Sustaining marine life beyond boundaries: Options for an implementing agreement for marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

For nearly a decade, governments have been discussing the need to improve efforts to conserve and sustainably use marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). Support for a new international agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) – an Implementing Agreement – on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in ABNJ has been growing. In June 2012, at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, States agreed to take a decision on the development of an international instrument under UNCLOS before the end of the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), which runs from September 2014 to August 2015. In follow-up to this commitment, it was agreed to consider the “scope, parameters and feasibility” of this instrument. To inform these international discussions, this article highlights some potential options for the content of a new UNCLOS Implementing Agreement. It first reviews the history of UN discussions, and then elaborates on options to address key elements identified as priorities for States in 2011: marine genetic resources, including the sharing of benefits, area-based management tools, including marine protected areas, environmental impact assessments, capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology. It addresses cross-cutting issues such as the governing principles, institutional structure as well as on other critical points such as High Seas fishing and flag State responsibilities. The article concludes with suggestions on possible next steps in order to succeed in the negotiations for an agreement.     

基于LS-DYNA海底悬空管道受坠物碰撞动力响应分析

基于ANSYS/LS-DYNA动力学分析软件,采用非线性动力有限元法,对坠物撞击海底管道的过程进行数值仿真。通过大量的数值模拟得出:相同坠落物能量的情况下,悬空管道的凹陷损伤深度与裸露管道的相比偏小,且随着坠落物能量的增加,其差值增大;随着坠落物速度、坠落物质量的增大,管道撞击部位凹陷变形加剧,海底管道悬空段的最大振动幅值增大;相同坠落物能量的情况下,坠落物与悬空管道的接触面积越小,悬空管道的损伤深度越大;海床土体参数(剪切弹性模量、内摩擦角、密度)的变化对悬空管道的凹陷损伤深度及悬空段的最大振动幅值的影响较小。     

黄河干流营养盐分布与变化趋势

河流是海洋获取陆源物质的主要途径,河流营养盐含量和结构的变化会对海洋生态环境产生重要影响。为了解黄河干流营养盐的基本情况及影响因素,于2012年7月(汛期)对黄河流域水体和土壤进行了综合调查,并结合历史资料分析了悬浮颗粒物和营养盐等的变化特征及对黄河物质输送的影响。结果表明:各参数受地势和人类活动的影响明显,表现出不同的分布特征。营养盐和悬浮颗粒物在上游浓度较低,在中游相对稳定,下游浓度有一定程度升高;相比于贵德而言,黄河利津段悬浮颗粒物、溶解硅和硝酸盐分别增加了近66%、60%和800%。磷限制是黄河营养盐限制的主要特征,且氮磷比呈升高趋势;与资料对比发现,黄河氮增加约1倍,硅下降60%后相对稳定,而磷略有下降。从目前分析看,支流与干流的氮营养盐构成有显著差异。在沿岸表层土壤营养盐含量较高的区域,河段内营养盐含量也较高。流域人类活动是黄河氮营养盐含量增加的重要因素;流域降水减少、水土保持等导致的物理侵蚀作用减弱是黄河硅和磷减少的重要因素;自1986年后,流域泥沙减少导致河流溶解硅降低了约34%,这值得进一步关注。     

冲击荷载作用下新型延展式张力腿平台时域分析

延展式张力腿平台是一种适用于深水油气开采的海洋平台结构。提出一种新型平台由四个立柱和一个环形浮箱连接而成,环形浮箱是由四个箱型梁焊接而成。根据给出的南海海域的海况条件和相应的规范计算结构的环境载荷,运用SESAM软件Deep C模块,考虑风、浪、流等环境荷载的作用和张力腿系统的非线性影响,进行了时域耦合分析,得到了平台的运动位移时程、张力腿系统张力时程和张力极值等。模拟波浪破碎作为冲击载荷,得到张力腿平台在冲击荷载作用下的运动位移时程、张力腿系统的张力时程。研究结果表明:该新型平台具有良好的运动响应,张力筋腱应力满足安全要求;在冲击载荷作用下新型平台的运动响应也满足要求。     

Each fisherman is different: Taking the environmental perception of small-scale fishermen into account to manage marine protected areas

One of the reasons for the failure of some Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is the lack of respect for their boundaries and regulations, which intensifies the need to assess the attitudes of stakeholders affected by MPAs. To this end, it is necessary to know the perception and behavior of resource users in these areas in relation to the management process. This study addressed the perception of different groups of fishermen in three MPAs that allow sustainable use of resources on the Brazilian northeastern coast. The perception analysis was based on four aspects: biodiversity conservation, flexibility and adaptability of fishermen, participation in management and opinions about the MPA. The interviewed fishermen (n=100) were classified into natives or immigrants,≥than 40 years old or <40, predominant use of selective or nonselective fishing gear and part or full time fishermen. The results showed that younger fishermen and the ones who use selective fishing gear presented a more conservation prone perception; nonselective fishermen and part-time fishermen were more flexible and adaptable to changes; and younger fishermen tended to agree more with the establishment of the MPAs. Taking these differences in perceptions among fishermen into account could serve as a basis for improvements in the management and conservation of fishing resources, besides helping predict possible future behavior due to changes in management policies.     

