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This month we highlight tropical coral reefs. A new report on the status of coral reefs in tsunami-affected countries concludes that the major threats to Indian Ocean coral reefs continue to be from human activities, such as overfishing, deforestation and climate change -- these are far more damaging than the tsunami.
We also have a new topic describing the impact of catchments on coastal ecosystems. This month offers news on the unexpected effects of climate change, different research projects, and the need to step up efforts to improve ocean management, which includes the wider use of fishing rights.
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Thank you,
The UN Atlas of the Oceans Editors
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- Impact of Tsunamis on Coral Reefs : Impact of the 2004 tsunami on coral reefs, mangroves and seagrasses in the Indian Ocean
- Catchment to Coast : The impact of catchments on coastal ecosystems.
- Environmentally-friendly anchors : Results of a competition to find an environmentally-friendly anchor for use in scientific research.
- Wider use of fishing rights needed to safeguard fishery resources : Pressure on finite ocean resources growing - future catches depend on better management
- SFLP to improve community livelihood : The regional pilot project of Sustainable Fisheries Livelihood Programme (SFLP) seeks to reduce poverty in the artisanal fisheries communities of West Africa by improving their livelihood.
- Catchments and Corals - Terrestrial Runoff to the Great Barrier Reef : Impact of Runoff to the Great Barrier Reef
- First report on tsunami damage to coral reefs : When the devastating tsunami struck the Indian Ocean in December 2004, the UN Atlas of the Oceans called for long term ecological research to assess the impact. In only one year, we have the first report on the impact of the tsunami on coral reefs in the entire region, by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network in partnership with Reef Check, ReefBase and the CORDIO (Coral Reef Degradation in the Indian Ocean) Program. The report, a regional overview including socio-economic impacts, was published by AIMS in Townsville, Australia, and released 20 February 2006 in Phuket, Thailand.
- International Labour Organization : ILO
- Status of Coral Reefs in Tsunami Affected Countries: 2005 : The report gives an overview of the impact of the Indian Ocean tsunamis on coral reefs from a country perspective
- Keeping an eye on the Keppels (Coral bleaching) : The bleaching observed by marine researchers and tourist operators on reefs in the Capricorn region confirmed the AIMS/GBRMPA weather station data that show sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in this area are well above critical levels for normal coral function. SSTs in the Keppels have been hovering 2 degrees C above the average since early December, and this sustained warm period caused temperature-sensitive corals to reach bleaching thresholds as early as Christmas.
- TOPP Near real-time animal tracks : Tags reporting within the last 60 days
- Development: The Lost Decade : Ten years after the United Nations launched the "Decade for the Eradication of Poverty", more than one billion people still live without access to safe drinking water, health care, adequate housing and other essentials of daily life, development experts and independent observers here say.
- Uganda 'draining Lake Victoria' : Uganda has been taking more water than agreed from Lake Victoria to generate power, accounting for half of the drop in the lake's levels, a report says.
- Big gains seen for ornamental fish industry : The ornamental fish industry is only five years old, but export revenue doubled over two years and is expected to continue to grow at a fast rate, a ministry official has said.
- UN Sea Turtle Recommendations Ignored by Fisheries Commissions : The United Nations General Assembly will convene a high level working group to address the biological diversity crisis on the high seas. Despite the General Assembly's November 2005 resolution that calls for conservation measures and closures of fishing in areas where large numbers of critically endangered sea turtles are caught or killed, the regional fisheries management organizations tasked with implementing the UN mandate have failed to take action. At risk is the critically endangered leatherback sea turtle which scientists warn could go extinct in as little as five years unless the threat of longline fishing is controlled. Environmentalists, concerned that fishery organizations will continue to ignore the UN's recommendations, are renewing a call for a moratorium on longlining in the Pacific until protections are put into place.
- Marine Geoscience Data Management System : The marine geoscience data management system provides access to data portals for the Ridge2000 and MARGINS programs, the Antarctic and Ridge Multibeam Bathymetry Synthesis projects, and the Seismic Reflection Field Data Center.
- Surf Science. An Introduction to Waves for Surfing : Between a surfing book and a waves book
- Deep-Sea Drill Set for Climate Research : The CHIKYU is studded with superlatives. Completed last year, the ship houses the world's biggest deep-sea drill, sports a high-tech floating laboratory and boasts a $500 million price tag.
- Commentary: Climate Change Has Unexpected Effects : On the surface, global warming may seem like a pretty simple process. Excess "greenhouse" gases trap heat in the atmosphere, making the world warmer. But that's not all that happens. Our climate is actually very complex and intimately connected to life on Earth. Seemingly minor changes can have profound repercussions.
- UNESCO conference eyes planet's threatened oceans and coastal communities : The global community should intensify its efforts to protect the planet's threatened oceans and endangered coastal areas and communities, agreed environmental experts and senior officials gathered at a global conference in Paris hosted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- 3rd Global Conference on Oceans, Coasts, and Islands warns progress towards international targets on oceans too slow : Progress toward improving the management of oceans and coast is too slow, agreed the 400 ocean experts and leading decision-makers from 78 countries attending the "Third Global Conference on Oceans, Coasts, and Islands: Moving the Global Oceans Agenda Forward" (UNESCO, 23 - 28 January). The aim of the conference was to take stock of progress in achieving the objectives adopted by the international community at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD, Johannesburg 2002) and the Millennium Development Goals*, including the goal of improving the lives of coastal communities, i.e. half the population of the world.
- Big Bank Shoals of the Timor Sea. An Environmental Resource Atlas : An Environmental Resource Atlas