Posted on 22 December
2010
Suva, Fiji - The Fiji
Rugby Union (FRU) has become the world’s
first sporting body to pledge support for
WWF’s Earth Hour, an annual global event
that encourages people everywhere to take
meaningful action to tackle climate change.
“We are very proud to
have the Fiji Rugby Union take part in this
global campaign, said Kenneth Zinck of the
FRU Lottery Team.
“WWF's Earth hour is
a fantastic opportunity for people from
across Fiji to join in a global campaign
to show support for action on climate change.”
The rugby union also
says it will work with WWF to promote Earth
Hour during the highly anticipated Fiji
Rugby Lottery draw on 30 December 2010.
The lottery aims to raise much needed cash
to support the country’s famed Flying Fijians
at the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
Kenneth Zinck also called
for national support of Earth Hour during
the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, which fall on
the same day at the end of March.
“The FRU is behind Earth
Hour and it would be great if the country
could support us during Earth Hour by switching
off the lights while watching the Hong Kong
Sevens game which falls on the same date
and time,” he said.
“I would like to urge
all Fiji rugby fans to get behind Earth
Hour and the boys’ campaign to the Rugby
World Cup by switching their non-essential
lights off - not only for an hour at 8.30pm
on 26th March but also to go beyond that
hour in our everyday energy consumption
practices."
Earth Hour 2010 was
the largest voluntary action for the environment
in history with lights going out across
128 countries and over 4,500 cities worldwide.
Earth Hour 2011 will
again see hundreds of millions of people
across all continents come together to celebrate
an unambiguous commitment to the planet
by switching off their lights for one designated
hour.
“Running into its fourth
consecutive year, this campaign has continued
to grow through the support of iconic organisations
and personalities,” said WWF SPPO representative,
Kesaia Tabunakawai.
“Fiji is a rugby crazy
nation, so it’s only a natural approach
for us to engage a sport that is an important
part of Fiji’s history,” she added. “Earth
Hour has been making history simply by inspiring
individuals, businesses and households to
be proactive in the face of climate change
effects.”
“This is especially
appropriate in the Pacific, a region vulnerable
to the effects of Climate Change. In this
Year of Biodiversity it is important to
remember that Climate change also threatens
biodiversity,” said Ms. Tabunakawai.
Earth Hour will be held
from 8:30-9:30pm on Saturday March 26, 2010.
+ More
Indonesia and Honduras
tilapia swim into seafood guide upgrade
Posted on 23 December
2010
Gland, Switzerland: Tilapia produced in
Indonesia and Honduras is to join the new
WWF seafood guide category of “moving towards
certification”.
Typical tilapia is currently
rated as unsustainable in WWF seafood guides
due to issues with harmful environmental
effects including chemical use, waste spilling
into waterways, risks of disease and escapes
and weak regulation of aquaculture in many
producing areas.
“The moving towards
certification classification was set up
to give consumers the ability to identify
and support fisheries and fish farms that
have signed up to achieve the highest standards
of sustainable production,” said Dr Mark
Powell, WWF International Global Seafood
Leader.
“In some cases, these
standards and the mechanisms to administer
them are still being established, so we
are rewarding producer commitment to sustainability.”
“We advise customers
to buy tilapia from Indonesia and Honduras
to support leadership in sustainable aquaculture.”
Tilapia is the world’s
second most important farmed fish, and Indonesia
and Honduras are important suppliers to
the demanding US and European markets. Tilapia
producers in these two countries have achieved
or soon will achieve compliance with the
tilapia standards that will be used by the
Aquaculture Stewardship Council.
"The benefits we
expect from certification are international
recognition of all the efforts we have made
in developing a socially and environmentally
sound aquaculture model,” said Anne-Laurence
Huillery, Sustainability Manager for Regal
Springs, the leading tilapia producer in
Indonesia and Honduras.
“We would also anticipate
improved market access thanks to the use
of the ASC logo and continuous improvement
of the industry, with more producers seeking
certification and raising consumer awareness."
The recent reclassification
of Vietnamese pangasius (also known as tra
or Vietnamese catfish) to the new category
will see 50 percent of pangasius exports
certified to Aquaculture Stewardship Council
standards by 2015.
“We expect that the
timeline for certification of tilapia from
Honduras and Indoneisa will be very short
and it will quite possibly be the first
aquaculture product certified to the new
standards” said Dr Powell
The long running Aquaculture
Dialogues convened by WWF released sustainability
standards for tilapia in 2009 and pangasius
in 2010.
The Aquaculture Stewardship
Council, modeled on the Marine Stewardship
Council for wild caught fisheries, was established
in 2010 and is expected to certify the first
sustainable farmed products in 2011.
Certification to ASC
standards will cover not just environmental
impacts but also social issues such as protection
against the use of child labor, forced labor,
protection of worker health and safety,
and collective bargaining.
WWF publishes consumer
seafood guides in 19 countries.
