Information & Meetings
	Conferences & Events
	New Coastal Publications

Organisations
	New hyperlinks to websites

Environment
	Europe launches action plan on environmental monitoring
	Partners needed for "Strategic Monitoring of the Coastline"

Development & Trends
	CITES uncovers caviar smuggling operations in Arab Emirates
	Lithuanian terminal experiences crude oil accident

Policy
	Mediterranean states committed to stop sea pollution
	Danube-Black Sea Environment Ministers strengthen cooperation

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
 
 

Ontwerp-ecotopen stelsel Kustwateren By N. Dankers et al. (2001, 71 pp.). Alterra, team Communicatie, P.O.Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands. E-mail: postkamer@alterra.wag-ur.nl, fax +317 419000. ISSN 1566 7197. Price 18 Euro. This report (in Dutch) is a proposal for classification and advice for validation on an ecotope system of the Dutch coastal waters. It describes the position and the ecological substance of 28 sublitoral, litoral and supralitoral ecotopes with 6 physical parameters and a biological parameter for mussel banks and seaweed fields.

New hyperlinks to websites

Coastal Research Group, a division of Physical Geography of the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands
http://www.coastalresearch.nl/
Strategic research in Physical Geography with special focus on coastal sediment processes and morphological changes in the nearshore zone.

Coastwatch Galicia (Spain)
http://www.geocities.com/cwgalicia.geo/
Environmental education and litter monitoring

Europe launches action plan on environmental monitoring

EU research ministers approved the first stage of a three year action plan for "Global Monitoring for Environment and Security" (GEMES) in Europe as proposed jointly by DG Research and DG Environment. GMES was launched in 1998 by the European Commission and a group of Space Agencies. It is, technically speaking, a dedicated effort to put knowledge-supporting techniques (typically Earth observation and information society technologies) to the service of better environmental management and security. The programme will integrate different technologies, such as earth observing satellites and data and information collected by ground-level sensors. Several actions for the environment are included in the programme, such as management of natural catastrophes, global ocean, vegetation and atmosphere monitoring, support for regional development aid, environmental stress in Europe and land use.
For further information, visit http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/press/2001/pr3010en.html

Partners needed for "Strategic Monitoring of the Coastline"

The Southern Region of the UK Environment Agency is planning to submit a bid to Interreg IIIB on "Strategic Monitoring of the Coastline" and is looking for partners in northwest Europe who wish to develop and undertake similar work. The objective is to i.a.

• provide data to allow a more effective approach to special planning and ensure that there is a better understanding of the impact of climate change on the coastal zone,
• provide a planning tool for Local Planning Authorities
• collect environmental data through remote sensing techniques to facilitate the determination of annual losses and gains of coastal habitats.

This is part of a larger bid on climate change which covers other areas as well such as regional planning, raising awareness, monitoring climate change and managing uncertainty. Additional partners for these issues are also welcome.
For further information contact Jayne Longstaff at jayne.longstaff@environment-agency.gov.uk

CITES uncovers caviar smuggling operations in Arab Emirates

An investigation by the secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has concluded that there is a major problem with caviar smuggling through the United Arab Emirates. Unscrupulous dealers have been exploiting weaknesses in the UAE's legislation, its lack of import and export taxes on caviar and its practice of encouraging foreign companies to use the Emirates as a trading base. The caviar has then been shipped to Asia, Europe and North America and sold as being of lawful origin. "Although it is regrettable that large quantities of caviar were able to enter into international trade illegally, we have now moved to prevent further illicit shipments. These efforts, combined with action taken by the authorities of the United Arab Emirates, are expected to halt further re-exports of illicit caviar from that country," said CITES Secretary-General Willem Wijnstekers. "Such substantial profits have been made, however, that it is highly likely that those engaged in this illegal trade will move their operations elsewhere", he added. Caviar-producing sturgeon are perhaps the single most valuable wildlife resource anywhere in the world today. The legal caviar trade has been estimated to be worth some $100 million annually. Illegal catch in the four former Soviet republics, however, is 10 or 12 times greater than the legal take. Last June, the key caviar-producing states Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan reached an agreement with CITES on a 12-month action plan that included a halt to sturgeon fishing in the Caspian Sea for the rest of this year.
For further information visit http://www.unep.ch or contact John Sellar, e-mail: john.sellar@unep.ch, or Michael Williams, e-mail: michael.williams@unep.ch . 

Lithuanian terminal experiences crude oil accident

On Friday 24 November, 9.6 tonnes of crude oil leaked into the Baltic Sea at the Butinge terminal in Vilnius, Lithuania, the worst accident since the terminal (owned by oil concern Mazeikiu Nafta) started operations in 1999. The accident occured when loading a Norwegian tanker, the Caterin Knutsen, with Russian Slavneft crude.
Source: Reuters, http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/13444/

Mediterranean states committed to stop sea pollution

At the 12th meeting of the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea in Monaco from 14 to 17 November, an agreement was reached by the Mediterranean states to fully implement all restrictive measures to eliminate pollution at sea from land-based sources - accounting for 80 percent of the total Mediterranean Sea pollution - and to reduce the emissions of persistent organic pollutants (POP) by 50 percent by 2005. The ministers furthermore agreed that POPs, which are extremely toxic pesticides, and industrial chemicals including PCBs, dioxins, and DTT, reported to induce carcinogenic and endocrine disruption processes in both animal and human beings, should be totally eliminated by 2010. Parties to the Convention officially committed themselves to estimate their sea pollution emissions from land-based sources and to assess the financial requirement to reduce and eliminate them by 2003. At this meeting, ministers also decided to include the Mediterranean Whale Sanctuary, a protected area of 84.000km² established by the governments of Italy, France and Monaco, in the list of Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMIs). Moreover, the preparation of a new legal framework on oil pollution that will enable governments to use sound modern technologies, such as satellites, to monitor illegal washing by tankers and to prosecute offenders was also agreed upon. This is a crucial issue for the Mediterranean Sea as about 100,000 tons of crude oil are spilled each year as a result of illegal washing operations from the 250-300 oil tankers crossing the Mediterranean Sea daily. Finally, parties adopted a joint declaration to be presented at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002, submitting their plans to ensure the protection of the Mediterranean Sea.

Danube-Black Sea Environment Ministers strengthen cooperation

Ministers responsible for water protection in the Danube - Black Sea Region signed a declaration on 26 November 2001 in Brussels announcing their aim to improve the water quality of the region, strengthen co-operation and pursue regional priorities for water protection projects. Ministers also endorsed the European Commission's proposal to establish an informal Task Force for co-operation on water related issues in the Danube and Black Sea Region (The DABLAS Task Force). In the same event, two main bodies for water protection in the region, the International Commission for the Protection of the Black Sea (ICPBS) and the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on common strategic goals.
Further info on: http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/enlarg/danube_meeting.htm

Deadline for submitting contributions to Coastal Guide News No 24: 12 December, 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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