Category Archives: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

A Tiny Reef in the Philippines Offered Early Proof That Marine Parks Also Help Fishers

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article from Oceana, an organization that works internationally to better manage fish stocks to save the oceans and feed the world

Protected areas on coral reefs are often established in spots that already have lots of fish and high diversity, making it tough for scientists to tell how effective no-take zones really are at boosting the populations of commercially important species. But around Sumilon Island, a speck of land in the Central Philippines that hosted the country’s first ocean sanctuary, a history of on-again, off-again protection offers some of the most clear-cut proof that fishing bans work — and that they actually help fishers too.

philippines
Click on photo to enlarge

In the 1970s, Sumilon reef “was among the best in the world,” said marine biologist Angel Alcala. Alcala, along with Garry Russ of James Cook University, was the author of a landmark study tracking commercially important fish in Sumilon for 17 years.

From 1974 to 1983, a quarter of the island’s reefs were closed to fishing. Valuable species — including large predators like snapper, emperor fish, grouper and jacks — thrived alongside whale sharks and forests of coral.

After nearly a decade of protection, the reserve was opened to fishing from 1983 to 1985. In addition to the more conventional fishing gear like gillnets and traps, fishermen used dynamite to stun fish or dropped stone blocks on corals to flush out hidden animals, a practice called “muro-ami” that reduced swaths of the reef to rubble.

The fishing ban was reinstated in 1987 and lifted again in 1992. In 1995, the reserve was permanently closed to all fishers except locals using hook-and-line.

Alcala and Russ noted that the loss of large predatory fish was immediate and rapid as soon as fishing efforts picked up after a ban was lifted. But during protected periods, losses in fish populations were matched by gains, some of them dramatic.

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Question for this article:

If we can connect up the planet through Internet, can’t we agree to preserve the planet?

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The density, or the number of fish in a given area, of the sixblotch hind (Cephalopholis sexmaculata), a brilliantly colored member of the grouper family, increased by 200 percent from 1990 to 1991 and by 300 percent from 1994 to 1995. By 2000, the number of blackspot snapper (Lutjanus ehrenbergii) was 820 percent greater than the annual average between 1983 and 1997.

Biomass — which measures the weight of all individuals of one species — recovered more slowly. This is because it takes several years for large predatory fish, which tend to be slow-growing and long-lived, to grow to their full adult size; these fish did not regain their average adult pre-1983 size until 1999.

In 2000, after six years of continuous protection, fish biomass and population increases showed no signs of leveling off. From its low point in 1985, biomass had gone up by nearly 30 percent.

Outside of the reserve, fishermen’s haul increased by almost 30 percent — demonstrating that the “spillover” effect of a marine reserve more than compensated for the fact that fishers were working in a smaller area than before the permanent protections went into effect.

This finding, since replicated on nearby Apo Island, showed that permanent closures of even small areas of a reef could offer big benefits to small-scale fishers.

The island — which now hosts a resort in addition to the reserve — supports a vibrant community of fish and corals. It’s important to note, though, that the reefs aren’t as diverse as they once were due to poorly regulated fishing and tourism in the past. Compared to the 1970s, Alcala explained, “many marine species, especially some unique species of corals, have disappeared.”

Despite that, the legacy of Sumilon’s marine protected area has far outstripped its borders. Other marine sanctuaries in the Philippines, including the renowned Apo Island and Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, have followed suit with no-take zones that sustain local fishing communities and healthy tourist industries.

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article)

East Asia, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Tens of Thousands Take Part in Global Actions Targeting World’s Most Dangerous Fossil Fuel Projects

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article from Ecowatch (abridged)

Twelve days of unprecedented worldwide action against fossil fuels concluded Sunday showing that the climate movement will not rest until all coal, oil and gas is kept in the ground. The combined global efforts of activists on six continents now pose a serious threat to the future of the fossil fuel industry, already weakened by financial and political uncertainty.

ecowatch
The UK’s largest opencast coal mine was shut down for a day.
Photo credit: Tim Wagner

Tens of thousands of activists took to the streets, occupied mines, blocked rail lines, linked arms, paddled in kayaks and held community meetings in 13 countries, pushing the boundaries of conventional protest to find new ways to demand coal, oil and gas stay in the ground. Participants risked arrest—many for the first time—to say that it’s time to Break Free from the current energy paradigm that is locking the planet into a future of catastrophic climate change. . .

