National level implementation of Chapter 17: the Korean example

Chapter 17 of Agenda 21 requires new approaches to marine and coastal area management and development, approaches that are integrated in content and precautionary in ambit. With this understanding, Korea is moving in the direction of a more sustainable society along the general action plans outlined in Agenda 21. This paper describes how Korea has transformed its marine environmental policies at different economic development stages, examines how Korea follows up the UNCED's recommendations, and reviews how various domestic and international strategies for marine and coastal management are being prepared.     

Refocusing conservation through a cultural lens: Improving governance in the Wakatobi National Park,Indonesia

The Wakatobi National Park in eastern Indonesia offers valuable insights into the effectiveness of governance incentives in a national context characterised by uncoordinated policies and evolving conflicts over power and authority within government. Economic incentives resulting from strategic alliances between the public and private sector have been targeted towards enhanced regulation of fisheries and supporting tourism interests. However, the absence of coherent policies relating to tourism, which partly reflects contests over jurisdiction between national and local levels of government, opens up considerable potential for inappropriate forms of development. Furthermore, any incentives designed to facilitate governance should explicitly recognise the status of the Bajau, who constitute a key stakeholder group yet have been consistently marginalised through both state and NGO initiatives. The possible outcomes of ongoing decentralisation, which include enhanced government accountability, flexibility in developing regulations relating to marine resource use and greater participation of minority groups in decision-making, offer some prospect for improved governance of the Wakatobi and other marine protected areas in Indonesia.     

国家重要滨海湿地选划方法初步研究——以盘锦滨海湿地为例

文章确定了国家重要滨海湿地的认定标准、范围划定原则、命名规则、申报与评定程序,初步建立了适用于我国重要滨海湿地选划的方法体系。以盘锦滨海湿地为例进行案例分析,结果表明:从滨海湿地水鸟角度考虑,在盘锦境内共选划出辽宁盘锦南小河国家重要滨海湿地和辽宁盘锦鸳鸯沟国家重要滨海湿地。在天然滨海湿地持续减少和退化的背景下,文章建立的方法体系将为我国滨海湿地管理与保护工作提供有价值的理论依据。     

The Sanya Coral Reef National Marine Nature Reserve,China: A governance analysis

This paper examines the governance of the Sanya Coral Reef National Marine Nature Reserve (SCR-NMNR) in China in the context of a rapidly growing local economy, driven mainly by recent growth in the tourism sector. The governance approach adopted in the SCR-NMNR is characterised by significant decentralisation, i.e. many roles have been devolved to the local government. However, this has led to the undermining of strategic conservation objectives by local economic development priorities, through the rapid development of mass tourism involving both the private sector and the local government. This reliance on economic incentives has provided alternative livelihoods and resources for the management of the MPA, but has also incurred environmental and social costs. Overall, it can be argued that the current governance approach cannot effectively address the full spectrum of challenges encountered, in that these costs appear to outweigh the benefits. In order to improve the governance of the SCR-NMNR towards more effective and equitable outcomes, strengthened leadership from the central state will be needed, as well as a sense of community stewardship towards the MPA.     

Nearshore surface current patterns in the Tsitsikamma National Park,South Africa

The pattern of surface currents in the Tsitsikamma National Park, South Africa, was studied with holey-sock drogues released in batches of up to four at a time, from 1996 and 1998. Drogues were left to drift for either 6 or 24 h, while recording position and time. The majority of drogue movements were longshore, either eastward or westward; they usually travelled with similar direction and velocity. In most instances, westward movements were slightly offshore and were sometimes associated with a rise in the thermocline. Eastward movements were, on average, slightly slower, with an onshore component, sometimes associated with a lowering of the thermocline. The remaining trials showed some variability between drogues and were characterized by reduced velocity and unstable direction, indicating either the presence of horizontal turbulence or a current reversal. Current and wind were poorly correlated. Current directions were sustained for at least four days, indicating that short-lived ichthyoplankton, originating in the 70-km park, may be dispersed beyond its boundaries.     

Law of the sea and ASW: National security versus arms control

The law of the sea has always been open to the charge of being a ‘covenant without a sword’ and its effectiveness when challenged by the perceived national security of a superpower is questionable. Attempts to limit and control antisubmarine warfare (ASW) have demonstrated that neither superpower is prepared to risk its second-strike capability for what may be an illusory legal protection. This article reviews developments relevant to ASW in the law of the sea and describes the significance of ASW to the superpowers' strategic objectives. The authors conclude by stressing the urgent need for effective arms control.     

Subalpine koura,Paranephrops planifrons (Decapoda), in Tongariro National Park: Zoogeographic implications

Koura, Paranephrops planifrons, were found up to 1260 m a.s.l. in a subalpine area of Tonga‐riro National Park in May and July 1978. Their habitat is described briefly, and possible factors limiting the distribution and abundance of high altitude populations of freshwater crayfish are listed. It is suggested that all mountains may not necessarily form absolute zoogeographic barriers to koura; the kind of mountain and the ecological milieu may be more important.     

Carbonate platforms in wedge-top basins: An example from the Gunung Mulu National Park,Northern Sarawak (Malaysia)

The Melinau carbonate platform initiated during the Mid-Eocene on a rotating slice of the Rajang accretionary prism. The differential sedimentary loading enhanced a rotation of the mobile substratum and created an elongated, asymmetrical wedge-top basin. The extensional southern margin of the basin consists of a 2100–2200-m-thick section of Eocene-to-Oligocene carbonates. These thin laterally towards the northern margin of the basin, where a carbonate factory was active on a postulated underlying thrust. Backstepping and dismemberment of the carbonate system started during the latest Oligocene and deep-marine sedimentation became prevalent over the entire region during the Early Miocene.     

