23 September, 2010

Banjul, Gambia: African countries need to take fisheries management seriously, the first ever continental meeting of fisheries ministers has been told.

The Forum of South West Indian Ocean Civil Societies reminded the inaugural Conference of African Ministers on Fisheries and Aquaculture (CAMFA) that 200 Million Africans were dependent on fisheries for food and livelihood.

“But despite the significant contribution of the fisheries sector, fisheries management in most African countries has been marginalized,” said Dr. Amani Ngusaru, from WWF.

“Most coastal African countries remain poor despite the vast resources in their respective Exclusive Economic Zones,” added Dr. Ngusaru.

However, the fisheries sector has low priority in national development programmes and in many cases is grossly underfunded.  Governance failure in national and regional fisheries management bodies, the forum said.

Open access has denied most countries and indeed local communities the right to sustainably manage and benefit from their fisheries resources.

In its statement to the first held in Banjul Gambia on 20-23 September 2010, the forum said that “the meeting was a timely opportunity to canvass the common issues facing African fisheries and we firmly believe that this meeting should herald the beginning of a new era in management of fisheries resources.”

However, if the fisheries sector is to contribute towards the 6% annual growth of the agricultural sector in Africa, the sector needs to implement an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries and work rapidly to ensure fisheries access agreements are sustainable and equitable.

“Countries also need to mainstream climate change adaptation and mitigation, improve fisheries data (including stock assessments), and actively involve civil societies in decision making,” said WIOMSA’s Edward Kimakwa.

“The fisheries sector has greater potential if well developed to spur economic development, offer more employment opportunities and reduce poverty among the local population in Africa,” Dr Ngusaru concluded.

Forum members:

WWF – Worldwide Fund for Nature (www.panda.org)

WCS – Wildlife Conservation Society (www.wcs.org)

WIOMSA – Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (www.wiomsa.org)

CORDIO – Coral Reef Degradation in the Indian Ocean (http://www.cordioea.org)

COMRED – Concertation Mondiale des Réseaux d’Éducation à Distance (http://www.comredafrica.org)

FORDIA – Concern for Development Initiatives in Africa (www.fordia.org)

IUCN – International Union for Conservation of Nature (www.iucn.org)

EAWLS – East Africa Wild Life Society (www.eawildlife.org)

MSC – Marine Stewardship Council (www.msc.org)

For further details please contact:

Press Release: Cousin Island Special Reserve, Carbon Neutral

Cousin Island has become the World’s 1st carbon neutral nature reserve. This exciting success story for Seychelles and the conservation and eco tourism world in general is the result of a rigorous  carbon footprint assessment, assurance process and investment in high quality carbon credits to offset the footprint.

Nature Seychelles the national NGO that runs the Reserve will reveal this status at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Tourism Expo to celebrate Tourism and Biodiversity during World Tourism Day and week to be held on Monday 27 September 2010 at the ICCS, Victoria. In attendance will be Mr. Matthew Forbes the British High Commissioner to the Seychelles, the Chief Executive Officer of the Seychelles Tourism Board Mr. Alain St. Ange, who will be opening the Expo, and other invited guests. The British High Commission in Seychelles funded the assessment.

The Special Reserve welcomes thousands of eco-tourists each year. In recognition of the environmental impact of  these visitors to Cousin, most of whom fly from Europe and reach the island by boat, and after media reports in Europe urging citizens  not to  travel to long haul destinations like  Seychelles, Nature Seychelles  took the decision to make the Reserve carbon neutral. “We initiated a process  that involved measuring all the emissions associated with the island, reviewing opportunities for on-going reductions and investing in carbon credits from a clean cook stove project in Sudan.” Kerstin Henri, Nature Seychelles’ Director for Strategic Operations says.

“After seeing European media reports and one in particular  which was reported on locally and  had as  title “Sylt not Seychelles” we wanted our eco-visitors to come to Cousin conscience free, knowing their carbon footprint has been neutralised .” said Nirmal Shah  Nature  Seychelles Chief Executive

Carbon Clear – a leading carbon management company – measured the Reserve’s carbon footprint by looking at various activities associated with visitors arrival to Cousin and its operations. The calculations of the footprint however also recognized the contribution of the reforestation programme on the island. 