Highlights include:

Thousands worldwide risked arrest during the actions, many for the first time.

$20 million worth of coal shipments were halted by activists shutting down the largest coal port in the world in Newcastle, Australia.

The UK’s largest opencast coal mine was shut down for a day.

Hundreds stood up to South Africa’s most powerful family with a march that delivered coal to their front door, despite their attempts to silence civil society by pressuring police to revoke permits for a march.

Dozens of people occupied train tracks overnight on both coasts of the United States to stop oil-filled ‘bomb trains’ from rolling through communities — including less than 100 feet from low-income public housing in Albany, New York.

3,500 people shut down one of Europe’s biggest carbon polluters in Germany, occupying a lignite mine and nearby power station for more than 48 hours, reducing the plant’s capacity by 80 percent.

10,000 marched against a proposed coal plant in Batangas, the Philippines.

3,000 sent an ear-splitting message to Indonesia’s president with a whistle demonstration against coal in Jakarta, and a few days later 12 activists climbed the cranes supplying coal for the Cirebon Coal Power Plant, and dropping banners to “Quit Coal” and for “Clean Energy, Clean Air.”

Community members blocked traffic outside the gates of Brazil’s largest thermal coal plant, in Ceará.

On land and water, indigenous communities and local activists blockaded the Kinder Morgan tar sands facility in Metro-Vancouver, unceded Coast Salish Territories.

150+ local activists marched and occupied the entrance of two fossil fuel refineries, which are the largest unaddressed source of carbon pollution in the Northwest of the U.S.

In Aliaga, Turkey 2,000 people marched to the gates of the Izmir region’s largest coal dump, and surrounded it with a giant red line, as a call to end plans for the massive expansion of coal in the country.

“The global climate justice movement is rising fast. But so are the oceans. So are global temperatures. This is a race against time. Our movement is stronger than ever, but to beat the odds, we have to grow stronger,” Naomi Klein, award winning journalist/author, said.

Question for this article:
global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Paris: Nuit Debout (Night Standing in Place)

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

For CPNN by Kiki Chauvin

“They turn off the lights, but we light up our brains! ”

The citizen movement “Nuit Debout” (Night Standing in Place) was born on March 31 following a demonstration against the projeted law of El Khomri a contested reform of the labor code and the release of the film by François Ruffin ” “Thank you, boss”.

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(Click on photo to enlarge)
Photograph: Ian Langsdon/EPA

The gathering, which is more or less spontaneous, is run by men and women who have rapidly organized themselves in geneal assemblies ”made with the means at hand ” and by their own skills.

La Place de la Republique has become an area of ​​freedom, where everyone, each person can speak and participate in debates and in the work of organizational or thematic commissions such as logistics (responsible for the smooth running of the gathering), communication, coordination, reception and mediation (reception and security). The Democracy Commission, is a center for debate and responsible for the voting system. Topics such as labor law, unemployment, insecurity, ender equality, the “Panama papers’’ scandal and whistleblowers are debated.
                        
The movement, which continues to grow, is surprisingly young, even though it includes some people of all ages.

The modus operandi is based on humanist, peaceful values. It is the exchange of ideas and sharing of anger in a framework of respect for others, listening and self-disciplined speech. People listen to each other in the debates and they are translated into sign language.

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(Click here for the original article in French.)

Question for this article:

Movements against governmental fiscal austerity, are they part of the global movement for a culture of peace?

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Although this movement is not like the traditional manifestations of Paris, its members are determined to show their insubordination by civil disobedience without adhering to political parties or official bodies.