Abundance of the introduced seastar, Asterias amurensis, and spatial variability in soft sediment assemblages in SE Tasmania: Clear correlations but complex interpretation

The northern Pacific seastar, Asterias amurensis, was first collected in southeast Tasmania in 1986. Mistaken for the endemic asteroid Uniophora granifera, its true identity was not realised until 1992. It is now a conspicuous predator in soft sediment habitats in this region, and is considered a major threat to native assemblages and commercial species. We examined the structure of soft sediment assemblages at different spatial scales in southeast Tasmania, and correlated spatial variation in community composition with seastar abundances. We found that the structure of soft sediment assemblages is highly variable at a range of spatial scales from metres to tens of kilometres. Clear differences in the composition of assemblages and abundances of major taxa were detected between areas with and without seastars and between areas with low and high seastar densities. However, the nature of these patterns suggests that they are more likely due to differences in sediment characteristics than due to impacts of the seastar. Thus, spatial differences in soft sediment assemblages might have been erroneously attributed to seastars without detailed information on important physical factors such as sediment characteristics. A second survey, using larger sampling units (1 m²) but across a more limited spatial extent, targeted bivalves and heart urchins that were identified as important prey of the seastar in observations of feeding and in experimental studies. Large-scale patterns of abundance and size structure were consistent with seastar effects anticipated from small-scale experimental and feeding studies for some, but not all, species. While the field survey ultimately provided evidence about the presence or absence of seastar impacts at large-scales, the identification of key ecological variables in experimental and feeding studies proved crucial to both the design and interpretation of patterns observed in the large-scale surveys. Overall, this work highlighted the necessity to consider multiple lines of evidence rather than relying on a single ‘inferential’ test, in the absence of pre-impact data.     

Are red tides affecting economically the commercialization of the Galician (NW Spain) mussel farming?

Harmful algal blooms (HABs), more specifically red tides, are among the most critical environmental factors affecting mussel cultivation in Galicia (NW Spain), and they often have been blamed for economic losses for producers. This statement is based on the correlation between days of closure of the production areas and unsold product. The present article shows that such a statement is not always correct, at least in the case of Galician mussel farming, because red tides only cause losses to producers under specific circumstances that arise from the impossibility of placing their product in the market. In addition, this article reveals the importance of finding organizational solutions within the framework of the production sector to counteract the impact of this type of phenomenon.     

Marine management for human development: A review of two decades of scholarly evidence

This paper reviews the evidence of the impacts of marine management interventions on human development and well-being reported in marine management literature in the past two decades. Documents dealing with fisheries, aquaculture, marine conservation and coastal zone management are assessed in terms of the methodologies used, the human development dimensions considered, and the results reported. The choice of dimensions for defining human development in this literature is contrasted with proposals from the literature on the capability and human development approaches. Possible areas for future research are discussed.     

改进的移动粒子半隐式法模拟楔形体入水砰击

移动粒子半隐式法(Moving-Particle Semi-Implicit Method,MPS)是一种新的基于拉格朗日(Lagrange)理念的无网格方法,适用于模拟自由液面的大变形和水流的喷射现象。用基于大涡模拟的改进MPS法首先模拟了矩形体的入水砰击,砰击压力的计算结果证明了这种方法的正确性,然后模拟了楔形体的匀速入水砰击,并与实验结果进行了对比,验证了大涡模拟改进MPS法在砰击问题中的适用性。     

大万山波浪能试验场泊位间水动力影响分析

当前我国近海海域属稀缺资源,波浪能试验场建设须通过合理布局各测试泊位,在保证试验场各泊位可同时正常开展测试工作的前提下,尽量减小用海面积。拉近试验泊位距离,是减小用海面积的直接手段,但在此过程中,必须保证在试验场场址海域水动力环境下,泊位接入测试波浪能装置后,其之间的水动力影响在可接受的范围内。以大万山波浪能试验场泊位设计为例,介绍一种有效的泊位间水动力影响分析方法。方法采用自主开发的二维Boussinesq波浪模型,开展水动力影响分析工作,同时引入相对波高比概念,对泊位接入装置后影响距离和影响面积进行了定量的分析。文中研究得出的分析方法,可用于判定泊位布局设计的合理性。