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This month, the Yeosu Expo 2012, the international exposition in Yeosu, South Korea celebrating the theme The Living Ocean and Coast winds up with the reading of the Yeosu Declaration. As a legacy of the Expo, the Yeosu Declaration is intended to both emphasize the challenges faced by oceans and coasts as well as promoting the international cooperation needed to turn those challenges into hopes for the future. At Yeosu, there will also be an international conference to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the opening for signature of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Many UN Atlas partners have been involved in Yeosu Expo 2012 activities, including in contributing to the UN Pavilion which featured exhibits on Oceans and Coasts: Connecting Our Lives, Ensuring Our Future- The Choice is Yours. Other news this month includes information on emerging climate change effects and reports on recently-launched documents.
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- Chivalry on Sinking Ships Only a Myth, Researchers Find : “Women and children first” was never the social norm on sinking ships, nor was the self- sacrificing captain who gives the order before going down with his vessel, a study of maritime disasters shows. Crew members had the highest survival rates in shipwrecks, followed by captains and male passengers, according to the report today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research found that women’s survival rate on 16 maritime disasters from 1852 to 2011 was half that of men’s, and children had the worst chance of getting off the boat alive. (News)
- Huge carbon-sucking funnels found in Southern Ocean : Wind, eddies and currents work together to create 1,000 km-wide, carbon-sucking funnels that take Earth-warming carbon deep into the Southern Ocean to be safely locked away. The process itself could be threatened by climate change, according to the research team from Britain and Australia that made the discovery, published in Nature Geoscience. (News)
- Regional Fisheries Bodies of Latin America and the Caribbean Meet in Rome, Italy : A First Meeting of Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Organizations of Latin America and the Caribbean was held in Rome, Italy during the weeklong 30th session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries. (News)
- FAO: Highlights of the State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2012 : A summary of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2012 (Document)
- Commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the Opening for Signature of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea : An international conference “Commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the Opening for Signature of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea” is being organized at the Yeosu World Expo, Republic of Korea, on 12 August 2012. The Conference is co-sponsored by the United Nations (Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea and the Korea Maritime Institute, in cooperation with the Organizing Committee for the Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea. (Event)
- International Exposition Yeosu Korea 2012 : Yeosu World Expo 2012 features exhibits and pavillons designed to reflect the theme: The Living Ocean and Coast. Events will culminate with the reading of the Yeosu Declaration. (Event)
- Nigeria: FAO Wants Enhanced Fisheries Management to Ensure Food Security : The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has urged member countries to manage their fisheries and aqua-culture sectors well to help ensure food security for millions of people. (News)
- Warming Climate Damaging Reefs, Impacting Fish : The impact of a warming climate on reefs is already upon us -- complex changes have begun that could fundamentally change what reefs look like in the future. This in turn could impact on fish populations and their availability. (News)
- Mangroves can trap toxic heavy metals, says study : Researchers in New Caledonia have discovered that mangrove forests act as useful filters for toxic heavy metals, preventing these pollutants from contaminating the islands' waterways. (News)
- Fishermen receive technology to capture mussel seeds : Three artisanal fishermen’s organizations of Hualaihué, Los Lagos District, received low environmental technology impact at Pichicolo port for capturing farmed mussel seeds. (News)
- UN report urges improved fisheries management to help ensure food security : The United Nations food agency today urged countries to effectively manage their fisheries and aquaculture sectors to help ensure the food security for millions of people, warning that failing to do so would have serious environmental, economic and social consequences. (News)
- FAO launches project to boost food security in Egypt : The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is leading a US$3 million project to boost food and nutrition security for women and youth in Egypt, through increased food production, nutrition education, and governmental capacity building. (News)
- Climate change 'may lead to collapse of Pacific corals' : Climate change may lead to the collapse of coral reef ecosystems in the Pacific, of the kind last seen 4,000 years ago, according to a study published in Science. (News)
- Rising sea levels threaten islanders with displacement : A significant rise in sea levels due to global warming could result in the loss of species and habitats in the coastal areas of more than a thousand islands in South-East Asia and the Pacific region, leading to the potential displacement of many millions of people, according to a study. (News)
- Tracking Greenland's Ice Melt shows record melt area : NASA researchers studying data from the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Oceansat-2 satellite this month noticed that the ice melt area on Greenland covered almost the entire ice sheath. (News)
- FAO: Highlights of the 30th session of COFI : Summary highlights of the 30th Session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries. (News)
- Thirtieth session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) : Coverage of the 30th session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). (News)
- FAO: The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture - 2012 : In addition to striving to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, the global community is also grappling with other pressing and complex challenges such as the widespread economic crisis and the effects of climate change. It is in this context that this edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture highlights the vital role of fisheries and aquaculture in both food and nutrition security as well as economic expansion. (News)
- FAO: Fishery and Aquaculture Statistics : Latest yearbook of FAO Fishery and Aquaculture Statistics for 2010. (News)
- Entire EEZ Malta Surveyed : TerraImaging, Germany/The Netherlands, successfully finalised high precision airborne data capture of the Maltese archipelago, from ocean floor to church spires, and work is well underway to complete one of the first fully integrated Topograhic Lidar, Bathymetric Lidar, side-scan sonar and multibeam echo sounder datasets of a nation’s entire Economic Exclusion Zone. This is part of a project to develop a national environmental monitoring infrastructure and capacity. (News)
- Deep Oceans : Scale model of a 1930s bathysphere, fossils, interactive elements and comprehensive education resources, including pre-visit and post-visit activities for Stages 2 – 5 students. (Event)
- Pacific Research Archives : The Pacific Research Archives at the Australian National University has research material from the Pacific Islands. (Website)
- Who greens the waves? Changing authority in the environmental governance of shipping and offshore oil and gas production . : The environmental governance of offshore oil and gas production shows a shared authority for developing and implementing policies between state and industry, but not a diminishing authority of the state. (Book)
- Experts eye commodities speculation, food price swings : The world needs to take a hard look at speculation on the financial markets and its potential impact on food price volatility, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said today at a high-level debate on the issue at FAO Headquarters in Rome. Spanish language audio also available. (News)
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Coastal Oregon waters slightly caffeinated
: The Northwest of the United States of America is known for its love of coffee. Now evidence of that is showing up in the Pacific Ocean. Researchers have found low levels of caffeine at half a dozen locations on the Oregon Coast. Listen online.
Image credit Diane Gilleland (News) - International Day of the World's Indigenous People : The 18th commemoration of the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples will be held on Thursday, 9th of August 2012 at the UN Headquarters in New York. (News)
- Environmental Governance. UNEP : Publications, news and events in English, French, Spanish and Chinese. (Website)
- Indonesia, UNDP and partners boost knowledge exchange between developing countries. : “While development cooperation in the second half of the 20th century was built on a north-south transfer of technology, knowledge and resources, a hallmark of the 21st century is a more open knowledge exchange - from all parts of the world,” said UN Assistant Secretary General Ajay Chhibber and UNDP Director for Asia and the Pacific. (News)
- A long line to nowhere. Tuna fishing in the Coral Sea. : Fisheries Management in the Coral Sea, Western Pacific (Multimedia)
- International Whaling Commission 2012. Panama. Outcomes : The International Whaling Commission's 64th Annual Meeting in Panama City, Panama 2012. Daily outcomes available on the IWC website. (News)
- Rio Oceans Declaration : Co-Chairs’ Statement of The Oceans Day at Rio+20, 16 June 2012 (Document)