They are determined to take back the language of revolt that has been stolen by a political class in France that has become “professional” and that has taken over the public space. They have given form to the slogan of the World Social Forum born in Brazil, “Otro mundo es posible” (Another world is possible).

This form of movement is a first in France, but it is similar to what happened in 2011 with the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street in the USA and the Indignados in Spain.

The mobilization is growing everywhere, in sixty French cities but also in other countries including Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Canada, ….

The appearance of groups of thugs in parallel around the Place de la Repulique appears to be an attempt to discredit and disturb the security of the movement which, conversely, acts without violence.

 Despite its innovative breath of fresh air and its optimistic tone of hope, one can question the result that will be achieved by this movement. Even if its aim is clearly progressive, is there not a risk of its horizontal confinement, a kind of “inbreeding” that may occur if it does not succeed in involving other social strata (workers, rural, suburban ..), moving to other “public places”, going out to the people?

In any case, the movement brings us an important message, and as described by the sociologist Albert Ogien: “It is a modern form of political action, comparable to the strikes and sit-ins of previous generations, but quite new in France ../.. ”

Europe, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Renewable Energy Investments: Major Milestones Reached, New World Record Set

.. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ..

An article by the United Nations Environment Program

Coal and gas-fired electricity generation last year drew less than half the record investment made in solar, wind and other renewables capacity – one of several important firsts for green energy announced today in a UN-backed report. Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2016, the 10th edition of the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP’s) annual publication, launched today by the Frankfurt School-UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance and Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), says the annual global investment in new renewables capacity, at $266 billion, was more than double the estimated $130 billion invested in coal and gas power stations in 2015.

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Data source: Frankfurt School-UNEP Centre / BNEF Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2016

All investments in renewables, including early-stage technology and research and development as well as spending on new capacity, totalled $286 billion in 2015, some 3 per cent higher than the previous record in 2011. Since 2004, the world has invested $2.3 trillion in renewable energy (unadjusted for inflation).

(All figures for renewables in this release include wind, solar, biomass and waste-to-energy, biofuels, geothermal, marine and small hydro, but exclude large hydro-electric projects of more than 50 megawatts).

Just as significantly, developing world investments in renewables topped those of developed nations for the first time in 2015.

Helped by further falls in generating costs per megawatt-hour, particularly in solar photovoltaics, renewables excluding large hydro made up 54 per cent of added gigawatt capacity of all technologies last year. It marks the first time new installed renewables have topped the capacity added from all conventional technologies.

The 134 gigawatts (GW) of renewable power added worldwide in 2015 compares to 106GW in 2014 and 87GW in 2013.

Were it not for renewables excluding large hydro, annual global CO2emissions would have been an estimated 1.5 gigatonnes higher in 2015.

UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said, “Renewables are becoming ever more central to our low-carbon lifestyles, and the record-setting investments in 2015 are further proof of this trend. Importantly, for the first time in 2015, renewables in investments were higher in developing countries than developed.”

“Access to clean, modern energy is of enormous value for all societies, but especially so in regions where reliable energy can offer profound improvements in quality of life, economic development and environmental sustainability. Continued and increased investment in renewables is not only good for people and planet, but will be a key element in achieving international targets on climate change and sustainable development.”

“By adopting the Sustainable Development Goals last year, the world pledged to end poverty, promote sustainable development, and to ensure healthier lives and access to affordable, sustainable, clean energy for all. Continued and increased investment in renewables will be a significant part of delivering on that promise.”

Said Michael Liebreich, Chairman of the Advisory Board at BNEF: “Global investment in renewables capacity hit a new record in 2015, far outpacing that in fossil fuel generating capacity despite falling oil, gas and coal prices. It has broadened out to a wider and wider array of developing countries, helped by sharply reduced costs and by the benefits of local power production over reliance on imported commodities.”

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Question for this article:

Are we making progress in renewable energy?

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As in previous years, the report shows the 2015 renewable energy market was dominated by solar photovoltaics and wind, which together added 118GW in generating capacity, far above the previous record of 94GW set in 2014. Wind added 62GW and photovoltaics 56GW. More modest amounts were provided by biomass and waste-to-power, geothermal, solar thermal and small hydro.

