Examination of policies and MEAs commitment by SIDS for sustainable management of the Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea hosts twenty-seven small island developing states (SIDS), some of which utilise their marine resources found in the Caribbean Sea for economic gains. Many of the economic activities such as tourism, shipping and industrial development are currently incompatible with a healthy and sustainable marine environment. Sewage, agricultural effluents and hydrocarbon pollution resulting from these economic activities have led to degradation of this large marine ecosystem. In an effort to address these issues; policies, programmes and multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) were initiated in order to regionalise the response efforts. These include efforts such the Cartagena Convention, the integrated watershed and coastal area management (IWCAM) initiative and pollution assessment among others. This paper reviews the regional responses by the SIDS and other agencies in dealing with pollution from land and marine-based activities and biodiversity loss via these initiatives.     

The Norwegian plan for integrated ecosystem-based management of the marine environment in the Norwegian Sea

A White Paper on a new integrated management plan for the Norwegian Sea was launched by the Norwegian government in May 2009. Following international guidelines for ecosystem-based management, the plan provides an overall framework for managing all human activities (mainly oil and gas industry, fishing, and shipping) in the area to ensure the continued production and function of the ecosystem. The plan is based on an assessment of the present and projected future impact of human activities and of the interactions between them, taking into account deficits in current knowledge of ecosystem state and dynamics. Areas of particular value in terms of biodiversity or biological production were identified. In each of these valuable areas, any access for substantial human activity is to be carefully managed. To monitor the overall development of the Norwegian Sea, a set of indicators with associated environmental quality objectives have been selected. The approach used builds upon experience gained from the first integrated Norwegian management plan for a marine area, the Barents Sea–Lofoten region, developed in 2002–2006. Work towards a Norwegian management plan for the North Sea, including Skagerrak, was initiated in 2009.     

基于生态系统的挪威海海洋环境综合管理计划

为推动我国国土空间规划新视角下的海洋空间规划实践,提升我国海洋综合管理水平,文章概述基于生态系统的挪威海海洋环境综合管理计划的主要内容,并重点分析挪威海的海洋环境空间管理措施。研究结果表明:挪威海海洋环境综合管理计划是基于生态系统的海洋空间规划,建立在良好的海洋环境状况和海洋生物多样性与其栖息地的保护基础之上,以可持续利用海洋资源来实现海洋产业的价值创造与生态系统服务供给;该管理计划制定一系列海洋环境保护措施和人类活动空间管理措施,以实现挪威海海洋环境的有效保护和海洋经济产业的有效管理;挪威海海洋空间规划的发展可为我国国土空间规划涉海内容的编制、海洋资源的可持续利用与海洋产业的快速健康发展提供重要参考。     

The environmental management of shipping

The environmental management of shipping requires systematic consideration of the geography of shipping routes, ship types and cargoes, and environments which can form the basis of a classificatory approach to Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Beyond this, effective environmental management depends in the first instance upon sound information management including monitoring of the environment, surveillance of shipping and information technology, followed by information assessment including, in particular, risk and environmental impact. The general management dimension includes co-ordination of technical management and organisational aspects related to shipping. It is suggested that effective environmental management of shipping may depend upon a regionalisation of the marine environment for EIA purposes akin to that found in the loadline rules, together with rationalisation of the increasing number of special areas in existence or proposed for this purpose. EIA will have to become an integral part of the overall management system in the shipping industry.     

Sustainable use of renewable resources and conservation in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden: issues,needs and strategic actions

The coastal and marine environments and resources of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden are globally significant and generally in a healthy state. Current regional issues include localized destruction of coral reefs, seagrass and mangroves; declines in some fisheries; exploitation of some endangered species; pollution from the development and transport of petroleum; and disposal of industrial and municipal wastes. The underlying causes of these issues are the natural vulnerability of the Red Sea due to its semi-enclosed nature; economic reliance on the petroleum industry; significant navigation risks; a rapidly increasing coastal population and associated developments; lack of fisheries information, surveillance and management; poor coastal zone planning; and limited technical expertise. Strategic actions addressing these issues will need to be implemented regionally and focus on coastal zone management that integrates environmental planning, environmental assessment and review; training and institutional development; public awareness and participation; information gathering especially fisheries statistics; reducing navigation risks; and the development of resource management and conservation strategies.     