Since 1968 the island has been restored with the result that 85% is covered by natural tropical vegetation (based on GIS). Based on available scientific information, the amount of annual carbon that the island can absorb was netted off against the footprint. The remainder of the footprint was offset using carbon credits purchased from a carefully selected and independently verified clean cook stove project in Darfur, Sudan thus reducing the island’s emissions to net zero. Offsetting by purchasing carbon credits is internationally accepted as a way of reducing carbon footprints

“We did not want to purchase credits over the internet or  invest in just any generic scheme. The process we initiated lasted about 15 months but provided a verifiable and assured result.”  Nirmal Shah, says.

And although this activity was voluntary, an assurance was undertaken with Nexia, Smith and Williamson, a European assurance and audit firm, to certify that both the measurement and offsetting process had been conducted to the highest standards.

Congratulating the organization on the steps it has taken to make Cousin Island Special Reserve carbon neutral, Mark Chadwick, CEO Carbon Clear said, “Nature Seychelles has taken an unprecedented step in not only taking conservation to the next level by going carbon neutral but also in conducting an independent audit of its footprint by Carbon Clear and then having the process independently assured.  This commitment speaks volumes about the integrity and care which the team at Nature Seychelles and Cousin Island goes about protecting and enhancing the environment.”

Nature Seychelles is a multiple award winning non-profit environmental organization in the Seychelles involved in a wide range of exciting  activities to improve environmental standards. Conservation activities on the Reserve include monitoring of the island’s biodiversity, research, re-introduction of endangered species such as the Seychelles Magpie robin, ecotourism and education.  Cousin has received international awards for its conservation and ecotourism efforts.

For more information contact:

Nature Seychelles: Email:nature@seychelles.net    www.natureseychelles.org

Read blogs on humpback whale research activities in Zanzibar at: www.mywhaleweb.com/?cat=118

World’s coral faces second mass die-off

Scientists fear situation could be worse than ’98, when 16 percent of coral was lost

By JUSTIN GILLIS – The New York Times

This year’s extreme heat is putting the world’s coral reefs under such severe stress that scientists fear widespread die-offs, endangering not only the richest ecosystems in the ocean but also fisheries that feed millions of people.

From Thailand to Texas, corals are reacting to the heat stress by bleaching, or shedding their color and going into survival mode.

Many have already died, and more are expected to do so in coming months. Computer forecasts of water temperature suggest that corals in the Caribbean may undergo drastic bleaching in the next few weeks.

What is unfolding this year is only the second known global bleaching of coral reefs. Scientists are holding out hope that this year will not be as bad, over all, as 1998, the hottest year in the historical record, when an estimated 16 percent of the world’s shallow-water reefs died.

But in some places, including Thailand, the situation is looking worse than in 1998.

Scientists say the trouble with the reefs is linked to climate change.

Read the full article from: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39282717/ns/technology_and_science-the_new_york_times

A recent publication by Swart et al suggests that the Mozambique Channel eddies may influence the water mass characteristics of the Agulhas Current. And Agulhas Current via its leakage may have some impacts on the physical and chemical properties of the South Atlantic.

The flow in the Mozambique Channel is dominated by large, southward propagating, anti-cyclonic eddies, as opposed to a steady western boundary current. These Mozambique Channel eddies feed their waters into the Agulhas Current system, where they are thought to have a significant influence on the formation of the Natal Pulse and Agulhas Ring shedding. Here we use in situ hydrographic and nutrient data, together with satellite altimetry and surface velocity profilers to provide a detailed characterization of the Mozambique Channel eddies. Two warm eddies in the Channel at 20°S and 24°S had diameters of over 200 km. They rotated anti-cyclonically with a tangential velocity of over 0.5 m.s−1. Vertical sections show that the eddies reached to the bottom of the water column. Relative to the surrounding waters, the features were warm and saline. The total heat and salt anomalies for the southernmost eddy were computed relative to a reference station close by. At 24°S the total anomalies were 1.3 × 1020 J and 6.9 × 1012 kg, respectively, being on par with Agulhas rings. Mozambique Channel eddies thus have the potential to form a major contribution to the southward eddy heat flux in the Agulhas Current system. The feature also had positive nutrient and negative oxygen anomalies. The large magnitude of the water mass anomalies within the eddy suggests that interannual variability in Mozambique Channel eddy numbers would have a significant impact on downstream water mass characteristics.

