Coral reefs have exceptional levels of biodiversity and provide important social and ecological services, including food, coastal protection, recreation, tourism, and cultural connections. However, local stressors and climate change are causing a sharp decline in coral reefs and the more than 230 international agreements with coral reef provisions have failed …
Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) violations go unabated in Kerala even after a quarter century of introduction of the law. The coastal areas of Vembanad Lake continued to be the hotbed of violations with the authorities pointing out over 5000 cases of “land modifications” a couple of years ago and most …
Pretoria — Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa has published draft notices and regulations in the Government Gazette to declare a network of 22 new proposed Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) as part of Operation Phakisa. "The declaration of these new MPAs aims to create approximately 70 000km² of marine protected areas, …
President Joko Widodo’s plan to establish Indonesia as a ‘global maritime axis’ took a step forward last week as US ambassador Robert Blake announced a partnership programme to help improve marine law enforcement and sustainable fisheries management in the world’s largest archipelagic nation. According to the World Bank, illegal, unreported …
Severe bleaching can be lethal to reef systems, triggering long-term degradation through the erosion of underlying structures A coral scientist has warned that early official optimism that the Great Barrier Reef will be spared the worst of a predicted worldwide coral bleaching event is misplaced. The Queensland minister for the …
The amount of heat soaked up by the oceans has surged in the past two decades in a sign of worsening global warming despite a slowdown in temperature rises at the Earth's surface, a U.S. study showed on Monday. The trend of warmer oceans, blamed on man-made emissions of greenhouse …
Tanzanian fishermen are using a rather aggressive approach to increase their catches – they toss a homemade bottle bombs into the sea, killing hundreds of fish at one time. This dangerous tactic, also known as blast fishing, indirectly threatens surrounding marine life. Although fish biomass is often used to evaluate …
This guidance note provides review and recommendations for how the protective services of mangroves and coral reefs can be measured and valued in a manner consistent with national economic accounts and included in other decision-making processes to support planning for development, disaster risk, and coastal zone management. It synthesizes evidence …
Why? Because poor Tanzanian fishermen are using explosives, illegally, to kill hundreds of fish in seconds. Blast fishing, as it’s called, not only destroys large numbers of fish directly—but indirectly as well by killing coral and the rich array of marine animals that depend on it. Experts believe that in …
Federal environment minister gives green light for dredging and disposal of spoil to create one of the world’s largest coal ports, which would be linked to the proposed $16bn Carmichael coalmine The federal environment minister, Greg Hunt, has given the green light to expanding the Abbot point coal terminal in …
Mass coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef caused by an El Nino weather event will take place early next year, marine biologists have warned. Coral reefs around the world have already been severely damaged by unusually warm ocean temperatures. When corals are put under stress by changes in conditions …
Queensland report calls for corporate and philanthropic funding to help cut water pollution as a bulwark against climate change Governments will need to move faster and find more money to meet “ambitious” targets of cutting pollution in Great Barrier Reef waters, a Queensland government taskforce has found. Australia on the …
This year’s El Niño event is shaping up to be one of the strongest in recorded history, and its effects are making themselves apparent across the globe in the form of droughts, floods and changes in local weather patterns. A less talked-about consequence of warm ocean temperatures, however, is their …
Researchers found that coral reefs are becoming more vulnerable due to coastal development than previously predicted, according to a study at the University of Florida. Initially, scientists thought that ocean herbivores such as fish, sea turtles and urchins could consume large amounts of algae produced from nutrients flushed into the …
Oceans are vital, not only to a wide array of biodiversity and ecosystems, but also to the food chains, livelihoods and climate regulation for a human population heading towards nine billion people. That is why this report shares stories that illustrate how economic indicators and development strategies can better reflect …
China refuted claims it is militarizing the disputed South China Sea, saying it needs to build facilities on artificial islands and reefs to protect them. “As the islands and reefs are far from China’s mainland it is necessary to maintain and build necessary military facilities,” Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin …
With 2015 well on the way to being the warmest year on record and the prevailing El Nino gathering strength, prospects for coral reefs in the Pacific ocean are grim. Continuing high underwater temperatures will add to the bleaching that has already led to considerable loss over the past year. …
As if the world’s coral reefs didn’t have enough problems — killer rising ocean temperatures, crazy bleaching events and oil slicks comprised of sunscreen from sunbathers that denude them, they are now under attack by hordes of thorny sea creatures. That’s what some scientists are calling an explosion of voracious …
The Australian Conservation Foundation has launched what it described as a historic bid to have the federal government’s approval of Adani’s Carmichael coalmine declared illegal – but the action has prompted one Coalition senator to renew calls for a crackdown on so-called “green lawfare”. The ACF on Monday lodged the …
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has released a technical study, titled 'Assessing Climate Change Vulnerability in Fisheries and Aquaculture: Available Methodologies and their Relevance for the Sector,' which provides an overview of vulnerability assessment methodologies and their application in the fisheries and aquaculture sector. The study …
Corals may have a greater capacity to survive climate change than previously thought, a new study suggests. Some corals are more protective than others of their partner algae in harsh environmental conditions. This individual variation among corals could reflect a greater capacity than currently recognised to adapt to changing ocean …