In 2015, more attention was drawn to battery storage as an adjunct to solar and wind projects and to small-scale PV systems. Energy storage is of significant importance as it is one way of providing fast-responding balancing to the grid, whether to deal with demand spikes or variable renewable power generation from wind and solar. Last year, some 250MW of utility-scale electricity storage (excluding pumped hydro and lead-acid batteries) was installed worldwide, up from 160MW in 2014.

Developing countries on the rise led by China and India

In 2015, for the first time, investments in renewable energy in developing and emerging economy nations ($156 billion, up 19 per cent compared to 2014) surpassed those in developed countries ($130 billion, down 8 per cent from 2014).

Much of these record-breaking developing world investments took place in China (up 17 per cent to $102.9 billion, or 36 per cent of the world total).

Other developing countries showing increased investment included India (up 22 per cent to $10.2 billion), South Africa (up 329 per cent to $4.5 billion), Mexico (up 105 per cent to $4 billion) and Chile (up 151 per cent to $3.4 billion).

Morocco, Turkey and Uruguay all joined the list of countries investing more than $1 billion.

Overall developing country investments last year were 17-times higher than in 2004.

Among developed countries, investment in Europe was down 21 per cent, from $62 billion in 2014 to $48.8 billion in 2015, the continent’s lowest figure for nine years despite record investments in offshore wind projects.

The United States was up 19 per cent to $44.1 billion, and in Japan investment was much the same as the previous year at $36.2 billion.

The shift in investment towards developing countries and away from developed economies may be attributed to several factors: China’s dash for wind and solar, fast-rising electricity demand in emerging countries, the reduced cost of choosing renewables to meet that demand, sluggish economic growth in the developed world and cutbacks in subsidy support in Europe.

Still a long way to go

That the power generation capacity added by renewables exceeded new capacity added from conventional sources in 2015 shows that structural change is under way.

Renewables, excluding large hydro, still represent a small minority of the world’s total installed power capacity (about one-sixth, or 16.2 per cent) but that figure continues to climb (up from 15.2 per cent in 2014). Meanwhile actual electricity generated by those renewables was 10.3 per cent of global generation in 2015 (up from 9.1 per cent in 2014).

“Despite the ambitious signals from COP 21 in Paris and the growing capacity of new installed renewable energy, there is still a long way to go,” said Prof. Dr. Udo Steffens, President of the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management.

“Coal-fired power stations and other conventional power plants have long lifetimes. Without further policy interventions, climate altering emissions of carbon dioxide will increase for at least another decade.”

The recent big fall in coal, oil and gas prices makes conventional electricity generation more attractive, Dr. Steffens added. “However, the commitments made by all nations at the Paris climate summit in December, echoing statements from last-year’s G7 summit, require a very low- or no-carbon electricity system.”

(Thank you to the Good News Agency for sending us this article.)

global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

On Earth Day, Commit To The Great Turning

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by Rivera Sun, Peace Voice (reprinted according to Creative Commons)

Viewing the destruction of the planet and our natural systems as a form of violence, Campaign Nonviolence – a long-term movement to build a culture of nonviolence – engages people across the country in working toward sustainability, renewable energy, lowering meat consumption, supporting local food, and many other practices of living nonviolently on this beautiful Earth.

earthday

As we commemorate Earth Day on April 22, we are called upon to recommit to protecting our planet to ensure that the human species and our fellow beings will have a long-term future. Founded in 1970, Earth Day is an internationally celebrated day, honoring the natural systems of the planet, and a day of action in support of climate protection. The commemoration was first proposed by two different people, peace activist John McConnell, who created the iconic Earth Flag, and Senator Gaylord Nelson.

In an era of climate crisis, Earth Day reminds us of the urgency and importance of transforming our way of life . . . today! One resource for this is to reimagine these times as an epochal period of great change, one that many people are calling the Great Turning.