The stamp of neoliberalism on the UK tonnage tax and the implications for British seafaring

In 2000 the UK adopted a tonnage tax strategy on ships and related businesses as the main strategy for revitalising its declining shipping industry. In line with EU policy on shipping, UK registered shipping companies were offered fiscal incentives based on reduced corporation taxes while labour was offered support for training. Almost a decade since the introduction of the tax it is clear that the strategy has delivered for business but not for labour. This paper considers the nature and limits of state intervention per se in declining economic sectors in the context of globalisation and a neoliberal approach to governance. It concludes that the problem is often not state intervention but rather the form of intervention, namely one that panders to, and is constrained by, neoliberalism.     

An integrated approach for assessing the relative significance of human pressures and environmental forcing on the status of Large Marine Ecosystems

An ecosystem approach to the management of the marine environment has received considerable attention over recent years. However, there are few examples which demonstrate its practical implementation. Much of this relates to the history of existing marine monitoring and assessment programmes which (for many countries) are sectoral, making it difficult to integrate monitoring data and knowledge across programmes at the operational level.To address this, a scientific expert group, under the auspices of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), prepared a plan for how ICES could contribute to the development of an Integrated Ecosystem Assessment (IEA) for the North Sea by undertaking a pilot study utilising marine monitoring data. This paper presents the main findings arising from the expert group and in particular it sets out one possible integrated approach for assessing the relative significance of environmental forcing and fishing pressure on the ecological status of the North Sea, it then compares the findings with assessments made of other Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs).We define the North Sea ecosystem on the basis of 114 state and pressure variables resolved as annual averages between 1983 and 2003 and at the spatial scale of ICES rectangles. The paper presents results of integrated time-series and spatial analysis which identifies and explains significant spatial and temporal gradients in the data. For example, a significant shift in the status of the North Sea ecosystem (based upon 114 state-pressure variables) is identified to have occurred around 1993. This corresponds to previously documented shifts in the environmental conditions (particularly sea surface temperature) and changes in the distribution of key species of plankton (Calanus sp.), both reported to have occurred in 1989. The difference in specific timing between reported regime shifts for the North Sea may be explained, in part, by time-lag dependencies in the trophic structure of the ecosystem with shifts in higher trophic levels occurring later than 1989.By examining the connection (or relatedness) between ecosystem components (e.g. environment, plankton, fish, fishery and seabirds) for the identified regime states (1983–1993; 1993–2003) we conclude that both the North Sea pelagic and benthic parts of the ecosystem were predominantly top-down (fishery) controlled between 1983 and 1993, whereas between 1993 and 2003 the pelagic stocks shifted to a state responding mainly to bottom-up (environment) influences. However, for the demersal fish stocks between 1993 and 2003 top-down (fishery) pressure dominated even though over this period significant reductions in fishing pressure occurred. The present analysis, therefore, provides further evidence in support of the need for precautionary management measures taken in relation to setting fishery quotas.     

Status of the marine protected area network across the English channel (La Manche): Cross-country similarities and differences in MPA designation,management and monitoring

Recent international policy developments require states to conserve at least 10% of coastal and marine areas by creating effectively managed and ecologically coherent networks of protected areas in the marine environment. In the framework of the PANACHE project, the current status of designation, management and monitoring of the network of marine protected areas (MPAs) of an important environmental, social and economic marine area: the English Channel (the Channel) was examined. Currently 224 MPAs exist belonging to 12 different designation categories and covering 17 440 km², or approximately 20.3% of the project area in the Channel. International protection targets in the marine environment are thus met at this regional scale, although the individual contributions of the UK and France are considerably different, with French MPAs accounting for nearly 80% of the total area protected. Differences between countries are also found regarding MPA designation categories (11 in France, 6 in the UK, 1 in the Channel Islands) and management structures (with more actors involved in the UK) and approach, whereas the monitoring techniques used are similar, although more standardised in the UK. Pending challenges include greater within-country and cross-country MPA designation, monitoring and management simplicity, integration and coordination as well as the assessment of management effectiveness and ecological coherence of the Channel network of MPAs.     

The matrix revisited: A bird's-eye view of marine ecosystem service provision

The marine environment provides a range of ecosystem services and benefits for society. A previous study in Marine Policy (Potts et al., 2014) [1] advocated a matrix approach to demonstrate the relative degree of ecosystem service provision from habitats and species within UK Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), but excluded seabird species in its assessment. Despite the number of existing UK MPAs designated specifically for individual seabird species and/or seabird assemblages, and the fact that seabird species have long been used as policy-relevant indicators for the monitoring and management of the marine environment, as yet little research has focussed on the direct role of seabird species in the provision of ecosystem services and how these are captured for marine spatial planning purposes in the context of MPAs. Building on the matrix approach, this paper develops and populates a matrix to illustrate the relationship between key UK breeding seabird species and their relative contribution to the delivery of intermediate ecosystem services and goods/benefits. The original matrix approach has been strengthened to include the development and testing of a set of rules for combining multiple matrices. Confidence scores relating to the underlying evidence base are built into the matrix to provide an illustration of the current understanding and to identify current gaps in evidence. Following a sense check by external seabird experts the matrix is applied in the context of four existing UK MPA case study sites. Further developments and applications of the seabird matrix are discussed within the context of wider marine management.     

