Information & Meetings
	Conferences & Events
	New Coastal Publications

Organisations
	New hyperlinks to websites

Environment
	The Øresund bridge a success – what’s next?

Development & Trends
	"Quality of Coastal Towns" project reviews sustainable tourism strategies
	Seatrade Awards 2001 inviting entries

Policy
	EU will support the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean

Funds
	Regulations for new LIFE programme published
	IST Programme opened new call for proposals

Events recently announded

Please note:
The overview of the Coastal Guide conference and event  meeting list can be found at http://www.coastalguide.org/meetings/
 

New Coastal Publications
 
 

Coping with Beach Erosion By G. Cambers (1998, 120 pp.) UNESCO, Environment and Development. 7, Place de Fontenoy, 75732 Paris 07 SP, France. Fax +33 1 45683970, ISBN 92 3 103561 4, Price FF 110 (plus FF 30 postage) This publication is a practical guide for beach users, builders and homeowners as well as other coastal stakeholders. It provides expert advice concerning the dangers to consider when buying property and constructing houses, hotels, etc in erosion prone beach areas. The question of how to conserve existing beaches is dealt with by demonstrating well tested shoreline protection and other management measures for current and potential erosion and accretion problems.

Orkney Nature By R.J. Berry (2000, 308 pp.). Poyser Natural History, Academic Press. Available from Harcourt Publishers Customer Services Dept, Foots Cray High Street, Sidcup, Kent DA14 5HP. UK, Fax +44 208 3085702, email: janice_guyton@harcourt.com, http://www.harcourt-international.com, ISBN 0 85661 104 2.   Price UK £24.95. The Orkney Islands are a special place, in terms of both their natural history and their human inhabitants. Orkney is home to a significant proportion of the British and also European populations of many seabirds and to some of the most spectacular and accessible breeding colonies in north-west Europe. It has an interesting flora, adapted to extreme oceanic conditions, the northernmost indigenous wood in the British Isles, and there are numerous seals and other animals. In human terms, traditional lifestyles of fishing and crafting contrast with modern industries, such as oil, leading to conflicts of both human and wildlife conservation dimensions. This book brings Orkney's animals, plants and scenic history to life for specialists and casual readers alike.

New hyperlinks to websites

Global Ecovillage Network
The GEN is a non-profit organisation that links eco-villages and related projects around the world.

SD Gateway
The SD Gateway is a portal and information centre integrating on-line information about sustainable development compiled by SDCN, the Sustainable Development Communications Network.

Stockholm Environmental Institute
SEI is an independent, international policy research institute specialising in sustainable development and environmental issues. SEI conducts a comprehensive research, consulting and training program that focuses on the links between ecological, social and economic systems at global, regional, national and local levels.
 

Check out the other Website Links on the Coastal Guide 
 

The Øresund bridge a success – what’s next?

Now that the Øresund bridge has been open since 1 July (see CG News No 14), the environmental impacts of the bridge can be, and have been assessed. According to the newest studies the bridge does not affect the water flow to the Baltic Sea more than 0,5%, nor has the spillage from excavations exceeded the strict regulations set by the Danish and Swedish governments but has stayed at 4%. Nevertheless, parts of the eelgrass vegetation and the mussel banks have been destroyed. Also the small seal population has fled from the nearby Saltholm island. The birds however have remained unaffected by the new bridge. In overall, the Øresund bridge is a good example of an environmental friendly construction project. Henning Jørgensøn from the Danish Society for Nature Conservation agrees that the consortium has done well, but he also adds that without the heavy pressure from environmental organisations, the present situation would not have been achieved. He says that the biggest concern now is the increasing traffic. The role of Denmark as a transit country is even more emphasised and the planning phase of a new bridge to link Denmark and Germany has already begun. From the Great Belt bridge to the Øresund bridge, NGOs have made very good progress in influencing constructors on environmental issues. Jørgensøn hopes that companies and construction consortiums of the new bridge will also realise that environmental social responsibility, as a part of company strategy, is not working against them, but in their favour. For more information, contact Henning Jørgensøn, hmj@dn.dk or visit the The Øresund Bridge Consortium website at http://www.oresundskonsortiet.com.
 

