Information & Meetings
	Conferences & Events
	New Coastal Publications
	Ukraine receives GEF grant for Azov-Black Sea ecological corridor
	Vacancy

Organisations
	New hyperlinks to websites

Environment
	Russia considering debt-for-nature-swap for benefit of Baltic Sea

Development & Trends
	UK supports tidal stream power generation system

Policy
	European Parliament can decide later on ICZM Recommendation
	European Court: Greece failed to protect sea turtle habitat

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
 
 

Fisheries Council Decision of 28 January The "Council Decision of 28 January 2002 amending Decision 97/413/EC concerning the objectives and detailed rules for restructuring the Community fisheries sector for the period from 1 January to 31 December 2001 with a view to achieving a balance on a sustainable basis between resources and their exploitation" defines to which degree by 31 December 2002 at the latest, the fishing effort of each Member State will have to be reduced. The Decision is published on: http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/oj/2002/l_03120020201en.html

Ukraine receives GEF grant for Azov-Black Sea ecological corridor

The World Bank today approved implementation of a project, funded by a US$ 6.9 million Global Environment Facility (GEF) grant, to conserve coastal biodiversity within the Azov-Black Sea coastal ecological corridor. The project aims to strengthen the protected area network, mainstream biodiversity conservation into the agricultural landscapes which connect them, and build support at the national and international levels for sustainable development of the region's unique biological and landscape diversity. The project will promote improved protection and sustainable use of over 250,000 hectares of wetlands on the Black and Azov Sea coasts, reduce soil and nutrient runoff from farms to adjoining Ramsar sites, and build capacity of NGOs, local communities and Government to improve environmental protection programs. The total cost of the project is US$ 16.5 million, including funding from Ukrainian Government and local governments, local stakeholders, and bilateral (Denmark, UK, Netherlands, USA) and multilateral donors (TACIS, WWF). The GEF provides grant and concessional funds to developing countries and those with economies in transition for projects and activities that address four aspects of the global environment - biological diversity, climate change, international waters, and the ozone layer.
More information on GEF: http://www.gefweb.org/

5th Ocean Technology Job Fair at MIT

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA invites colleagues and universities with marine related programmes to join the 5th Ocean Technology Job Fair on 22 February.
For more information visit http://web.mit.edu/sname/www

New hyperlinks to websites

International Water Law Project providing information on international water law and policy and related topics. Specifically, it offers treaties, articles, news stories, case law, Internet links, and other relevant information.

Check out the other Website Links on the Coastal Guide
 

Russia considering debt-for-nature-swap for benefit of Baltic Sea

Russia is considering to swap up to 50 million USD debt to Finland - 10 percent of Russia's Soviet time debt - for environmental investments, according to a Financial Times article of 29 January. Detailed discussions between the two governments on possible projects will start in February. Measures under discussion are aiming to reduce pollution of the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea. The initiative could become a model for resolving Russia's outstanding debts to western countries from the communist era with the help of debt-for-nature-swaps.

UK supports tidal stream power generation system

On 10 January, the British Government announced the award of a £1.1 million grant to The Engineering Business Limited of Riding Mill, Northumberland for further development of their Stingray tidal stream power generation system. The Stingray system generates electricity from the oscillatory movement of hydroplanes driven by flowing tidal current. This transforms the kinetic energy of moving water into hydraulic power, which turns an electrical generator using a hydraulic motor. Later this year, the 150 kilowatt tidal power station will be installed on the seabed to the south-east of the Sound of Yell, off mainland Shetland.
Engineering Business: http://www.engb.com (click on "renewable power")

European Parliament can decide later on ICZM Recommendation

The deadline for the European Parliament to decide on the Common Position of the Council, which followed the European Commission's proposal for a Recommendation concerning the "Implementation of integrated coastal zone management in Europe" (COM (2000) 545 final, as amended by COM (2001) 533 final) has been extended and is now expected in May 2002. On 22 January 2002, the Environment Committee of the European Parliament had decided on the procedure and timetable for adoption of its draft recommendation in second reading on this common position. During the meeting no amendments were proposed by the Committee's MEPs. For more information on the ICZM strategy, visit EUCC's Coastal Guide at http://www.coastalguide.org/icm/index.html

European Court: Greece failed to protect sea turtle habitat

The European Court of Justice found Greece guilty of failing to fulfill its obligations to implement effective and strict protection for the sea turtle Caretta caretta on Zakinthos Island. The Court noted evidence of activities such as illegal buildings and mopeds driven on the beaches that contribute to the destruction of the breeding site. Greece thereby violated the European Union's habitat directive - the Bay of Laganas on Zakinthos is a vital breeding ground for the turtle, maybe the most important one in the Mediterranean, and nominated as a Natura 2000 site. Although Greece recently established marine and regional parks to protect the turtle, the Court argued that these measures came too late.
For more information visit http://www.euroturtle.org/medasset.

Deadline for submitting contributions to Coastal Guide News No 4: 20 February, 2002

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, 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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