated on 2
February, the anniversary of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands
in 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar. The 2008 event was organized
around the theme "Healthy Wetlands, Healthy People," which will also be
the theme for Ramsar's 10th Conference of the Parties in
October-November 2008 in the Republic of Korea. During the day,
government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and groups of
citizens undertook actions aimed at raising public awareness of
wetland values and benefits in general and the Ramsar Convention in
particular. For instance, the Government of Congo designed a new Wetland
of International Importance, the world's second largest
internationally recognized and protected significant wetlands reserve.
Link to further information
World Wetlands Day 2008 website
JAPAN RESUMES WHALING
The Japanese fleet began whaling again,
after two protest ships left the area to refuel, and was reported to
have killed five minke whales. An Australian Customs ship, the Oceanic
Viking, is monitoring the Japanese fleet to gather evidence for a
possible international legal challenge to end Japan's whaling programme.
Link to further information
Terra Daily, 1 February 2008
JANUARY 2008
STUDY
WARNS AGAINST RISING MEDITERRANEAN SEA LEVELS
According to the study
Climate Change in the Spanish Mediterranean, released by the Spanish
Oceanographic Institute, the
level of the Mediterranean is rising rapidly and could increase by
another half meter in the next 50 years unless climate change is
reversed. The salinity of the sea has also risen, in part due to
the reduced rainfall in the region.
The study also notes that these trends are global phenomena.
Link to further information
TerraDaily,
18 January 2008
FRENCH COURT FAULTS
TOTAL FOR ERIKA OIL DISASTER
A French court found the oil company Total
guilty of negligence and ordered it to pay a fine of a fine of 375,000
and, with three other parties, to pay nearly 200 million in damages for
the 1999 Erika oil spill, one of France's worst environmental disasters.
Establishing a legal precedent, the court ruled that some of the
plaintiffs, including environmental groups, fishermen, local
associations and hotel owners, had the right to compensation for damages
from the oil spill.
Link to further information
EurActiv.com/WBCSD, 17 January 2008
ENVIRONMENTAL AGREEMENT REACHED TO
PROTECT COZUMEL
A conservation agreement has been signed by
Conservation International, Cozumel's Department of Tourism and the
Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, as part of the Mesoamerican Reef
Tourism Initiative. The agreement comes as the culmination of the
12-month partnership including representatives from government, the
private sector, civil society and cruise lines. This initiative aims to
help preserve some highly endangered biodiversity in Cozumel, Mexico,
which is the world's most visited cruise destination.
Link to further information
UnderwaterTimes News Service, January 15, 2008
NEW ISO STANDARDS ON WATER PUBLISHED
The International Standardization
Organization (ISO) has published three new standards on service
activities relating to drinking water supply systems and wastewater
sewerage systems: ISO 24510 -
Guidelines for the assessment and for
the improvement of the service to users; ISO 24511
– Guidelines for the
management of wastewater utilities and for the assessment of wastewater
services; and ISO 24512
– Guidelines for the management of
drinking water utilities and for the assessment of drinking water
services.
Link to further information
ISO Press Release,
3 January 2008
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