Information & Meetings
	Conferences & Events
	New Coastal Publications

Environment
	Agreement reached on Kyoto Protocol
	Aarhus Convention enters into force

Development & Trends
	Norway continues controversial seal and whale hunts
	Presence of Sand Lizard stopped development project along Dutch coast
	Germany's first off-shore wind power plant approved

Policy
	Report highlights "serious infringements" to Common Fisheries Policy

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
 
 

Coastal Ecosystems By Lauretta Burke et al (2001, 93 pp.). World Resources Institute, 3 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 8LU, U.K. ISBN 1 56973 458 5. Price UK £ 16.95. This study analyses quantitative and qualitative information on coastal ecosystems and develops selected indicators on the condition of the world's coastal zone, where condition is defined as the current and future capacity of coastal ecosystems to provide the full range of goods and services needed or valued by humans. The five categories considered are: shoreline stabilization; water quality; biodiversity; food production-marine fisheries; and tourism and recreation. The study relied on global and regional data sets provided by many organisations.

Le changement climatique et les espaces côtiers By Roland Paskoff, 2001, Paris, La Documentation Francaise, 29, quai Voltaire, 75007 Paris, 97 pp, 23 EURO. Sea level rise is one of the effects of the warming of the atmosphere due to human activities and is expected to accelerate in the future. This publication, consisting of the proceedings of the euro-Mediterranean colloquium October 2000 in Arles, discusses two probable replies to sea level rise: either resistance by defence or adaptation by retreat. The choice depends on economic, social and financial circumstances.

 

Agreement reached on Kyoto Protocol

The two-week long 7th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Climate Change in Marrakesh, Morocco, ended November 9 with an agreement on full operational rules for the Kyoto Protocol on reducing greenhouse gases. The package includes decisions on compliance rules, the so-called "flexible mechanisms" and monitoring and reporting obligations for Parties. All Parties agreed that the package would be sufficient for the timely ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. The treaty must be ratified by at least 55 countries responsible for 55% of the world's CO2 emissions of 1990 before it can come into force. The agreement reached in Marrakesh increases the chances for the protocol to be ratified by enough industrialised countries by the World Summit for Sustainable Development in September 2002. The most important achievements of the Conference are that a solid compliance system has been established and that international emissions trading can start as of 2008. Further monitoring and reporting procedures were established providing transparency and certainty for the operation of the Kyoto mechanisms.
For more information on the Marrakesh Accords see: http://www.unfccc.de and Coastal Guide News No 21

Aarhus Convention enters into force

On 30 October, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)'s Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters entered into force. The Convention, popularly known as the Aarhus Convention, was adopted on 25 June 1998 in the Danish city of Aarhus by 39 countries and the European Union. The Convention links environmental rights and human rights by recognizing citizen's environmental rights to information, participation and justice, and by aiming to promote greater accountability and transparency in environmental matters. The Convention, whose underlying principles are derived from Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development is described by Kofi Annan as "the most ambitious venture in environmental democracy undertaken under the auspices of the United Nations". It has a three pillar structure that specifically aims to - grant the public greater access to environmental information held by public authorities, thereby increasing the transparency and accountability of government; - provide an opportunity for people to express their opinions and concerns on environmental matters and ensure that these are taken into account by decision-makers; - and provide the public with access to review procedures when their rights to information and participation have been breached.
For more information and for the text of the Convention see: http://www.unece.org/env/pp/. The UNEP.Net Portal can be accessed at: http://www.unep.net

Norway continues controversial seal and whale hunts

Seal hunting and whaling continues in Norway, despite world wide criticism. Norway's fishery minister Svein Ludvigsen recently unveiled a new plan to make seal hunting a tourist attraction. His aim is to engage tourists in seal hunting in order to meet the country's culling quota for seals that according to the government compete with fishermen for fish stocks. Until 8 Nov., already over 150 permits to kill seals have been sold to foreign hunters, who thus far killed 80 seals (newspaper Aftenposten). The European Commission banned sealskin import and Norway stopped culling in 1989 but restarted it in 1995 despite international criticism. A new conflict is expected when Norway and Japan will re-open international trade in whale meat in a few months' time (see http://www.coastalguide.nl/news/2000-14.html#pol1 and http://www.coastalguide.nl/news/2001-15.html#pol1)
The two countries have tried to reduce the amount of criticism towards their actions by developing DNA registers of all whales caught under their self-awarded quota. However, the 19 samples taken in June 2000 by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade arm of WWF and IUCN, have not been confirmed to match with its register, despite reminders to the Norwegian authorities. The Norwegians report that their register has been audited and approved as effective. WWF's whale expert Cassandra Phillips says, "if the DNA registers are not open to international scrutiny, they cannot be relied on to keep illegally caught whales out of the trade, and illegal whaling and smuggling will get a green light".
For more information see http://www.panda.org/news/press/news.cfm?id=2575 and http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=13139&newsdate=06-Nov-2001

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Presence of Sand Lizard stopped development project along Dutch coast

A project to develop a motel and 125 bungalows in the dune area Ruigenhoek (Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands) was stopped by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries because of the presence of the threatened Sand Lizard (Lacerta agilis), an animal protected by the Habitats Directive. The Ministry came to the conclusion that this development would not be in the public interest. The Dutch NGO Stichting Duinbehoud started its successful procedure against the project over a year ago.
For more information: http://www.duinbehoud.nl (in Dutch)

 

Germany's first off-shore wind power plant approved

The German ocean shipping and hydrography office (BSH) just approved the country's first off-shore wind plants 45 km north-west of the North Sea island of Borkum. The energy company Prokon plans to start construction of 12 wind turbines in 2003. Each turbine will have a capacity of about 4.5 Megawatt. 200 more projects of similar nature are still waiting for approval. At present, nine off-shore wind parks are producing energy world-wide: three in Denmark, three in Sweden, two in the Netherlands and two in the UK.
More information http://www.coastalguide.org/windpower/index.html

Report highlights "serious infringements" to Common Fisheries Policy

The European Commission has adopted a report on serious infringements to the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in 2000. This is the first report of its kind and is part of a drive to ensure greater transparency in the control and monitoring of fisheries activities across the European Unions. The first thing to report notes is the failure of a number of Member States to fulfil their obligations regarding the forwarding of information. The main findings from the available data are as follows:

• The most frequent serious infringement seems to be in relation to fishing in a given area without the necessary authorisation (almost half of the 4,180 serious infringements reported).
• Differences across Member States in the fines imposed are striking.
• Greater detail is required for drawing up reports.
• Member States use different procedures, criminal or administrative, to sanction infringements, a situation due to constitutional or historical factors.

The extent to which future reports, such as this one, will become effective instruments for increasing transparency and as a result for strengthening enforcement in the EU will depend on the manner in which Member States fulfil their obligations in this area. The Commission will take account of these aspects when it presents its proposals for the reform of the CFP.
Further information: Press release: http://europa.eu.int/comm/fisheries/news_corner/press/inf01_60_en.htm
Report: http://europa.eu.int/comm/fisheries/doc_et_publ/factsheets/legal_texts/docscom/en/com_01_650_en.pdf Green Paper - The Common Fisheries Policy after 2002: http://europa.eu.int/comm/fisheries/greenpaper/green1_en.htm

Deadline for submitting contributions to Coastal Guide News No 23: 28 November, 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. 

Members of the Coastal Guide News editorial team: Hanna-Maria Baerlund, Erik Devilee, Irene Lucius, Hanneke Mesters, Albert Salman, Virginie Terrier.
 

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
 

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