Posted on 30 March 2011
Since 2007, the entire island group of Nosy
Hara, Madagascar, has been under MPA (Marine
Protected Area) temporary protection status,
safeguarding the waters and islands, and
all species that live there.
At the northern most
tip of Madagascar, the country frazzles
and explodes into many small islands that
dot the Indian Ocean. Nosy Hara is the queen
of these islands, and she wears a crown
of razor-sharp limestone called "Tsingy"
on her head. Nosy Hara is also covered with
dense vegetation, and to the queen’s feet
lies a turquoise sea teeming with countless
colorful fish. Now and then, a marine turtle
plows through the water as a ray digs up
in the sand creating quite a swirl!
Since 2007, the entire
island group of Nosy Hara has been under
MPA (Marine Protected Area) temporary protection
status, safeguarding the waters and islands,
and all species that live there. It usually
takes about two years to transition from
this temporary status to permanent protection,
but in the case of Nosy Hara, political
upheaval has slowed the process.
Nevertheless, WWF and partners are determined
to see the process to completion. "Everyone
agreed that Nosy Hara must be protected,”
says Olivier Harifidy Ralison, WWF Marine
Programme Coordinator. “These coral reefs
host 332 of 340 coral species that are found
in the Western Indian Ocean. Coral reefs
are important to protect because they are
home to an abundant variety of fish and
young marine turtles that hatch on the deserted
beaches.”
In Ampasindava, a small
fishing village that serves as an entry
to the Nosy Hara National Park, resident
Gerard remembers, "Before the creation
of the park, everyone simply did whatever
they wanted. Many foreign fishermen fished
in our waters. Now we have rules, and this
has been much better for us." Gerard
proudly presents his fishing license, issued
by the national park authority.
With the participation
of the residents of Ampasindava, WWF has
developed the laws for the Marine National
Park, Nosy Hara. Together, we have determined
where the protection zones are and what
is forbidden. For example, anchors that
destroy coral and fishing using scuba gear
are not permitted.
Beyond the rules established
by the park authority, residents are stepping
in to save the resources they depend on.
The members of the village Fishermen’s Association
have decided to increase the closure period
for octopus fishing from three to four months.
"WWF told us about octopus marine reserves
in the southwest, where people earn more
money these days because the octopus population
is stronger if you give them time to recover.
And it works," says an enthusiastic
woman. "The quality and quantity of
capture has improved ever since." She
beams with pride.
Before the creation
of the park, the villagers would occasionally
catch a marine turtle and feast on its flesh.
Today, there is a ban on catching marine
turtles, and no one seems to be bothered,
because there are still enough fish to eat.
"Today there are many, many turtles.
They even come up to our houses to reproduce,"
says Monique Tombo, a fisherman's wife and
mother of five.
But an increasingly
unpredictable climate has made life difficult
for the people of Ampasindava. The rainy
season has been getting shorter every year,
and it has become nearly impossible to farm
due to lack of water. Therefore, farmers
moved from cultivating the soil to the ocean;
and they would have emptied the waters if
not for the MPA rules.
"The park and the
training we get to manage our marine resources
better will help us secure our income and
defend our traditional territories,” says
a fisherman.
+ More
Oil platform must be
halted to save critically endangered whale
Posted on 31 March 2011
The Russian government must oppose the development
of a proposed oil and gas platform off Russia’s
Sakhalin Island because the project has
not been subject to appropriate environmental
risk assessments, according to an international
coalition of leading NGOs.
The coalition, which
includes WWF, International Fund for Animal
Welfare, Pacific Environment and Sakhalin
Environment Watch, will submit a Statement
of Concern to the Russian Inter-departmental
Working Group on the Conservation of Western
Gray Whales, a group of oil industry representatives
and Russian government officials meeting
Friday to discuss off-shore oil exploration
near the feeding grounds of the critically
endangered Western gray whale.
“The project may have
a potentially devastating impact on the
critically endangered Western gray whales,”
the statement says. “Sakhalin Energy has
a legal, social and ethical responsibility
to ensure the project does not have unacceptable
levels of damage to the marine environment,
and the fragile species that live within
it.”
The additional platform
represents a dramatic expansion of the Sakhalin
II project operated by Sakhalin Energy –
a consortium of Shell, Gazprom, Mitsui and
Mitsubishi - near Piltun Bay, the primary
feeding area for Western gray whale mothers
and calves. Recent estimates indicate that
there could be fewer than 130 whales remaining,
and scientific experts note that the death
of just 1-2 females per year could lead
to population extinction.
“The Russian Inter-departmental
Working Group on the Conservation of Western
Gray Whales has the future of the Western
gray whale as its core responsibility, and
must therefore act in the best interest
of the whales, not in the interests of oil
companies, and recommend that the platform
not go ahead,” said Aleksey Knizhnikov of
WWF-Russia.
Sakhalin Energy received
the necessary approvals for the Sakhalin
II project based on just two platforms,
with its own analyses indicating that drilling
technology advances eliminated the need
for a third. The company acknowledged that
having two rather than three platforms was
preferable due to a “smaller footprint with
consequent reduced environmental impact”.
Moreover, a previous Sakhalin Energy report
shows that the area being proposed for the
third platform is unsuitable due to an unstable
clay seabed in the earthquake-prone area.
The company plans to
conduct a seismic survey this summer to
determine the best location for the platform.
The environmental groups say that seismic
surveys, which involve shooting loud pulses
of noise into the ocean floor, can generate
an unacceptable level of risk to whales
that depend on sound for communication,
feeding and navigation. Three seismic surveys
were conducted in or near whale feeding
habitat last summer and are believed to
have caused severe pressure on the animals.
Moreover, the Sakhalin Energy seismic survey
for 2011 is planned to be undertaken before
the effects of previous surveys on the whales
have been fully understood.
“It is possible that
cumulative impacts of major oil and gas
development operations in the whale’s feeding
area off Sakhalin Island have had a significant
effect on the whale population, and these
impacts have yet to be adequately assessed
by whale scientists,” said Doug Norlen,
Policy Director at Pacific Environment.
Other companies operating in the area include
Exxon Neftegas Ltd., Rosneft and BP.
The environmental groups
are requesting that activities on the third
oil platform planned by Sakhalin Energy
be dropped as developers have failed to
comply with basic operational standards.
The organizations highlight the lack of
a dedicated environmental impact assessment
for all activities associated with the platform
as well as a comprehensive review of the
collective impacts of current and planned
projects in the area.
Patrick Ramage of the
International Fund for Animal Welfare called
on companies and financial institutions
involved to heed the advice of the scientific
body monitoring the Sakhalin project. “What’s
the rush? The world’s leading experts say
industrial development of this sensitive
coastline should not proceed until its environmental
impact is properly assessed,” Ramage says.
“In the wake of the BP disaster and other
unfolding environmental tragedies around
the world, we hope and believe the companies
and institutions involved will reject the
sudden effort to fast track a third drilling
platform at Sakhalin.”
The Western Gray Whale
Advisory Panel, a group of world renowned
experts established to provide independent
advice regarding the management of risks
to Western gray whales, recently emphasized
that “a piecemeal approach to assessment
of the impacts of oil and gas development
on the Sakhalin shelf, in which each new
activity or item of infrastructure is considered
in isolation, does not constitute ‘good
practice’ from an ecological point of view
as it dismisses and ignores cumulative or
synergistic effects.”