Full citation: Swart, N. C., J. R. E. Lutjeharms, H. Ridderinkhof, and W. P. M. de Ruijter (2010), Observed characteristics of Mozambique Channel eddies, J. Geophys. Res., 115, C09006, doi:10.1029/2009JC005875.

The South African Association for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR) invites applications for the position of Director Designate: Oceanographic Research Institute (ORI).

We seek a dynamic and motivated individual to lead and manage the Oceanographic Research Institute in accordance with the vision, mission and ethos of SAAMBR, by ensuring the optimal functioning of a strongly motivated research team in the pursuit of marine conservation and the sustainable use of resources through relevant scientific output.

The current director will formally retire in December 2011, and a Director Designate is to be appointed well in advance to allow for a period of overlap.

Download the full advertisement and the SAAMBR Job application form from http://www.wiomsa.org/?id=695&cid=3610 

CLOSING DATE: 29 October 2010

The WCS Research Fellowship Program (RFP) is a small grants program administered by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Institute which, from 1993 to 2007, funded over 300 proposals totaling more than $3 million. The RFP grants helped build research capacity for the next generation of conservation practitioners worldwide. The Program supports individual field research projects that have a clear application to conservation.
 
In 2010, WCS re-designed the RFP with a new focus of supporting work on WCS priority land/seascapes, species, and/or global challenges. The Program seeks to support the field work of graduate-level students working closely with WCS staff in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and in special cases, North America. Collectively, the young professionals receiving RFP grants will help to apply field-tested conservation science to the challenges facing the natural world.
 
Please circulate the announcement for this opportunity to any young conservation practitioners associated with your projects who might be interested in learning more. If possible, we would greatly appreciate if you forward this announcement to graduate-level institutions in your countries of operation. Individuals interested in submitting an RFP application should visit http://programs.wcs.org/grants for eligibility information. The application deadline is January 5, 2011. The maximum award is $20,000. For more information, please email fellowship@wcs.org.

Faculty for the Future is accepting applications for 2011 Fellowships from September 1st to November 30th 2010.

The Faculty for the Future program, launched in 2004, awards fellowships to women from developing and emerging economies to pursue PhD or post-doctoral studies in the physical sciences and related disciplines at top universities abroad.

The Faculty for the Future program grows each year and has become a powerful community that today stands at 142 pioneering women scientists from 43 countries. Ultimately these women return home to become leaders, to strengthen their faculties, contribute to the socio-economic development of their countries and serve as powerful role models to attract more young women into the sciences.

Faculty for the Future grants are in the range of USD 25,000 to 50,000 per year and may be renewed through to completion of studies subject to performance, self-evaluation, and recommendations from supervisors. Final grant amounts are agreed with award recipients subject to actual costs of study and living in the given location.

Candidates should have applied to, have been admitted to, or be currently enrolled in a university abroad when submitting their Faculty for the Future grant request. Candidates must be able to evidence their commitment to teaching, must demonstrate active participation in faculty life and outreach to encourage young women into the sciences and hold an excellent academic record.

All information about the Faculty for the Future fellowship program and application facilities are found at www.foundation.slb.com/fftf

If you are eligible, apply on-line as of September 1st 2010.

*Awards in biological sciences are limited to interdisciplinary research between physical and biological sciences.

The Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA) is seeking bids from consultants or consulting firms interested in undertaking a consultancy on Impacts of climate change and Responses to climate change in the coastal and marine areas of the Western Indian Ocean Region (WIO).

The bids should include: a cover letter expressing interest to undertake the consultancy, profile of consulting firm together with CV(s) of the proposed team members, proposed workplan, and indicative budget to undertake the assignment. 

The bids and their supporting documents should be submitted to the Executive Secretary, WIOMSA by email to secretary@wiomsa.org no later than 15 September 2010.

The full terms of reference can be downloaded from http://www.wiomsa.org/?id=695&cid=3607

WIOMSA in collaboration with the Kenya Wildlife Services are organizing a Regional Training Course in MPA Management that will be held in Mombasa, Kenya from 22 November – 4 December 2010. Applications are invited from the qualified applicants from all the countries in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region. The course is funded by Regional Programme for the Sustainable Management of the Coastal Zones of the Countries of the Indian Ocean (ReCoMaP) and Sida.

Deadline for submission of applications is 15 October 2010.

Download the Announcement and the Application form from http://www.wiomsa.org/?id=696&cid=3605