Predicting sediment inputs to aquatic ecosystems across England and Wales under current environmental conditions

The awareness of water quality issues has never been higher. As part of its continuing strategic diffuse pollution policy support, ADAS recently undertook to identify catchments across England and Wales that could potentially fail recently proposed suspended sediment yield targets under current environmental conditions. The total suspended sediment loads (SSL) delivered to all rivers were assumed to comprise contributions from diffuse sources in the agricultural and urban sectors, as well as from eroding channel banks and point sources represented by sewage treatment works (STWs). Diffuse agricultural sediment loss to rivers was predicted using the PSYCHIC model. Corresponding inputs from diffuse urban sources were estimated on the basis of an Event Mean Concentration (EMC) methodology. Channel bank sediment inputs were calculated using a prototype national scale model, while point source sediment contributions were based on a register of consented effluent discharges. Modelled SSL were validated (r²=68%) against PARCOM data (1999–2003) for the delivery of sediment to different regions of the UK maritime area. The results of the validation were considered to be realistic for a national scale predictor. The modelling exercise suggested that those catchments currently at risk of exceeding proposed suspended sediment yield critical thresholds are largely confined to upland areas across Wales and northwest England and the chalklands of southern and eastern England.     

On the SAR derived alert in the detection of oil spills according to the analysis of the EGEMP

Satellite services that deliver information about possible oil spills at sea currently use different labels of “confidence” to describe the detections based on radar image processing. A common approach is to use a classification differentiating between low, medium and high levels of confidence. There is an ongoing discussion on the suitability of the existing classification systems of possible oil spills detected by radar satellite images with regard to the relevant significance and correspondence to user requirements. This paper contains a basic analysis of user requirements, current technical possibilities of satellite services as well as proposals for a redesign of the classification system as an evolution towards a more structured alert system. This research work offers a first review of implemented methodologies for the categorisation of detected oil spills, together with the proposal of explorative ideas evaluated by the European Group of Experts on satellite Monitoring of sea-based oil Pollution (EGEMP).     

Human health benefits supplied by Mediterranean marine biodiversity

This paper summarizes the overall benefits supplied by Mediterranean marine biodiversity to human health and highlights the anthropogenic and environmental causes that are threatening these benefits. First, the Mediterranean Sea is a valuable source of seafood, which is an important component of the so-called “Mediterranean diet”. This type of diet has several health benefits, including cardio and cancer protective effects, which are attributed to the high intake of seafood-derived n-3 (omega-3) fatty acids. Second, the Mediterranean marine organisms, particularly the benthic ones, have furnished a large variety of bioactive metabolites, some of which are being developed into new drugs to threat major human diseases such as cancer. Third, the Mediterranean coastal areas provide environments for practising maritime leisure activities that provide physical and psychological benefits to users. Despite all this, fishing, tourism, contamination and sea warming are deteriorating this rich marine ecosystem, which needs to be protected to assure human welfare.     

Commonwealth Urban Policy in Australia: the case of inner urban regeneration in Sydney, 1973–75

Urban regeneration has intermittently been identified within Commonwealth policy circles as central to the functioning of Australian cities since the 1940s. This paper adds to existing knowledge by exploring the role of the Commonwealth Department of Urban and Regional Development (DURD) in the 1970s in facilitating a series of urban regeneration projects in Sydney. Drawing upon ministerial correspondence and minutes recently out of confidential embargo, the genesis of a holistic urban regeneration agenda is explored. The paper traces the approaches to Commonwealth intervention at a time marked by disillusionment with the comprehensive redevelopment paradigm. It explores the relationships and tensions apparent between and within different levels of government in establishing a Commonwealth presence, focusing on three inner city neighbourhoods: Waterloo, Glebe and Woolloomooloo. The significance of the interventions is considered to lie primarily in the pioneering of an all-of-government approach to urban governance.     

Toward policy integration: Assessing carbon capture and storage policies in Japan and Norway

The objective of this paper is to develop independent and systematic criteria for assessing CCS policy in terms of its level of policy integration. We believe that we should assess CCS policy in terms of the distance to an ideal integrated CCS policy in order to keep track of its trajectory toward sustainable development. After reviewing the existing literature of environmental policy integration, an assessment framework for integrated CCS policy is developed based on Arild Underdal's notion of ‘integrated policy’ then, its usefulness is demonstrated by applying it to CCS policies in Japan and Norway. In the final part, we summarize the findings of the cases and conclude with some observations regarding explanatory factors of the difference in terms of the achieved level of policy integration between Japan and Norway's CCS policies, and some policy implications derived from the analysis based on the framework.     

