03
Nov 2008 - Brazzaville, Republic of Congo:
More protected areas, respect for indigenous
populations, the sharing of benefits and
greater care for forests were all features
of a broad sustainability action plan outlined
last week by African nations.
Ten African leaders,
over 100 delegates from Congo Basin countries
and beyond, NGOs and multilateral agencies
were attending the 6th World Forum for Sustainable
Development in Brazzaville, Republic of
the Congo.
The action plan was
designed to confront the effects of globalization,
the food crisis and the current financial
crisis in the face of increasing climate
change.
A statement from WWF
said: “WWF salutes the resolve of African
countries to create more national and trans-national
protected areas; to respect traditions and
cultures as well as the integration of indigenous
populations in the management of natural
resources; to ensure equitable sharing of
benefits derived from natural resources
exploitation; and to promote the creation
of community forests and sustainable exploitation
of non-timber forest products.”
WWF also called for
the adoption of measurable targets and timelines
on issues identified in the action plan.
This includes giving specific attention
to the issue of illegal logging, wanton
mining and the ever-increasing trade in
bushmeat and ivory, all drivers of poor
economic returns, extensive loss of natural
resources and a menace to global climate.
“The call for the creation
of an African Sustainable Development Fund
by African leaders at the forum is a good
one,” said Andre Kamdem, Head of the WWF
Green Heart of Africa Initiative.
“The Congo Basin, at
this critical time in its history, needs
concrete agreement and action in order to
preserve its biodiversity and reap full
benefits therefrom.”
Delegates at the meeting
pushed for significant progress on opportunities
for infrastructure financing as a basis
for sustainable development; economic valuation
of natural resources; more equal access
to scientific and technological solutions;
best practices in agriculture; and the reform
of governance. The forum also focused on
proposing ways to shield sub-Saharan African
countries from the world economic crisis.
WWF issued a statement
at the beginning of the forum calling on
African nations to turn the demand for their
natural resources currently driving deforestation
and other destruction into a force for higher
returns from sustainable development.
“WWF welcomes the resolve
of the forum to support ongoing initiatives
such as giving more impetus to the convergence
plan of the Commission for Central African
Forests (COMIFAC) and the integration of
environmental considerations into poverty
reduction strategies,” said Kamdem.
“We are also pleased
with the action plan of regional cooperation
in environmental management as well as the
commitment to support sustainable forest
management, certification and the FLEGT
[Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and
Trade] process.”
+ More
A million tonnes of
North Sea fish discarded every year
04 Nov 2008 - Frankfurt,
Germany: A million tonnes of fish and other
sea creatures caught in the North Sea are
thrown overboard every year, according to
a new report from WWF-Germany.
The study, “Sea Creatures
Are Not Rubbish”, shows that one-third of
North Sea catch is discarded and calls for
a gradual ban on the practice of discarding
in the European Union.
This practice occurs
when boats decide to dispose of fish which
they catch but cannot land or derive income
from, or when they have caught more fish
than they are allowed to land, or they discard
the less valuable fish in order to make
more space for more valuable fish.
For example, the report
cites the situation with Dover sole, for
which six kilos of sea creatures are caught
incidentally and discarded for every kilo
found in the fishmonger. Similarly, catching
one kilo of Norwegian lobster or scampi
results in five kilos of bycatch.
The European Union recently
declared that 88 per cent of the fisheries
stocks of the EU are overfished, compared
with 25 per cent on average globally. Bycatch
is a major contributor to overfishing, providing
even more impetus to address this unsustainable
and illogical practice
Every year several million
sharks and up to 250,000 sea turtles are
killed in fishing operations designed to
catch other species. This hidden fishing
impact is already known to have contributed
to the catastrophic decline in species such
as the Pacific Leatherback Turtle, believed
to have less than 2,500 nesting females
remaining.
"Bycatch is an
incredible waste and one of the largest
threats to many sea creatures,” said Karoline
Schacht, Fisheries Policy Officer, WWF-Germany.
"The drama happens far away at sea
but this unseen wastefulness must come to
an end.”
Of most concern are
fish that are too small or for which the
fishermen have no catch quota – meaning
that there is little or no measurement of
the number or volume of these fish caught
and killed. This could indicate an even
greater level of over-fishing than is currently
recognized in official estimates.
In Scotland, some fish
for which the quota may have been exceeded
are still being caught as the boats target
other fish in the same area. The economic
impact of this is frightening: fish to the
value of €60m was discarded in recent months
- for example, cod which may have been caught
over the official quotas. As the quotas
exist to assist in recovering highly vulnerable
cod populations, it is clear how bycatch
and discarding constitutes a clear threat.
WWF is calling for a
European-wide discard ban and a bycatch
action package. In the future every fish
caught should be landed and allocated to
the catch quota.
At the same time fishermen
should be obliged to use better catch technologies
and in this way the bycatch in some fisheries
could be reduced by up to 90 per cent.
A legislative initiative
against discard practice, announced by the
European Commission, was only recently torpedoed
by the powerful fishery lobby of some member
countries.
“That is an outright
scandal,” said Schacht. “Behind closed doors
is an attempt to prevent sustainable fisheries.”