"Quality of Coastal Towns" project reviews sustainable tourism strategies

As a part of the Interreg IIc project ‘Quality of Coastal Towns’ (see CG News No 4 at http://www.coastalguide.org/news/2000-04.html), the European Union for Coastal Conservation - the co-ordinator of the project - published a draft International Review identifying problems, opportunities and possible strategies in the field of sustainable tourism development in small and medium sized European coastal towns. Five specific key issues common to the participating partners were identified: participation in spatial planning, development of multipurpose recreational areas, profiling of local identity, parking and traffic congestion, and public access in relation to nature conservation. (You can download the document in PDF format at http://www.coastaltowns.org/review.html.) The overall objective of the project is to develop a strategy enhancing sustainability and tourism quality based upon an integrated regional planning approach that ensures improved quality of the urban environment whilst conserving natural resources. Set up in three stages, the project is now in the second or planning stage and will end in March 2001. The implementation of the overall strategy will start in 2001, as a seven-year project in the framework of Interreg III. 

For more information, contact Alan Pickaver at EUCC, e-mail: pickaver@eucc.nl, visit the project website http://www.coastaltowns.org or read the full article at http://www.coastalguide.org/news/qct.html.
 

Seatrade Awards 2001 inviting entries

The Seatrade Organisation is inviting entries to Seatrade Awards 2001. The Seatrade Organisation, with offices worldwide, is a publisher, conference and exhibition organiser, promoting the international maritime industry. Entries for the 2001 Seatrade Awards are accepted until 29 December 2000 in three categories: safety at sea, countering marine and atmospheric pollution, and innovation. The Seatrade Personality Award is also given for outstanding personal achievement in any maritime field. More information at http://195.13.99.42:591/seatrade/awards/awards2.htm, or through the e-mail address awards@seatrade-global.com. 

EU will support the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean

The European Council decided to accept the new rules governing the establishment of an autonomous budget of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM). The purpose of the GFCM is to promote the development, conservation, rational management and proper utilisation of living marine resources, as well as the sustainable development of aquaculture in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Region. It so far depended entirely on the budget of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Since the GFMC recently decided to create a Scientific Advisory Committee, additional financial means are needed and the decision was taken to create an autonomous budget. Each member of the Commission will contribute annually its share to this budget. GFCM’s responsibilities are to review the state of living marine resources and fisheries, to formulate and recommend appropriate measures regulating fishing methods and gear, establishing open and close fishing seasons and areas, and regulating the amount of total catch and fishing effort and their allocation among Members. GFCM must also keep under review the economic and social aspects of the fishing industry and recommend any measures aimed at its conservation and development - including research and development activities: dissemination of information on exploitable marine resources, and promoting marine and brackish water aquaculture and coastal fisheries enhancement programmes. The full Council decision can be seen at:
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/dat/2000/l_197/l_19720000803en00350047.pdf
 

Regulations for new LIFE programme published

LIFE – the financial instrument of DG Environment for EU and accession countries – entered its third phase for the period of five years, ending on 31 December 2004. Regulation (EC) No 1655/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 July 2000 emphasizes among others the need to concentrate efforts on some areas of activity, the importance of protecting migration routes and buffer zones, and the promotion of environmental awareness on the part of industry. The programme consists of three thematic components: LIFE-nature, LIFE-environment, and LIFE-third countries. LIFE-nature aims at contributing to the implementation of the European Bird and Habitat Directive and the Natura 2000 network. LIFE-environment will fund demonstration projects that e.g. integrate environmental aspects into coastal land-use development and planning, and promote sustainable management of water resources. Accompanying measures are also eligible for funding if they disseminate results or facilitate exchange of experience between LIFE projects. The objective of LIFE-third countries is to build capacity in the environmental sector of those countries bordering the Mediterranean and the Baltic that are not eligible for other LIFE funding. Maximum community contribution is between 50 and 100 percent. For calls for proposals and upcoming deadlines as well as more details, please visit http://europa.eu.int/comm/life/home.htm.
 

IST Programme opened new call for proposals

The European Commission published a new call for proposals for indirect RTD actions under the IST Programme. Several of the action lines are of relevance for coastal and marine management. Deadline is 31 October 2000 for those action lines with a fixed deadline, while others are under the continuous submission scheme.

All information on http://www.cordis.lu/ist
 

Deadline for submitting contributions to Coastal Guide News No 17:
August 23,  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, Levente Galambosi, Irene Lucius, Hanneke Mesters, 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, POB 11232, NL-2301 EE Leiden, the Netherlands, tel.: +31-71-5122900, internet: http://www.eucc.nl
 

© European Union for Coastal Conservation