Fisheries mismanagement

We analysed the extent to which European politicians have adhered to scientific recommendations on annual total allowable catches (TACs) from 1987 to 2011, covering most of the period of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). For the 11 stocks examined, TACs were set higher than scientific recommendations in 68% of decisions. Politically-adjusted TACs averaged 33% above scientifically recommended levels. There was no evidence that the 2002 reform of the CFP improved decision-making, as was claimed at the time. We modelled the effects of such politically-driven decision-making on stock sustainability. Our results suggest that political adjustment of scientific recommendations dramatically increases the probability of a stock collapsing within 40 years.In 2012 European fisheries policy will undergo a once-a-decade reform. Ten years ago radical reforms were promised but the changes failed to improve sustainability. It is likely that the 2012 reform will be similarly ineffective unless decision-making is changed so that catch allocations are based on science rather than politics.     

Key challenges for maritime governance in West Africa: Fishery-based lessons from Guinea and Mauritania

Maritime governance stakes are important in West Africa, if only due to the dominant role of fisheries, which coastal populations mainly depend on. In this context, with reference to the fishery sector mostly studied in two countries (Guinea and Mauritania), this paper aims to identify and synthesize the challenges to be met towards developing the governance of marine spaces. To this end, the analysis is based on field knowledge, which provides input into a grid set according to the various integration levels of the concept of ICZM. This paper thus reports the major methodological obstacles to be overcome, commensurate to the stakes insofar as marine policies can and must contribute to the economic and social development of this region.     

Policy and practice in the live reef fish for food trade: A case study from Palawan,Philippines

The live reef fish for food trade is a highly significant fishery that provides income for many coastal communities in the Asia-Pacific region but faces challenges relating to sustainability. This paper draws attention to the large gaps that exist between policy and practice in the live reef fish for food trade in Palawan, Philippines. While many policies have been introduced over many years, effective implementation remains a challenge. We show how the implementation of successive sets of policies has been hindered by three broadly inter-related features of the local social landscape: the capacity of government institutions and legal frameworks to implement regulations, the distinctive culture of fisheries governance in the Philippines, and the perspectives and practices of local fishers themselves. By focusing on the gaps between policy and practice, we highlight the ongoing need to examine more explicitly the ways in which local contexts shape the effectiveness of implementation, enforcement and policy more generally.     

Choppy waters ahead in “a sea of peace cooperation and friendship”?: Slow progress towards the application of maritime joint development to the East China Sea

China and Japan’s June 2008 agreement in principle on maritime cooperation in the East China Sea raised hopes of a significant breakthrough in the parties' complex and long-standing disputes in the area. Subsequent progress towards the realisation of a legally binding, formal treaty on, for example, offshore petroleum joint development has been slow to materialise. In fact, the area under dispute appears to have become more rather than less extensive. This paper examines competing maritime and sovereignty claims in the East China Sea together with progress towards maritime cooperation in the context of overlapping jurisdictional claims. The paper identifies some of the key challenges that need to be overcome in realizing a functioning joint resource management regime in the East China Sea.     

RESTORATION OF SHEEP TRANSHUMANCE IN THE EBRO VALLEY,ARAGON, SPAIN*

For centuries, sheep transhumance has connected the Spanish highlands with the lowlands, creating a livestock system with important social, economic, cultural, and landscape effects. About 5 million sheep were involved in transhumant movements in the mid‐1700s, but transhumance started to decay in the nineteenth century and almost disappeared in the 1970s and 1980s. In the 1980s, transhumant sheep did not number more than 25,000 in the study area; at present the number exceeds 134,000, with herders practicing both descending and ascending transhumance. In this article we provide information not only on current numbers of transhumant sheep but also on the origins and destinations of the flocks. We also confirm that the reputation of transhumance, once regarded as quaint and antiquated, has been enhanced by the ecosystem services it provides and by the cultural and heritage continuities it renders.