Posted on 11 March 2011
Hamburg, Germany - - A key Russian fisheries
organisation is to join WWF in lobbying
government for more sustainable policy and
management measures for one of the world's
most important whitefish fisheries.
The influential Alaska
or Walleye Pollock Catchers Association
(PCA) - one of the governing bodies of the
Russian pollock fishery - has agreed to
join WWF in lobbying for the adoption of
governmental policies to place independent
fishery observers onboard trawling vessels
and the adoption of WWF Russia proposals
into the Russian National Strategy on fighting
illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU)
fisheries.
The new partnership
will also push the signing of the bi-lateral
port control agreement with Japan and China,
and establishing a fishery protection zone
in the Sea of Okhotsk.
“This is a very important
first step”, said Alfred Schumm, Leader
of WWF’s Smart Fishing Initiative. “But
it is one that has to be followed by substantial
commitments and obligations. The most critical
commitment is for the Pollack fishery to
ensure it uses fishing methods that do not
destroy habitats, in particular, unsustainable
bottom touching gear, and minimize their
bycatch.”
Important breakthrough
These commitments and
obligations by the fishers must also include:
observers on board the associations’ boats,
vessel monitoring and traceability measures,
binding agreements for new closed or protected
areas, sustainable total allowable catches
for the target fish and for bycatch, and
discard stop, all accompanied by ambitious
timelines.
The Association also
agreed that it is necessary to create a
fund to finance the transfer to improved
vessel monitoring measures, to develop and
adopt methodology on IUU catch assessments
in conjunction with the Russian Federal
Fishery Agency, the Russian Coast Guard,
the Russian Customs Service and independent
experts, and to assess capacity of the Russian
Far East fishing fleet versus available
fish stocks to avoid fleet over-capacity.
United States-Alaskan
Pollock fisheries, have received Marine
Stewardship Council (MSC) certification;
however the Russian Pollock fishery is not
yet ready for successful certification.
The lobbying efforts that the PCA have now
committed to are positive steps towards
rectifying this situation and then moving
ahead with MSC certification.
“It is a very important
break-through to obtain MSC certification
for the Russian Pollock fishery and make
necessary changes “on the water” in Russia,”
said Konstantin Zgurovsky, Marine Programme
Coordinator
for WWF Russia. “The Association is now
ready to work on the necessary improvements
and recognizes WWF Russia as a key partner
in fisheries improvement projects.”
The Russian Fishery
Agency with support from the Association
and WWF plans a public workshop about MSC
fishery and MSC chain-of-custody certification
for all relevant parties to be held in May
2011.
+ More
Scientists back rethink
of Brazil forest law, but with biodiversity
in mind
Posted on 15 March 2011
Two of Brazil’s most important scientific
associations have taken stances in the ongoing
debate about proposed alterations to Brazil’s
national forest legislation, saying that
while the law needs to be changed, current
proposals fall short of what is needed to
protect biodiversity and natural resources.
The Brazilian Society
for the Progress of Science (SBPC) and the
Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC) made
their opinion public following a seven-month
study on the issue.
One of their conclusions
was that although the current forest law
does indeed need to be revised, the ideal
changes are far different from those proposed
by federal representative Aldo Rebelo and
approved by a special committee of the Brazilian
House of Representatives in July 2010.
The current reform proposal
approved by the Brazilian House in July
states that the protection of forests is
a hindrance to agribusiness, as claimed
by those that supported the report behind
the current legislative proposal, which
downgrades protected area requirements for
private land, steep land and watercourse
fringes.
The reform proposal
is expected to be voted on this year.
New data
The scientists late
last month displayed data underpinning the
vital role of forest areas under permanent
protection and legal reserve areas in the
conservation of biodiversity and natural
resources, and in making it feasible to
improve Brazilian agribusiness and avoid
tragedies like the landslides that have
devastated many regions in summer 2010.
Professor Dr. Ricardo
Rodrigues, of the University of Sao Paulo
said: "The law currently in force need
to be reviewed, but not along the lines
of the proposals presently undergoing consideration
in the parliament”.
WWF-Brazil’s CEO Denise
Hamú said a technical analysis of
proposed reforms to the forest law is an
important step in the debate.
"We hope that the
study presented by the SBPC and the ABC
will set a new tone to the discussions of
an issue that is of the greatest importance
to Brazil. Up until now, scientific considerations
have been entirely left out of the parliamentary
process elaborating the reform proposal.
Fortunately, there is still time to correct
that serious mistake,” she said.
“The proposal should
be formulated on the basis of a document
that the Ministry of the Environment is
preparing using rigorous criteria and incorporating
the invaluable contributions of the SBPC
and the ABC researchers", states WWF-Brazil’s
CEO.
The entire study made
by SBPC and ABC will be available within
a few weeks.
A debate during the
Year of the Forests
The study, and the ongoing
debate around Brazil’s forest laws comes
as the United Nations has designated 2011
as the International Year of the Forests
Simultaneously throughout
this year, WWF will be running a Living
Forests Campaign that will combine cutting
edge science, new perspectives from partners
and decades of on-the-ground experience
to help address the challenge of saving
the world's forests.
In particular this year,
WWF will be asking the public, policymakers,
and businesses to support the goal of Zero
Net Deforestation by 2020. This isn't as
simple as planting a tree for every one
that's cut -- which could leave the world
without any natural forests. Zero net deforestation
by 2020 means replacing "like with
like," so if natural forest is lost,
an equal area must be restored.
The goal encourages
the wise use of forests and their resources.
It leaves room for some change in the land-use
mosaic, as long as biodiversity is maintained
and enhanced, and the net quantity, quality
and carbon density of forests is maintained.
