tagged w/ Mussels
-
-
Mangroves disappearing faster than land-based forests
By Matthew Knight, for CNN
July 16, 2010 11:17 a.m. EDT
Photo: A mangrove forest at the Danau Sentarum National Park in West Kalimantan on Indonesian Borneo island.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Mangroves disappearing faster than land-based forests according to new U.N. report
* An estimated 35,000 hectares of mangrove have been destroyed since 1980
* Preserving mangroves can sustain local fishing and timber industries, report author says
London, England (CNN) -- The destruction of the world's mangrove forests is happening up to four times faster than the world's land-based forests, according to a new United Nations report.
A study commissioned by the U.N. Environmental Program (UNEP) reports that one fifth (around 35,500 square kilometers) of the world's mangroves -- forests straddling both land and sea -- have been lost since 1980.
Although the study reports that annual destruction has slowed to 0.7 percent a year, the authors of the "World Atlas of Mangroves" report warn that continued coastal destruction and shrimp farming could cause financial and ecologic havoc.
Studies estimate mangroves generate between U.S.$2000 to $9000 per hectare annually from fishing -- much more than the aquaculture, agriculture and tourism, which the U.N. says are the biggest drivers of mangrove loss.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director, UN Environment Program (UNEP), said in a statement: "This atlas brings our attention onto mangroves and puts them up front and central, plotting where they are, describing where they have been lost, and underlining the immense costs those losses have had for people as well as nature."
Mangroves cover around 150,000 square kilometers and are found in 123 countries worldwide. The biggest concentration (21 percent) of the world's mangroves is in Indonesia, with Brazil home to around nine percent and Australia, seven percent.
Mark Spalding, lead author of the report and senior marine scientist with The Nature Conservancy, told CNN: "The value of mangroves has been hugely overlooked. Mangroves are incredibly valuable, left standing."
Preserving the environmental diversity of mangroves is essential to maintaining what Spalding calls "the real hard dollar values" for the people who live near them and depend on their survival.
Apart from providing a degree of coastal protection for communities - there is evidence that mangroves reduced the impact of the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 - mangroves are also of vital economic importance to locals.
"There are a lot of fish that depend on mangroves - mud crabs, oysters, mussels - and there are also a lot of fish that don't seem to be connected to the mangroves but actually are. These fishing industries employ a lot of people," Spalding said.
The U.N. say estimate that mangrove-related species support 30 percent of all fish catch and almost 100 percent of shrimp catch in South-East Asian countries. Mangroves and associated habitats in Queensland, Australia are thought to support 75 percent of commercial fisheries species.
The forestry aspect of mangroves is also important economically.
The wood is dense, rot and termite resistant, Spalding says, making it good for use as timber or as charcoal - it makes some of the best charcoal in the world, he says.
"It's highly productive so you can continue to harvest it, which is rare," Spalding said.
It's taken Spalding five years to piece together the "World Atlas of Mangroves" and despite the findings, he remains positive that mangroves can be preserved.
"My sense is that we can turn this around into a good story," Spalding said.
"Knowing what we know now, mangroves can be restored and help us fight climate change," he said. They are incredibly resilient eco-systems, he says, which aren't bothered by increasing temperatures.
"These are habitats that are going to be around with us if we just look after them and the economic benefits will just accrue. There has been sustainable use of mangroves in Bangladesh and other parts of Asia for over a century."Mangroves disappearing faster than land-based forests
By Matthew Knight, for CNN... more
-
-
From the 1st of June come into force the Mediterranean Regulation, the document with which the European Commission widens, literally, the mesh of fishing. So one of the tastiest dishes of the Italian cuisine is now outlawed.
http://www.inaltreparole.net/en/news/addioparanza310510.htmlFrom the 1st of June come into force the Mediterranean Regulation, the document with... more
-
-
Finding sustainable seafood has always been about balancing the health of a given fishery with the health effects of consuming that fish. Some that can be sourced sustainably are also high enough on the food chain that they accumulate toxins in their flesh, transferring those to us humans when we eat them.
The Super Green List from the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program balances the two considerations, providing a list of the healthiest seafood that comes from sustainable sources.
http://www.treehugger.com/galleries/2009/11/super-green-seafood-list-connects-ocean-human-health.php?page=1Finding sustainable seafood has always been about balancing the health of a given... more
-
-
When I was a kid, I paid 25 cents to watch "The Blob," a horror movie that chronicled the arrival of an unstoppable mass of goo that threatened to engulf the planet. Now it's here.When I was a kid, I paid 25 cents to watch "The Blob," a horror movie that... more
-
-
I think i'm going to go fishing the next time i find myself with a cut. Becuase apparently these scientists reckon that glue from this shellfish mixed with some inkjet printer material could bring the end to painful and sometimes plain annoying stitches. So we might be going to the market in the future insted of the hospital to get surgery...COOL!I think i'm going to go fishing the next time i find myself with a cut. Becuase... more
-
-
JcX
-
added this
-
3 years ago
- |
-
Part emergency room, part rehab facility, and part research lab, the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California means the difference between life and death for sick and injured ocean animals. NOVA takes you inside this very special ER to witness the efforts of a renowned team of wildlife veterinarians as they fight to save their animal patients as well as to uncover the cause of a mysterious neurological illness plaguing marine mammals like California sea lions and harbor seal pups.
Not only are these animal patients endearing, they are also sending us an urgent message about the health of our oceans.Part emergency room, part rehab facility, and part research lab, the Marine Mammal... more
-
-
Your sunscreen and birth control pills may be affecting the size and efficacy of alligator penises, among other things. On a positive note, your Prozac makes mussels happy.
From the article:
"Most people don't see a stockpile of environmental contaminants when they look in their bathroom cabinets, but pharmaceuticals and personal care products contain thousands of chemicals that could impact aquatic life. ...
Unlike agricultural and industrial pollutants, chemicals in PPCPs [pharmaceuticals and personal care products] enter the environment at low but often continual levels by thousands or millions of people in towns and cities around the world.
Some of these chemical compounds are endocrine disruptors that act like hormones and can interfere with reproduction.
Perhaps the most widely publicized study of the impact of endocrine disruptors came in the 1990s when researchers reported male alligators with abnormally small penises and high blood levels of female hormones in a Florida lake with a declining alligator population.
Mitra said scientists have discovered that fish stopped reproducing within a few weeks after low levels of the active ingredient in birth control pills was added to experimental lakes.
Endocrine disruptors aren't found only in oral contraceptives and therapeutic hormones though.
Preservatives called parabens, found in many shampoos and sunscreens, are endocrine disruptors also.
And, at North Carolina State University, scientists found that adding a small amount of a common antidepressant to the water altered the reproductive behavior of freshwater mussels.
Other research is looking at whether low levels of prescription antibiotics could promote pathogen resistance in aquatic species."Your sunscreen and birth control pills may be affecting the size and efficacy of... more
-
-
sajh
-
added this
-
4 years ago
- |
