Marine

Millions of people along Africa’s Atlantic seaboard stand to benefit from an agreement between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) aimed at improving the analysis of contaminants in the Abidjan Convention area. The agreement, which focused on “Practical arrangements on Cooperation in the Strengthening of Data Quality Assurance in the Analysis of Contaminants ...

If current trends continue and the world fails to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, nearly all of the world’s coral reefs will suffer severe bleaching – the gravest threat to one of the Earth’s most important ecosystems – on annual basis, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has said Climate Change. The finding is part of a study funded by UNEP and partners, which ...

A new study has highlighted how achieving the Paris Agreement – global warming of no more than 1.5º Celsius over pre-industrial levels – would affect global fisheries. It is currently unclear how the world will achieve the climate target, but the fisheries support the diets, livelihoods, and cultures of billions of people. According to simulations from computer models, the fishing industry ...

During a panel discussion session at a side-event organised by the Akwa Ibom State Government during the UN climate change summit (COP22) that held recently in the Moroccan city of Marrakech, Johnson Nkem (Senior Climate Adaptation Expert, African Climate Policy Cantre, Special Initiatives Division) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), stressed that, besides the green/low carbon economy, ...

A special Oceans Action Event at the UN Climate Change Conference in Marrakech (COP22) has brought together over 400 high-level participants from around the world to advance oceans and climate change issues and to pledge concrete actions in support of the objectives of Sustainable Development Goal number 14, which is to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine ...

Each year, millions of tons of plastic waste end up in the ocean, where it often goes straight into the bellies of hungry birds, sea turtles and other marine animals. This is a big concern for scientists, who are still investigating the possible consequences for the marine ecosystem – but until now, researchers weren’t completely sure why so many animals ...

In a landmark decision for both the environment and human health, 1 January 2020 has been set as the implementation date for a significant reduction in the sulphur content of the fuel oil used by ships. The decision to implement a global sulphur cap of 0.50% m/m (mass/mass) in 2020 was taken by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the regulatory ...

Twenty-four countries and the European Union agreed on Friday to create the world’s largest marine park in the Antarctic Ocean, covering a massive 1.55 million square km (600,000 square miles) of ocean. The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, meeting in Hobart, Australia, said the Ross Sea marine park would be protected from commercial fishing for 35 ...

The Government of Gabon is engaging other African countries to collaborate in marine protection and the fight against illegal fishing in the continental waters. The announcement follows the successful conclusion of a five-month long surveillance and control mission’s intense investigation at sea dubbed Operation Albacore, a pioneering collaboration between Sea Shepherd Global, a global NGO that fights illegal fishing and ...

Irikefe Dafe, head of both the River Ethiope Trust Foundation (RETFON) as well as Foundation for the Conservation of Nigerian Rivers (FCNR), laments the state of the nations’ waterways, even as he calls on the authorities to declare a state of emergency to tackle the situation The World Rivers Day takes place on September 25, 2016. It is a global ...