Information & Meetings
	New Coastal Publications
	Conferences & Events
	International News Survey

Organisations
	New hyperlinks

Biodiversity
	Biodiversity threatened from several sides
	Recovery measures in the Amsterdam Water Supply Dunes

Development & Trends
	Renewed plans for tidal barrier in Severn Estuary

Policy
	Spanish people want parliament to investigate sinking of Prestige

 

New Coastal Publications

Events recently announded

2003

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

International News Survey

World – The Conference of the Parties of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) calls upon all relevant international, regional and national bodies to join its efforts to safeguard migratory animals and their precious habitats from oil pollution. More information: CMS Bulletin no. 16 p 5, http://www.wcmc.org.uk/cms/cms_bull.htm

World – A new resolution of the CMS recognises a wide range of potential negative impacts from wind turbines on migratory species and calls on parties to study the impacts of both offshore and onshore wind farms. More information: CMS Bulletin no. 16 p 7, http://www.wcmc.org.uk/cms/cms_bull.htm

World – The 8th Conference of Parties of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands was successful because the convention and the number of designated sites are still growing. However, there are some negative aspects: only 30 % of the sites that were promised by the member countries were actually designated and the management of the designated areas is often neglected. More information: http://www.iisd.ca/linkages/ramsar/cop8,
Ecologie & Ontwikkeling 2002-6 p 49 (in Dutch), details of this magazine: http://www.nciucn.nl/nederlands/publicaties/tijdschrift/fsabonnement+.htm

Europe - European Commission introduces a new approach to promote sustainable use of marine resources in the 6th Environmental Action Programme. More Information: Baltic 21 Newsletter 2/2002 p 12, http://www.ee/baltic21/news/newsletter2-2002.pdf

Greece – Plans to develop one of Greece’s most significant coastal wetland areas into a canoe and rowing site for the 2004 Olympic Games have been reversed. More Information: http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/other_news/news.cfm?uNewsID=4721

Portugal - Zino’s Petrels threatened by plans to build NATO radar station. More Information: http://www.birdlife.net/news/pritem_display.cfm?NewRecID=724&NewType=P
World Birdwatch 2002-4 p3, details of this magazine: http://www.birdlife.net/help/wbwmag.cfm

Spain – Cabinet approved a fine against the company held responsible for the spill of toxic mud into Doñana National Park in 1998. More Information: World Birdwatch 2002-4 p3, details of this magazine: http://www.birdlife.net/help/wbwmag.cfm

Germany – WWF doubts if current measures to prevent and act upon oil spills in the Wadden Sea are sufficient. More information: Wattenmeer international 3/4•2002 (In German), details of this magazine: http://www.wwf.de/service/publikationen/

Germany - WWF and Schutzstation Wattenmeer request the federal government to designate protection areas for small cetaceans in German waters and criticise the permission to construct a Windfarm in an area west of Sylt, that should be a protection area for birds and Harbour porpoise according to European law. More information: http://www.wwf.de/presse/pressearchiv/artikel/00977/index.html (in German).

England – British Government presents plans to reduce nuclear discharge in the Irish sea. More information: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2566545.stm http://www.bellona.no/en/energy/nuclear/sellafield/27614.html

Scotland – Atlantic Puffins have returned to nest on Ailsa Craig after rats were removed from the island. More information: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/reports/science_nature/puffins.shtml

Finland – The Finnish Government approved a decision-in-principle on Finland’s Programme for the Protection of the Baltic Sea. One of the key programme goals is to cut by half Finland’s nutrient contribution to the Baltic Sea. More information: Baltic 21 Newsletter 2/2002 p 12, http://www.ee/baltic21/news/newsletter2-2002.pdf

Norway - 14 new Ramsar sites designated, among these are the coastal areas Havmyran, Skogvoll, Slettnes and Jæren wetland system.
More information: IMCG newsletter 2002-4 p33-34:
http://www.ecology.uni-kiel.de/~michael/imcg/imcgnl/nl0204.pdf

Russia – Kola peninsula top location for wind energy plants. More information: http://www.milieukontakt.nl/

South Africa - Scientist pleads for networks of sites to monitor Arctic-breeding birds. One of the sites in the network should be Robben Island, near Cape Town, South Africa, where his group monitors Arctic-breeding birds. More information: WWF Arctic Bulletin 2002-4 p15, http://www.ngo.grida.no/wwfap/pdf/AB0402.pdf

New hyperlinks

Baltic Sea Portal – Finish Institute of Marine Research
http://www2.fimr.fi/en/itamerikanta.html
The latest information of the Baltic Sea and useful background information. At summertime reports of the algal situation are a central part of the Portal. The site was recently updated with information on conservation and environmental education.