The Great Turning is a phrase popularized by many people including Joanna Macy and David Korten that describes our current time period as a massive shift from the industrial growth society to a life-sustaining civilization. We may not make this transition in time to prevent catastrophic climate change . . . but billions of people around the globe are engaged in the three types of actions that support the Great Turning.

These three types of actions are:

Holding actions to slow the destruction of human-based systems on the Earth and other beings. These activities include all the political, legislative, and legal work required to reduce the destruction, as well as direct actions–blockades, boycotts, civil disobedience, and other forms of noncooperation and nonviolent intervention.

These are important to stop the worst of the destruction, but they are not enough on their own; they must be supported by . . .

Creating new systems that support a life-affirming society, including local agriculture, reducing meat consumption, switching to renewable energy, creating mass transit systems, watershed protection and restoration, cooperative housing and eco-villages. And, to support the movement toward these visionary goals, it is also necessary to engage in a . . .

Shifting beliefs away from old concepts of domination, separateness, greed and destruction. We must move towards new understandings of interconnection, general and living systems theory, deep ecology, cooperation, and collaboration.

The three dimensions of the Great Turning are equally vital. Look around your community and notice how many people are engaged in one or several aspects of this work! Question your own participation – how do you contribute? What more could you engage in? What excites and intrigues you? For the Great Turning to be successful, we need all hands on deck! How will you be a part of this historic moment?

Question for this article:
global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

USA: Five Years After Occupy Wall Street, Bernie Sanders Continues Its Fight

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by Reno Berkeley in Inquisitr

On September 17, 2011, the Occupy Wall Street movement exploded onto the scene. Peaceful protestors set up tents and sleeping bags in New York City’s Zuccotti Park. The movement’s slogan was “We are the 99 percent.” Protestors railed against big banks, the growing foreclosure scandal, and political corruption. Five years later, the Occupy movement finally has the leader it never really had: Bernie Sanders.

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In the years since the movement was squelched by a chillingly multi-pronged alliance between various U.S. government agencies and private enterprise, resentment toward those who retain a chokehold on power and money has simmered just below the surface, ready to boil over.

Enter Bernie Sanders, who has been widely embraced by those hungry for substantial change, unsatiated by simple platitudes. Did Occupy really fuel the fire of Sanders’ popularity? I asked asked members of various Bernie Sanders Facebook groups for their opinions. Approximately 20 people answered the question of whether Occupy Wall Street helped influence the election by making voters more ready to hear Bernie Sanders’ message.

Most of those who answered believed that the Occupy Movement had at least some impact in helping propel Bernie into the spotlight. Only three people did not believe the movement influenced his popularity at all. While some folks believed that Occupy didn’t change anything substantially in terms of government and policy, they did believe that it made the public more amenable to his message.

One Sanders supporter believed that Occupy is the only reason Bernie is running for president. Without Occupy to stir the pot and force a national conversation about income inequality, would the public be ready to listen to his message? Another user gave a little more detail as to why she believes it has influenced the primary race: “Occupy accomplished one thing, and that was making public dialogue out of part of the message Senator Sanders had been saying his whole career. I don’t think that the issues Occupy brought up (regarding Wall Street) would have been discussed without Bernie’s candidacy.”

When the Inquisitr interviewed Jordan Martin, the young woman behind Bernie Journey, we asked her about the Occupy Movement. She also believed that it helped raise awareness to the issues Sanders has advocated for his entire career: “Yes I do believe that the Occupy Movement has helped Bernie’s campaign. He’s the only candidate that stands against Wall Street and is not afraid to speak out against the corruption.”

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Questions for this article

The peace movement in the United States, What are its strengths and weaknesses?

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A December 2012, investigative story in The Guardian provided an Orwellian view of what happened with Occupy. In the first paragraph of Naomi Wolf’s piece, she reveals that the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and local police coordinated together to crush the movement. What’s worse, the very banks the movement was protesting against were also behind it.

A document procured through the Freedom of Information Act by the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund shows just how wide the web of oppression spreads: “The document…shows a terrifying network of coordinated DHS, FBI, police, regional fusion center, and private-sector activity so completely merged into one another that the monstrous whole is, in fact, one entity: in some cases, bearing a single name, the Domestic Security Alliance Council.”

