Posted on 10 November
2009 - Hanoi, Vietnam – The Ben Tre clam
fishery in Vietnam has received Marine Stewardship
Council (MSC) certification,
becoming the first fishery in Southeast
Asia to meet the organization’s sustainability
and management standards.
The nationally renowned
Ben Tre hard clams (Meretrix lyrata) are
hand picked using metal rakes and collected
into mesh sacks. Once collected, the clams
are sold to domestic markets and exported
to Europe, the US, Japan, China and Taiwan.
Ben Tre province covers
a 65-kilometre coastal area and contains
more than 4,800 hectares of protected mangroves.
In this important region of tremendous biodiversity,
the clam fishery plays a vital economic
role.
The fishery is operated
by a local cooperative that provides close
management and surveillance of the broodstock
and harvestable clams within their area.
Support and advice are provided to the cooperative
by the Ben Tre People’s Committee Department
of Fisheries and the Ben Tre Department
of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD).
Ben Tre DARD and WWF co-sponsored the MSC
certification process.
“Although our clams
are largely familiar to the EU market, we
are still thinking of ways to better promote
our business overseas,” said Tran Thi Thu
Nga, Vice Director of Ben Tre DARD. “MSC
certification gives us the right to promote
our products with the credible MSC ecolabel
to customers worldwide.”
“I congratulate the
Ben Tre clam fishery on their MSC certification.
This is an historic occasion – the first
small-scale, community-based fishery in
South East Asia to achieve MSC certification,”
said MSC Chief Executive Rupert Howes. “I
am also delighted to hear that certification
is already bringing benefits to the communities
who depend upon this sustainable resource
and very much hope other Vietnamese fisheries
will soon come forward into the third-party
assessment process.”
In 1997, provincial
authorities established the Rang Dong Fishery
Cooperative, which is co-operated and managed
by the fishing community. In 2007, the Cooperative’s
profits reached 40 billion VND (approximately
2.2 million USD), greatly improving the
income of its members. Already, ten additional
clam cooperatives have now been established,
forming an alliance of cooperatives that
covers all clam areas in Ben Tre.
“It is our pleasure
to contribute to the first MSC certification
in Vietnam and in Southeast Asia,” said
WWF’s Fisheries Officer Nguyen Thi Dieu
Thuy. “One of our major tasks is to harmonize
economic development with the maintenance
of the natural environment. MSC certification
of the Ben Tre clam fishery is such a success.
Importantly, the Ben Tre fishery can now
serve as a model sustainable fishery at
both national and regional levels.”
“As the first MSC-certified
fishery in Southeast Asia, the Ben Tre clam
fishery will play a key role in demonstrating
how certification can conserve resources,
preserve local communities, and positively
impact the bottom line for business – all
at the same time,” said Meredith Lopuch,
deputy director of the WWF-US Fisheries
Program’s Major Buyer Initiative.
The government of Vietnam
and the MSC signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) in May 2005 declaring their joint
commitment to encourage sustainable fishing
in the country by promoting and facilitating
MSC certification. The initial agreement
was for three years and renewed in 2008.
“Vietnam was the first
nation-state to publicly commit to using
MSC certification to promote sustainable
fishing,” said Howes. “Today, with the certification
of the Vietnamese Ben Tre clam fishery,
we are celebrating the first successful
MSC certification in South East Asia. This
confirms Vietnam’s pioneering role in advancing
sustainable fisheries management in the
region.”
“I would also very much
like to thank WWF for their partnership
and support working with the Ben Tre fishery
towards MSC certification,” said Howes.
“Today, Ben Tre fishery joins ranks with
a number of other fisheries that have achieved
MSC certification with the support of WWF.”
The MSC recently announced
the addition of a Risk Based Framework (RBF)
to the MSC Fisheries Assessment Methodology
(FAM). The RBF enables fisheries with limited
data to undergo assessment to the MSC standard.
The Ben Tre clam fishery
was one of the pilot fisheries involved
in the testing of the RBF methodology, but
was ultimately assessed using the conventional
methodology in use at the time.
+ More
Yangtze warned to prepare
for more droughts, floods and storms
Posted on 10 November
2009 - • First-ever large-scale report on
the Yangtze and climate change adaptation
released in Beijing
• Experts recommend taking “no-regrets”
adaptation strategies
Beijing, China- Temperatures
across the Yangtze River Basin could increase
from 1.5 - 2 Degrees Celsius over the next
50 years, while extreme weather events will
also become more frequent, according to
the largest river basin climate vulnerability
assessment yet done.
The Yangtze River Basin
Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation
Report, released today in Beijing, not only
describes the impact of climate change but
also offers specific adaptation strategies
for the Yangtze.
“Extreme climate events
such as storms and drought disasters will
increase as climate change continues to
alter our planet,” said Professor Xu Ming,
the report’s lead researcher.
“Given the complexities
and uncertainties associated with climate
change, adaptation should firstly consider
a ‘no-regrets’ strategy,” which does not
require additional cost. If we take the
right steps now, adaptation measures will
pay for themselves.” he said.
Specific adaptation
measures discussed in the report include
strengthening existing infrastructure, such
as power supply, transportation as well
as river and coastal dike reinforcement.
Other steps involve promoting Integrated
River Basin Management (IRBM), switching
to more flexible cropping systems, and reducing
human impact on fragile ecosystems.
Data collected from
147 monitoring stations across the 1.8 million
km2 river basin points to a 0.33? temperature
rise during the 11000s. This hotter weather
led to a spike in extreme climate events
and flooding across the Yangtze basin, a
trend that is expected to become increasingly
dire over the next 50 years.
Other findings show
that from 2001 – 2005, the basin’s climate
grew even hotter, increasing by an average
of 0.71?.
According to the new
report, wetlands will be the hardest hit.
Lower water levels will reduce the number
of aquatic birds in the Central and Lower
Yangtze while climate change strips wetland
ecosystems of important resources.
Other impacts that could
affect the 400 million people whose livelihoods
depend on the basin include more frequent
snowstorms and drought.
‘The Yangtze Vulnerability
Assessment is an important symbol of China’s
commitment to fighting climate change,”
said Mr. James Leape, Director General of
WWF-International.
“Beyond setting out
the vulnerabilities, the Yangtze assessment
also underlines how investment in climate
change adaptation is a prudent investment
in safeguarding the continuing functioning
of a landscape vital to many millions”
