The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
Barely 30 years ago, playful Bottlenose Dolphins were among the plethora of sea creatures that used to happily cavort and thrive in the waters off the Vizag coast. Today, this mammal along with the Olive Ridley turtle is among the over 21 species including the whale shark, Pristis fish, Zygaena …
The Arctic Report Card considers a wide range of environmental observations throughout the Arctic, and is updated annually. A major finding of the Report Card 2012 is that numerous record-setting melting events occurred, even though, with the exception of a few limited episodes, Arctic-wide it was an unremarkable year, relative …
BP Plc will pay $4.5 billion in penalties and plead guilty to criminal misconduct in the Deepwater Horizon disaster, which caused the worst U.S. offshore oil spill ever. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder called the deal a "critical step forward" but was adamant that it did not end the criminal …
BP's $4.5 billion settlement of federal criminal charges in the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico off the US coast in 2010 is a record amount, and a significant sum of money. Or, looked at another way, the settlement announced Thursday is less than the $5.5 billion in …
Australia on Friday created the world's largest network of marine reserves, protecting a huge swathe of ocean environment despite claims it will devastate the fishing industry. The announcement, after years of planning and consultation, will significantly expand the protection of creatures such as the blue whale, green turtle, critically endangered …
BP Plc will pay $4.5 billion in penalties and plead guilty to felony misconduct in the Deepwater Horizon disaster, which killed 11 workers and caused the worst U.S. offshore oil spill ever. The settlement includes a $1.256 billion criminal fine, the largest such levy in U.S. history, the oil company …
A German cargo shipper targeted last year by Somali pirates will pay a $1.2 million penalty and be barred from U.S. ports for five years as punishment for oil-dumping violations off the Alaska coast and elsewhere in the open ocean, U.S. federal officials said on Friday. Nimmrich & Prahm Bereederung …
Major nations failed to reach agreement on Thursday to set up huge marine protected areas off Antarctica under a plan to step up conservation of creatures such as whales and penguins around the frozen continent. The 25-member Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) agreed, however, to …
The World Forum of Fisher People (WFFP) and Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) while welcoming the report designed by Olivier De Schutter, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, who warned of the threat of ‘ocean-grabbing’ to food security, and urged world governments and international bodies to halt …
Scientific evidence indicates that global warming could well lead to a sea-level rise of 1 meter or more in the 21st century. This paper seeks to quantify how a 1-meter sea-level rise that would affect coastal wetlands in 76 developing countries and territories, taking into account how much of wetlands …
Elevated levels of cesium still detected in fish off the Fukushima coast of Japan suggest that radioactive particles from last year’s nuclear disaster have accumulated on the seafloor and could contaminate sea life for decades, according to new research. The findings published in Friday’s issue of the journal Science highlight …
The owners of a ship which smashed into a reef off a popular New Zealand holiday spot, causing the country's worst environmental disaster in decades, pleaded guilty to causing marine pollution and were fined on Friday. Daina Shipping, a unit of Greece's Costamare Inc., pleaded guilty to a charge of …
Fines issued for only seven of 4,123 oil spills since 2000, with no company having to pay more than £20,000 Oil companies operating in the North Sea have been fined for oil spills on just seven occasions since 2000, even though 4,123 separate spills were recorded over the same period, …
When a chartered fishing boat strewed 100 tonnes of iron sulphate into the ocean off western Canada last July, the goal was to supercharge the marine ecosystem. The iron was meant to fertilize plankton, boost salmon populations and sequester carbon. Whether the ocean responded as hoped is not clear, but …
About 120 marine hotspots identified by experts are awaiting to be approved by the Convention on Biological Diversity as they need immediate attention. This approval is aimed at pushing the international community to recognise and protect these sensitive areas. The new knowledge gathered about them is aimed at better managing …
If an interesting feasibility study gets general approval, we could have a cross-sectoral institutional mechanism for conservation of coastal and marine biodiversity. It seeks to strike a balance between conservation of marine and coastal ecosystem, marshy mangroves and protecting the livelihood of local people. It is a land where herons, …
‘Marine litter affecting the livelihood of fishermen’ Plastic pollution in marine ecosystems is causing health hazards and economic loss, according to marine scientists. The presence of plastic pollutants in seas and backwaters is upsetting the ecosystem and breeding grounds of a large number of economically important fish varieties, said V. …
The 7,000-km long Indian coastline that is home to 30 per cent of the country’s population faces a huge threat from unbridled sand mining and commercial coastal activity. “In AP, the Nellore and Godavari coast is threatened by these mafias who take away large quantities of vital sea sand by …
This new report shows how environmental degradation reduces the capacity of societies to deal with disaster risk in many countries around the world. It examines who is at risk from natural disasters, what contributes to this risk and what can be done about it. World Risk Report 2012, which shows …
This toolkit offers a step-by-step guide for integrating disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation into the coastal and marine ecosystem management that will be quite useful for the field practitioners of coastal areas in the sub-region. This publication builds on UNDP’s new Biodiversity and Ecosystems Global Framework, titled The …