The well-oiled coordination between multiple agencies and businesses are exactly the kind of corruption Sanders has rallied against since he protested against racial segregation in the 1960s. And he continues to battle the machine, only this time, it’s corporate media outlets, chiefly, CNN, whose parent company, Time Warner, is one of Hillary Clinton’s top donors. Sanders has also had to battle the Democratic National Committee and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, who not long ago told a news outlet the purpose for superdelegates was to prevent grassroots candidates from winning elections.

Bernie Sanders, is a grassroots candidate, but he’s become a powerhouse the likes of which the DNC can’t ignore. His most recent rallies in Utah and Arizona attracted tens of thousands of supporters waiting to hear his speeches. And Bernie might not have gotten very far if not for the attention Occupy brought to the very issues Sanders has held close to his heart since he chained himself to a young Black woman back in 1962.

Whereas the Occupy Movement lacked real leadership and cohesion, Bernie Sanders has essentially stepped forward to become the defunct movement’s de facto leader through his presidential campaign. Part of his appeal is that he hasn’t usurped the public sentiment against corruption in government and big business. Rather, his appeal stems from the fact that he has worked toward the very things the Occupy Movement symbolized: economic equality, racial equality, equality in educational access, immigration reform. The list goes on.

For five years, the movement’s fire was dimmed, never quite flickering out. Last year, Bernie Sanders stepped up to the glowing embers, added kindling to the fire, and began speaking to the proverbial empty room. Slowly, one by one, voters heard his message. Eleven months later, neither the government, the big banks, nor billionaires can can stop the fire that Bernie Sanders stoked. Indeed, Bernie’s political revolution has his supporters feeling the Bern.

North America, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

On remote Philippine island, female forest rangers are a force to be reckoned with

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

A blog by Molly Bergen, Conservation International

In honor of International Women’s Day (March 8), Human Nature is spotlighting “conservation heroines” around the globe. In this piece, we meet Nolsita Siyang, an indigenous farmer and mother of 10 who also finds time to patrol her community’s ancestral home as a forest ranger.

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Nolsita Siyang, a forest ranger who regularly patrols the protected area surrounding her village on the island of Palawan, Philippines. (© Conservation International/photo by Tim Noviello)

Nolsita Siyang has not had an easy life. A member of the Palawan indigenous group on the southern end of the Philippine island of the same name, she has spent most of her nearly five decades farming a small plot of land on the slopes of the Mount Mantalingahan mountain range.

Siyang lives in Raang, a mist-shrouded, thatch-roofed village accessible only by a winding footpath that becomes a river of mud during the rainy season.

About 10 years ago, her husband, Federico, had a stroke, leaving him mostly incapacitated. Now the family relies primarily on the income she brings in. Each week, Siyang — usually accompanied by several of her 10 children — trudges several kilometers down the footpath from her village to the market in the lowlands, carrying surplus corn, peanuts and other wares on her back in hopes of making a sale.

Between caring for her land, making trips to the market and looking after her family, Siyang doesn’t have a lot of spare time, yet she chooses to spend it volunteering as a forest ranger, patrolling the protected area surrounding her village.

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Questions for this article

Indigenous peoples, Are they the true guardians of nature?

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Why does she do this? Siyang’s community is linked to the land by tradition, spirituality and survival. If the land isn’t protected, life as she knows it will cease to exist. Together with her only daughter, she is proving that women play a vital role in securing their community’s future.

The Palawan people are believed to be the descendants of the first settlers of the island, who may have arrived more than 50,000 years ago. Even today, the island’s sparse, pot-holed roads and lush greenery feel far removed from the air-conditioned shopping malls and urban sprawl that characterizes much of modern Philippines.

Most of the 12,000 or so people who identify as Palawan live in small villages around Mount Mantalingahan, the highest peak on the island and considered sacred by locals. In Siyang’s words: “The forest is our home, and has a direct connection to our daily lives.”