Acoustic mapping as an environmental management tool: I. Detection of barrels of low-level radioactive waste, Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, California

The oceans have been and will continue to be disposal sites for a wide variety of waste products. Often these wastes are not dumped at the designated sites or transport occurs during or after dumping, and, subsequent attempts to monitor the effects the waste products have on the environment are inadequate because the actual location of the waste is not known. Acoustic mapping of the seafloor with sidescan sonar is a very effective technique for locating and monitoring dredge-spoil material and other debris. Sidescan sonar provides an acoustic image or sonograph of the sea floor that is similar to a satellite image of the Earth's land surface. In effect sidescan sonar allows the water column to be stripped from the sea floor, thereby providing a clear, unobstructed view of the sea bed.An example of the potential of this technique is summarized herein for the Gulf of the Farallones region. More than 47 800 drums (55 gallon) and other containers of low-level radioactive waste were dumped on the continental margin offshore the San Francisco Bay between 1946 and 1970. These drums now litter a large area (1200 km²) of the sea floor within the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (GFNMS). The exact location of the drums and the potential hazard the drums pose to the environment are unknown. To evaluate the risk, samples of the sediment, biota and water must be collected near and distant from the concentrations of barrels. To do this the exact location of the barrels must be known prior to sampling. The USGS, through a cooperative research agreement with GFNMS, used sidescan sonar to map two areas within the sanctuary. Total sea-floor coverage was obtained and computer-processed sonographic mosaics were constructed on board ship. Many small nongeologic targets were distributed throughout the survey areas that covered about 70 km² on the shelf and 120 km² on the slope. Analysis of the sidescan data suggests that the targets are 55-gallon drums. This interpretation was confirmed at one site with an underwater video and 35-mm camera system. Data were collected with both a 30-kHz and a 120-kHz sidescan system within a 15-km² area on the shelf. We found that the barrels were more easily detected with the mid-range 30-kHz system than with the higher resolution 120-kHz system. Maps of barrel distribution derived from the sonographs are being used to design sampling schemes to evaluate the risk that the radioactivity may have on the biota and environment.     

Population structure of the sicklefin lemon shark Negaprion acutidens within the Curieuse Marine National Park,Seychelles

This study produced the first data on population parameters for sicklefin lemon shark Negaprion acutidens at the granitic Seychelles Islands, adding to a limited catalogue of species information. Juveniles at a site in the Curieuse Marine National Park were tagged over two periods, in 2014–2015 and 2015–2016, with measurements of length (precaudal, fork and total) and weight, sex, and state of the umbilical opening recorded. Recapture data were used to calculate growth rates and population size. Mean annual growth rate was 5.40 cm y^–1. A mean size at birth of 62.5 cm TL is in line with previous assessments of the species. Population-size estimates were similar for the two sampling periods (comprising 311 and 255 individuals) and higher than anticipated. Movements to outside the lagoon were recorded for early ages, and this, combined with weight loss and a reduction in condition factor as displayed in several individuals, suggests that the study area alone could not support the large number of sharks pupped yearly.     

廉江高桥国家级红树林保护区建设的现状及对策

红树林是生长在热带和亚热带海岸潮间带的乔木和灌木,是世界上珍稀濒危植物。红树林生态是世界上最富生物多样性,生产力最高的海洋生态系之一,具有高光合、高呼吸、高归还率的三高特点,为热带河口海湾生态系重要的第一生产量的贡献者,有着极高的生态效益、经济效益和社会效益。红树林的利用价值很高,它可以作     

Empirical tools for simulating salinity in the estuaries in Everglades National Park,Florida

Salinity in a shallow estuary is affected by upland freshwater inputs (surface runoff, stream/canal flows, groundwater), atmospheric processes (precipitation, evaporation), marine connectivity, and wind patterns. In Everglades National Park (ENP) in South Florida, the unique Everglades ecosystem exists as an interconnected system of fresh, brackish, and salt water marshes, mangroves, and open water. For this effort a coastal aquifer conceptual model of the Everglades hydrologic system was used with traditional correlation and regression hydrologic techniques to create a series of multiple linear regression (MLR) salinity models from observed hydrologic, marine, and weather data. The 37 ENP MLR salinity models cover most of the estuarine areas of ENP and produce daily salinity simulations that are capable of estimating 65–80% of the daily variability in salinity depending upon the model. The Root Mean Squared Error is typically about 2–4 salinity units, and there is little bias in the predictions. However, the absolute error of a model prediction in the nearshore embayments and the mangrove zone of Florida Bay may be relatively large for a particular daily simulation during the seasonal transitions. Comparisons show that the models group regionally by similar independent variables and salinity regimes. The MLR salinity models have approximately the same expected range of simulation accuracy and error as higher spatial resolution salinity models.     

Co-management approaches and incentives improve management effectiveness in the Karimunjawa National Park,Indonesia

Karimunjawa National Park (KNP) was among the first maritime areas recognized in Indonesia as being important for the conservation of marine biodiversity. Economic incentives in the KNP aim to decrease community dependency on wild-captured natural resources and achieve biodiversity and development objectives. Various participatory mechanisms facilitate community involvement in governance, whilst other incentives promoting awareness and support for fishery regulations are being delivered. Monitoring programs have demonstrated some ecological improvements and reductions in destructive fishing in the park over the past five years. The findings demonstrate that MPA policies and regulations can improve the social well-being and political power of fishing communities, particularly when appropriate economic, legal and participatory incentives are provided.