Leatherback turtle conservation in the Caribbean UK overseas territories: Act local,think global?

Leatherback turtles migrate across the jurisdictions of multiple sovereign states and present complex challenges to those responsible for their conservation. Concern for marine turtles has led to their protection under range state legislation and protective listing under a suite of multilateral environmental agreements. Evidence suggests that a distinct, reproductive sub-population of leatherback turtles is shared amongst a number of northern Caribbean range states, including the UK overseas territories (UKOTs) of Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands (BVI). The post-nesting movements of three female leatherbacks were tracked after they nested in Anguilla (n=1, tracked for 228 days) and the BVI (n=2, tracked for 12 and 13 days, respectively). These turtles used territories of multiple range states, with the leatherback tracked from Anguilla also migrating through high seas to foraging grounds in Canadian waters. In addition, a review of regional leatherback flipper tag return records helps define the range of this northern Caribbean nesting population (NCNP), which appears to be in recovery in some range states. While national legislation and conservation efforts appear to have contributed to these population recoveries, most relevant MEAs appear to have played little or no role. However, opportunities for constructive dialogue between NCNP range states exist under the Cartagena Convention the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT). UKOT conservation managers would, therefore, be justified in prioritising unilateral leatherback conservation action, and multilateral efforts through the Cartagena convention and regional fishery management mechanisms, over potentially costly accessions to additional MEAs.     

The new mode of marine planning in the UK: Aspirations and challenges

Since 2009, there has been a shift in UK marine governance with the Marine and Coastal Access Act in which a core mechanism is marine planning, designed to replace a fragmented, ad hoc, and bureaucratic process of marine management with a strategic, integrated, and centralised system. This shift has been justified by the UK government as a more efficient procedure for delivering sustainable development (SD), which is the overarching objective of UK environmental policy. This article, which is based on data from key informant interviews and secondary sources, analyses the shift to understand its aspirations and the challenges facing it. The issues focused on include its holistic approach; its centralising tendencies; its streamlining processes; and its implicit commitment to renewable energy. In these four issues there are tensions between aspirations and challenges, and the conclusion is that the success of the new mode of marine governance depends on satisfactorily resolving these tensions.     

海洋环境辐射质量分级方法及导出活度浓度限值初探

本研究综述了国际上海洋环境辐射质量评价方面的研究进展,结合我国海洋管理的实际需求,提出将海洋环境辐射质量分为4个级别(1~4级分别表示环境放射性水平处于本底范围、超出本底范围但无危害、所致公众辐射剂量超出限值和所致海洋生物辐射剂量超出限值),并提出了各级导出活度浓度限值的确定原则。其中,确定第1级导出活度浓度限值的依据为我国的放射性本底调查数据,采用统计分析的方法,取绝大多数本底值的上限值,作为分级阈值。确定第2级导出活度浓度限值的依据为公众辐射剂量限值、鱼类对不同核素的浓集系数、不同核素的剂量转换因子、海产品消费量等参数,原则是确保在正常摄入海产品的情况下,对公众造成的辐射剂量不超过国家标准规定的年剂量限值。确定第3级导出活度浓度限值的依据为国际上有关海洋生物发生辐射效应阈值的研究成果,原则是保护海洋生物种群不受辐射伤害。最后,本研究将根据各级的分级阈值与现行国家标准限值进行比较。本研究成果有助于国内工作在一线的海洋监测人员对常规监测数据进行评价,亦为海洋管理决策提供技术支持和参考依据。     

The environmental impacts of pollutants generated by routine shipping operations on ports

The environmental impacts generated by shipping operations have increasingly become an important research topic, where its pollutants often pose negative externalities to natural habitats and economic losses to coastal areas. While the environmental impact costs generated by shipping disasters, notably large scale accidental oil spills, have been widely studied, hitherto, works dedicated to the assessment of environmental impact costs of pollutants generated by routine shipping operations remain scarce due to their relatively implicit nature and thus delays of consequential risks. Hence, by proposing an economic model and calibrating it to Port of Rotterdam, this paper assesses the environmental impact costs generated by routine shipping operations on ports. By shedding light on this important, but under-researched, issue critical to the well-being of the global shipping industry, this paper provides a decent framework for further research in sustainable shipping and port management for future generations.     