Palawan people observe a traditional boundary system called bertas, which identifies sacred sites based on myths passed down by their ancestors. These areas are left undisturbed based on the belief that the nature they contain has unseen guardians. These parcels of forest are interspersed with areas where indigenous people regularly hunt, grow crops and gather forest products, from wild vegetables to medicinal plants to reeds used for weaving intricate Palawan baskets.

Recognizing the need to conserve this vital place, Palawan communities were instrumental in establishing the Mount Mantalingahan Protected Landscape (MMPL) around their villages in 2009. The park covers more than 120,000 hectares (almost 300,000 acres), and is jointly managed by a protected area management board composed of representatives from local and national government, NGOs (including Conservation International), religious groups and the indigenous community.

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article)

East Asia, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Fishing ban in remote Pacific waters is working, report finds

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

A blog by Bruno Vander Velde, Conservation International

A ban on commercial fishing in one of the world’s most significant hotspots of marine biodiversity appears to be working, according to a new report. The proof is in the pictures — in this case, satellite images compiled by Global Fishing Watch, a web-based platform developed by the marine conservation organization Oceana, in partnership with Google and SkyTruth.

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A lively reef in the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, set aside as a marine protected area by the island nation of Kiribati in 2006. Commercial fishing was banned there in 2015. (© Keith A. Ellenbogen)

The hotspot in question, the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) — a Montana-sized swath of ocean set aside as a marine protected area by the island nation of Kiribati in 2006 — was declared off-limits to all commercial fishing in 2015. According to the report, Global Fishing Watch revealed a stark reduction in the number of fishing vessels detected there after the policy was enacted.

Monitoring and enforcing a ban on fishing in such a vast and remote area of ocean was all but impossible without recent advances in satellite technology and ship tracking. The new report shows the promise of this technology as a crucial piece of the puzzle for protecting oceans, proponents say.

“When sound policy, effective monitoring and reliable enforcement work together, we can truly protect important ocean ecosystems,” Jacqueline Savitz of Oceana said in a statement released Thursday. “With a fishing ban in place in PIPA, commercial fishing vessels seem to have gone elsewhere, giving tuna and other important fish stocks a chance to recover and seed other fishing grounds.”

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Question for this article:

If we can connect up the planet through Internet, can’t we agree to preserve the planet?

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Applying the same formula of policy, monitoring and enforcement in other marine protected areas, she said, might help to protect other marine ecosystems from illegal fishing of the kind chronicled recently in a recent New York Times report on poachers in the Pacific.

Located within the Republic of Kiribati in the heart of the Pacific Ocean, the Phoenix Islands are one of Earth’s last intact oceanic coral archipelago ecosystems, boasting more than 120 species of coral and 514 species of reef fish. The ecosystem has remained intact in large part due to its relative isolation, but the growing reach and sophistication of commercial fishing had begun to put increasing pressure on one of its most prized resources: the tuna that spawn in the region. The west central Pacific, which includes PIPA, is home to the largest tuna fishery on the planet.

This tuna is crucial both to Kiribati’s economy and to its own food security, and for years, groups including Conservation International have been working with Kiribati to better manage and protect its territorial waters, an area the size of India. Revenue from commercial fishing and licensing in other parts of Kiribati’s waters amount to almost half its national income; however, due to its large span and limited monitoring capacity, Kiribati loses untold millions of dollars of income per year from illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in its surrounding ocean waters.

Experts are hopeful that the tide may be turning.

“It is beautiful when a plan comes together the way PIPA has, and the data [that] Global Fishing Watch has provided us is a sign that large-scale ocean management can work,” said oceans expert Greg Stone, an executive vice president at Conservation International (CI) and an adviser to the government of Kiribati. “The government of Kiribati, the New England Aquarium and CI have been working for the better part of two decades to get PIPA to this point, and though we are seeing validation of success, we know PIPA’s story is just beginning and we need to remain vigilant.”