European Land Ocean Interaction Studies (ELOISE)
http://www.nilu.no/projects/eloise/
Information of ELOISE, a thematic network instigated by the Commission of the European Union where coastal zone research is combined to focus on the important questions of how the land-ocean interaction operates and of how this is influenced by human activities.

Biodiversity threatened from several sides

Studies say global warming is forcing species around the world to move into new ranges or alter habits in ways that could disrupt ecosystems, two groups of researchers say. Experts not associated with the studies said they provided the clearest portrait yet of a biological world driven into accelerating flux by warming caused at least in part by human activity. At the same time a world-wide trend toward smaller households is fuelling a global housing boom and threatening biodiversity around the world. A new study is among the first to link trends such as a rising divorce rate and a movement away from multigenerational households to changes in resource consumption and sprawling development. With 60% of the world population living in coastal areas this study is of special relevance to the coastal zone.
More information: http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?e55965102&e=6347
http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2003/2003-01-13-06.asp

Recovery measures in the Amsterdam Water Supply Dunes

Last autumn the Amsterdam Water Supply company executed recovery measures in two areas in the Amsterdam Water Supply Dunes (AWD). Due to atmospheric pollution and subsequent deposition of nutrients the soil has become more acid and more eutrophic. This caused undesirable changes in the vegetation. Normally rabbits keep the vegetation short, transport the nutrients to concentrated areas (latrines) and bring calcareous sand to the surface reducing the effects of the atmospheric deposition. However, the recent decline of the rabbit population diminished these effects and the grass vegetation became so dense that even a recovery of the rabbit population could not bring back the characteristic dune grassland. Therefore the vegetation and the acid and eutrophic soil layer were removed in the most effected patches of app. 0.3 hectare (4 to 5 hectare in total) in a part of the AWD. The ‘choppering’ technique applied at first was not successful because the machinery was not suitable for the relief and the sandy soil. Afterwards the measures were successfully executed with lighter machinery. If the rabbit population recovers, it is expected that the characteristic dune grassland which is rich in species, will also recover within 5 years.
For more information: a.ehrenburg@gwa.nl

Renewed plans for tidal barrier in Severn Estuary

A new study suggests Britain should reconsider plans to build a huge tidal barrier across the Severn Estuary to generate renewable power. 16 years ago the scheme was shelved because it was uneconomic, but engineers from Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd. suggest it should be reassessed because costs have fallen and it would help Britain meet its targets of cutting emissions of carbon dioxide. In the past the scheme ran into opposition from environmental groups and local inhabitants.
More information: http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/renewables/severn.shtml
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/19416/story.htm

Spanish people want parliament to investigate sinking of Prestige

Two months after the Prestige ruptured its hull, it continues leaking oil. A poll on 14 January 2003 showed a majority of the Spanish people wants the parliament to investigate the sinking of the Prestige. A majority also laid some blame on the Spanish government for the ecological disaster that followed the sinking. Prime Minister José María Aznars, leader of the Partido Popular, however, blocks the installation of an investigation commission. After Spain and France, Portugal may be the third country that has been effected. On 8 January 2003 patches of oil were found on a beach near the fishing town of Esposende. Two local authorities in south-west France are seeking compensation for oil damage incurred by the sinking of the tanker Prestige off the coast of Spain. Last week the public prosecutor's office in Brest opened a criminal inquiry into the responsibility for the sinking, in response to a request by President Jacques Chirac. The French interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, has proposed the creation of an 800-member "rapid reaction force," including 400 soldiers, to deal with future disasters in less than 12 hours.
More information:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56727-2003Jan14.html
http://news.findlaw.com/ap_stories/i/1103/1-8-2003/20030108153004_03.html
French legal action: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2622855.stm
http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/cz/Afrance-spain-tanker.Rb6r_DJ3.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2638983.stm
Oil on Portuguese coast: http://www.seafood.com/news/current/84866.html
Spanish poll:
http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/do/Qspain-ship-pollution.RVhZ_DJE.html

Deadline for submitting contributions to Coastal Guide News No 2, 2003: 29 January 2003

COASTAL GUIDE NEWS is a biweekly newsletter published by the EUCC - The Coastal Union 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, Antje Ehrenburg (Amsterdam Water Supply), Marijke Kooijman, Irene Lucius, Piet Lansbergen, Toni March, Arnoud van der Meulen, Albert Salman.
 

Established in 1989, the EUCC - The Coastal Union 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, POBox 11232, NL-2301 EE Leiden, the Netherlands, tel.: +31-71-5122900, internet: http://www.eucc.nl
 

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