河口和沿岸海域生态环境质量综合评价方法评介

海洋环境管理从以往单纯的海洋污染管理已发展到当前的海洋生态环境综合管理。相应地,海洋环境质量评价也从以往单一的污染状况评价(包括水质、沉积物和生物体)发展到海洋生态环境质量综合评价。重点介绍了2种有代表性并被广泛应用的河口和沿岸海域生态环境质量综合评价方法———欧盟的“生态状况评价综合方法”和美国的“沿岸海域状况综合评价”。比较和评析了2种方法的异同和优缺点。建议尽快建立适合中国河口和沿岸海域特点的海洋生态环境质量综合评价方法以及相应的监测和管理体系。     

溢油对海洋生态系统内在价值损害的评估——以“塔斯曼海”轮溢油事故为例

作者籍以能值和生态炯分析,将海洋生态内在价值补充到溢油损害评估中,并以"塔斯曼海"轮溢油事故为例,分析了生态系统内在价值损害评估的特点。结果表明溢油生态内在价值损害大于对生态服务价值的损害,前者是后者的6.9倍;能值变化反映对资本积累的损害,生态炯更突出了溢油对初级生产力的生态系统的影响。本评价是现有溢油损害评价的补充,可为彻底、有效环境治理、生态修复提供保障,对海洋开发管理决策和公众环保意识的提高将有积极的影响。     

渤海环境污染治理对策研究 ——以濑户内海为参考

渤海作为我国唯一的内海,自然资源极其丰富,渤海沿海地区有着浑厚的工业基础以及绝佳的地理优势,海洋经济发展速度十分迅猛。但随着经济的迅速发展,生态环境与开发利用之间的矛盾也日益激化,海洋资源开发强度高、利用方式粗放,陆源污染物排放总量久居不下,重点海湾环境质量未见根本好转,环境风险压力有增无减,生态环境整体形势依然严峻。文章介绍了渤海地区的发展现状,分析渤海与濑户内海的相同与不同之处,以便于借鉴日本濑户内海的治理措施以及立法经验,深刻剖析我国海洋环境保护立法的不足,并提出健全制度体系建设、完善海洋环境管理体制、调整渔业发展、提升海洋生态预警能力监测等建议,以期总结出适合我国渤海环境治理的海洋规划方案,从而挽救渤海的生态环境,恢复渤海往日的生机。     

The ecological and social basis for management of a Red Sea marine-protected area

The Farasan Islands in the southern Red Sea of Saudi Arabia have nationally and internationally significant conservation values, and are important for a range of marine-based resource uses. In preparation for the establishment of a marine protected area around the Farasan Islands and its management, surveys were undertaken to assess the state of the coastal and marine resources, and the issues associated with human activities. Stakeholders were interviewed about issues and their attitudes towards the proposed protected area, and constraints to planning and management were identified. Marine habitats included seagrass beds, mangroves, and extensive areas of fringing reef dominated by a diverse coral community or a mixture of coral and macroalgae. Although used for a diverse range of human activities (fishing, shipping, transport, military purposes, recreation, waste dumping, sand extraction) impacts were minimal and localized. The most immediate threat to the marine resources was over-exploitation by fisheries. The types of management activities appropriate to the MPA, and the scale of management, were constrained by a number of unique and important factors: declines in national financial support for conservation efforts, a lack of trained personnel, difficulties in attracting staff to this remote location, loss of community support, the absence of a tourist base from which economic instruments could be developed, and the lack of local non-governmental organizations. Management recommended for the Farasan Islands Marine-Protected Area included zoning, community participation in management, public awareness, and training as a first step, followed by site-specific management actions, research and monitoring, and infrastructure development.     

海水网箱养殖的环境管理

越来越多的海水网箱养殖给近岸海洋生态环境保护带来了巨大的压力,也对近岸海洋生态系统的结构与功能造成了一定的影响。根据我国海水网箱养殖的发展状况,分别从行政管理制度、环境规划、养殖管理和技术措施等方面对养殖场的环境管理进行了分析。对比国外在网箱养殖过程中的环境管理措施与经验,探讨了减少网箱养殖给海洋环境带来的污染的措施和饲料配额制度的可行性与必要性。在将来,环境管理会成为生产管理的重要部分,我们的研究结果可为发展中的中国海水鱼类养殖管理提供参考。