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article)

East Asia, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The Senegalese winners of the “Next Einstein Forum” present the results of their scientific work

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article from l’Agence de Press Sénégalaise

The three Senegalese winners of the “Next Einstein Forum”, the international three-day conference that opened Tuesday in Diamniadio (27 km east of Dakar) dedicated to science, technology and innovation, presented on Wednesday [ March 9] the “social importance” of their research.

einstein

Organized at the initiative of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS, its acronym in English), the Senegalese Ministry of Higher Education and Research, and the German Robert Bosch Foundation, the “Next Einstein Forum” is a global forum on “issues and challenges of science in Africa.”

Its organizers decided to honor “the 15 brightest young scientists” of Africa, who will have the opportunity to be in contact with the leaders of the continent and the rest of the world, as part of future meetings of the forum.

The program of this international forum includes a presentation of the work of the winners.

The three young Senegalese winners are Mouhamed Moustapha Fall, Joseph Ben Geloun and Assane Gueye.

Mr. Fall was interviewed the press on the occasion of the international conference, which aimed to make mathematics accessible to both educated and illiterate in Africa. To get there, he led a research project aimed at “showing the practical application of mathematics and the benefits of optimization of forms.” “Everyone can do math,” he says.

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( Click here for the French version of this article.)

Question for this article:

How can we ensure that science contributes to peace and sustainable development?

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Assane Gueye worked on “the search for a scientific approach to security and performance of information and large scale communication systems.” Gueye, who is Director of Research of the Professional Institute for IT security, an institution based in Dakar, develops computer models that should enable the prediction of “global behavior”. “The risks of catastrophic events can be managed and mitigated. And the effectiveness of control measures can be assessed,” he says in a document received from the organizers of the “Next Einstein Forum.”

Joseph Ben Geloun is interested in “physical mathematics, particularly the quantum properties of matter.” “Today,” he says,” we understand the structure of the atomic model, that is to say what is in the atom: the nucleus, neutrons, protons and elementary particles … ” His work presented in the “Next Einstein Forum” is dedicated to “the geometry of space-time”, a research project that leads Ben Joseph Geloun to question “the predictions of Albert Einstein’s laws, which are slightly wrong “. He received the Young Scientist Award in physics and mathematics from the 2015-2017 International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (Switzerland).

Other winners of the “Next Einstein Forum” are citizens of Uganda, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Cameroon, Nigeria and Ethiopia.

Their interests lie in theoretical physics, computer science, hypertension, urban epidemiology, semantic web technology, etc.

The “Next Einstein Forum” opened Tuesday in the presence of Senegalese President Macky Sall and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame.

The organizers of the international conference say they want to make Africa “a platform for science, mathematics and engineering.”

Kigali, the Rwandan capital, will host the next “Next Einstein Forum” in 2018.

Africa, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

France expects to have 1000 kilometers of solar routes within 5 years!

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article from Ubergizmo (translated by CPNN)

As we have mentioned previously, solar roads and streets could well redefine the way we produce energy. These roads covered with solar panels can produce energy to feed urban facilities, or even vehicles driving on the road. The minister of environment and energy, Ségolène Royal, intends to build 1000 km within 5 years.

solaires

The minister intends to comply with a commitment made during the COP21, and the French company Colas, a subsidiary of Bouygues, seems to have what is needed. By applying photovoltaic panels 7 mm thick directly on the surface, it becomes possible to capture energy from the sun, in the cities.

After five years of development, in collaboration with the National Solar Energy Institute (Ines), these “Wattway” panels seem to adhere well to conventional routes and can withstand the wear of trucks even in difficult weather.

Thanks to these panels, urban areas can take advantage of “renewable energy closer to the places where electricity consumption is highest and where demand is growing steadily”. And in remote areas, solar highways “will create local production and sustainable energy in place”.

What can be done with the electricity generated? public lighting, illuminated signs, street cars, homes, offices, everything is possible. According Colas, 1 km of Wattway solar road can power public lighting of a town of 5000 inhabitants. To be continued !

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

( Click here for the French version of this article.)

Question for this article:
Europe, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT