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 …
Plans to use the Great Barrier Reef as a dumping site for 3 million cubic metres of dredged material from the ocean floor will be abandoned by a multinational consortium, the Australian Financial Review reports. North Queensland Bulk Ports, GVK Hancock and Adani Group will alter plans to expand the …
This policy paper focuses on the environmental challenges of sustainable development issues with particular attention to natural resource management, environment and climate change in the food and agriculture sector (including crops, livestock, fisheries and forestry) in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). It presents FAO’s work in assisting member countries to …
The NSW government has called for a national ban on the sale and production of shampoos and other products containing microplastics before they inflict worse damage on marine environments. Environment Minister Rob Stokes said on Thursday the government would convene an industry working group intended to eliminate the pollutant by …
The Coalition MP George Christensen has admitted he was wrong to support the dumping of 5m tonnes of sediment into the Great Barrier Reef marine park and has said he will push for alternatives to the plan. In an open letter to readers of the Whitsunday Times and Whitsunday Coast …
VISAKHAPATNAM: The preliminary Marine Environment Impact Assessment (MEIA) report on the Visakhapatnam-Kakinada Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) has been submitted to the PCPIR Special Development Authority (PCPIR-SDA) by Chennai-based Indomer Coastal Hydraulics, the agency that was entrusted the task, a release issued by the Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority …
Fishers seek consultation with committee A high-level committee of officials constituted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) will hold talks with Ministers and heads of various departments here on Friday based on the State government’s request to the Union government seeking amendments to the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) …
The ‘Island Innovations’ publication is an effort carried out jointly by the UNDP and the GEF during the International Year for Small Island Developing States (SIDS). It showcases some of the most successful approaches and achievements emerging from SIDS, as the world discusses a set of new sustainable development goals …
A senior official at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority says dumping more dredge would put extra pressure on the reef The authority approved plans in January to dump 3 million cubic metres of dredge spoil at the reef to expand Queensland's Abbot Point coal port It's a decision …
Climate change is the most serious threat to the Great Barrier Reef, according to a major new report. Warmer ocean currents are also likely to remain a threat to the Queensland coral ecosystem for many years, the Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2014 said. “It is already affecting the reef …
A commonly held belief that global warming will diminish oxygen concentrations in the ocean looks like it may not be entirely true. According to new research published in Science magazine, just the opposite is likely the case in the northern Pacific Ocean, with its anoxic zone expected to shrink in …
Phytoplankton is at the base of the marine food web. Its carbon fixation, the net primary productivity (NPP), sustains most living marine resources. In regions like the tropical Pacific (30°N–30°S), natural fluctuations of NPP have large impacts on marine ecosystems including fisheries. The capacity to predict these natural variations would …
Investment in climate change adaptation can help ensure that the impacts of climate change - including a projected 20-50 per cent decline in water availability - do not reverse decades of development progress in Africa, according to a new report released by the UNEP. Keeping Track of Adaptation Actions in …
Climate change is the most serious threat to the Great Barrier Reef, according to a major new report. Warmer ocean currents are also likely to remain a threat to the Queensland coral ecosystem for many years, the Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2014 said. It is already affecting the reef …
The Deepwater Horizon blowout released more oil and gas into the deep sea than any previous spill. Soon after the well was capped, a deep-sea community 13 km southwest of the wellhead was discovered with corals that had been damaged by the spill. Here we show this was not an …
The amount of mercury near the surface of many of the world’s oceans has tripled as the result of our polluting activities, a new study has found, with potentially damaging implications for marine life as the result of the accumulation of the toxic metal. Mercury is accumulating in the surface …
Scientists say a man-made "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico is as big as the state of Connecticut. The zone, which at about 5,000 square miles (13,000 sq km) is the second largest in the world but still smaller than in previous years, is so named because it contains …
The development and survival of an important group of marine invertebrates known as sea hares is under threat from increasing boat noise in the world's oceans, according to a new study by researchers from the UK and France. While previous studies have shown that marine noise can affect animal movement …
The UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) has produced a composite map of the marine and terrestrial ecosystem assets of the world. The map, published in the report titled ‘Towards a Global Map of Natural Capital: Key Ecosystem Assets,' combines a number of existing spatial data sets to …
The fact that oceans and seas matter for sustainable development is undeniable. Oceans and seas cover over two thirds of the earth's surface, provide food and minerals, generate oxygen, absorb greenhouse gases and keep in check climate change, determine weather patterns and temperatures, and serve as highways for sea-borne international …
For more than a century, Bill Taylor's family has used the calm, protected waters of Puget Sound to raise oysters, planting billions of larvae in underwater beds and then harvesting them to ship to some of the finest restaurants in the world. But then something went wrong. After the hatchery …
