A documentary about Marine Protected Areas in the South Eastern Caribbean, by the Buccoo Reef Trust of Tobago.
Archive for August, 2010
call for abstracts: electrical interconnection of the caribbean – technical, environmental and economic aspects
August 30th, 2010
Abstracts are invited for the 4th International Conference on Electrical Interconnection of the Caribbean, to be held next April in Puerto Rico:
4th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
Electrical Interconnection of the Caribbean:
Technical, environmental and economic aspectsThe West Indies Archipelago in the Caribbean Sea supplies its electrical needs mainly from fossil fuels. Oil, coal and natural gas have shown sharp fluctuations in availability, market value and environmental impact. Every island has a different offer-demand electrical profile, and very unique resources for the development of eco-efficient renewable energy technologies. These island countries form a geographic arc adjacent to South America and Mexico at both extremes.
Consequently, interconnection via submarine cables is of primary economic interest, since electric energy produced by conventional local power stations can be reduced or entirely eliminated. Favorable wind, solar, geothermal, oceanic and biomass resources offer the opportunities for partnerships to assess the potential to establish a network of diversified energy sources for a sustainable development of the Archipelago.
(1) Electric energy state and needs
(2) Interconnectivity technology scenario and challenges
(3) Case studies of operational electrical interconnectivity
(4) Environmental and economic considerations
(5) Legal and political aspects
(6) Hazards and risk managementThe Steering Committee invites experts in the above areas of interest to submit an abstract (150-250 words) for an oral or poster presentation, either in English or Spanish.
Abstracts will only be accepted from people who have already registered to attend the conference. Click here to register and then click here to submit an abstract. The deadline date for abstract submission is December 3, 2010.
norway’s say on guyana’s forests
August 30th, 2010
Earlier this month the government of Norway published a report suggesting that Barama Company Limited(BCL), a Guyanese forestry company, was engaging in illegal logging and other activity damaging to the environment:
“The Council on Ethics has assessed Samling Global, and concluded that the company’s forest operations in the rainforests of Sarawak and Guyana contribute to illegal logging and severe environmental damage,” Finance Minister Sigbjoern Johnsen said in a statement.
Barama’s Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certificate was suspended in 2006 for various shortcomings in forestry management.
Both the company and the government of Guyana rejected Norway’s claim:
[Agriculture Minister Robert] Persaud, who has responsibility for forestry, denied that BCL operations have resulted in serious damage to the environment. In a statement yesterday, he said that the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), which monitors BCL’s operations continuously “has found little evidence to substantiate such a position.” However, he admitted that “some deficiencies” were identified in Barama’s operations.
BCL was established in 1991 and granted a natural forest logging concession here the same year. Located in the North-West District, the concession covers 1.611 million hectares and is the largest in the country. It runs until 2016 being renewable for a further 25 years until 2041. The company has been found guilty of forestry breaches in the past.
Subsequently, Norway retracted its comments concerning Barama’s operations in Guyana:
NORWAY’S Ministry of Finance has withdrawn comments that seemed to express concern over operations of the Barama Company Limited (BCL) here and has reaffirmed support for this country’s low carbon development thrust.
“Norway strongly supports and is impressed by the efforts of the Government of Guyana to create a low-carbon and low-deforestation future and remains a committed partner to Guyana in these efforts”, Hilde Singsaas, State Secretary in the Norwegian Finance Ministry said.
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“The description regarding…Barama’s activities in Guyana primarily relates to events that took place some time ago and as such would seem to reflect criticism of Barama already expressed publicly by Guyanese authorities”, she said.
“The recommendation of the Council on Ethics does not opine on the extent of deforestation, forest degradation or environmental damage in Guyana, nor does it assess the forest policies of the Government of Guyana”, the letter added.
As part of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy, Norway and Guyana have entered into a partnership under which “Guyana will protect its rainforest as an asset for the world and Norway will provide financial support to Guyana at a level based on Guyana’s success in limiting emissions”.
The Norwegian government is at present carrying out assessments in Guyana to evaluate the forest partnership, as required by the terms of the partnership. To date, Norway has not disbursed any of the so-called “forest protection money”.
[Photo: Nicholas Laughlin]
jamaica schools’ environment programme gets a new lease on life
August 30th, 2010
Despite a cut in funding from the government, the Jamaica Schools’ Environment Programme will run this year:
More than 23,000 students and 600 teachers in Jamaica are expected to benefit from the re-launched Schools Environment Programme in the upcoming academic year.
The programme, put on by the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) ended earlier this year because of the lack of funding from the education ministry which was its principal supporter.
However, the Trust has now signed a grant agreement with the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica to secure funding up until 2012.
The Environmental Foundation of Jamaica will also be funding two other education projects this year.
One is to raise awareness about sea turtles in coastal areas where they nest, and the other to foster appreciation among inner-city children for nature.
Source: go-jamaica.com, where you can also hear a brief audio clip of the JET’s Executive Director talking about what she expects from the programme this year.
There’s more about the Schools’ Environment Programme at the JET website:
The Schools Environment Programme (SEP) is Jamaica’s largest environmental education programme, now in its 13th year. Implemented by JET and other civil society groups with the support of the Ministry of Education and private sector donors, SEP has been delivered in over 350 Jamaican schools, reaching some 300,000 students and 600 teachers. Participating schools carry out activities in four main areas: Managing garbage; greening of school grounds; strengthening or establishing an environmental club and environmental research. SEP also delivers professional development workshops for teachers twice every year. Achievements in schools are celebrated at an annual awards ceremony every year.
[Photo: Karen]
housing competition for haiti
August 30th, 2010
British firm Malcolm Reading Consultants has been running an architectural design competition intended to help provide sustainable earthquake proof housing in Haiti:
The competition concept was developed by UK architect John McAslan, who is currently working with a number of organisations in the country.
The aim of the project is to help rebuild communities and homes in Haiti. Using an Expo model, the Government of Haiti and others, can see and test different solutions – from the bespoke community-build to mass-produced housing units.
The Expo is dedicated to best-practice solutions alongside wider urban themes such as green energy, transportation and use of local materials and production.
I’m late to this news, and the closing date for the competition is long gone, but you can find out more about it at the Malcolm Reading website.
The photo above shows Maurice Monette of Montréal, Canada, with a model of the earthquake-resistant housing prototype he submitted to the competition. Monette’s design was one of those shortlisted for further consideration:
Malcolm Reading Consultants of London has told a local consortium headed by Rosemere entrepreneur Maurice Monette it will be invited to Haiti this fall to show off its housing prototype.
Monette said he plans to assemble the prototype in St. Eustache over the next couple of weeks. When the model home is completed, he plans to hold a news conference, then disassemble the home and put it in a container for shipment to Haiti.
Malcolm Reading is one of the world’s largest construction consultants. It was hired last spring by the government of Haiti to assess thousands of housing proposals and select several hundred for closer study.
Monette learned on July 30 that his proposal was one of 265 from around the world that has been shortlisted from among several thousand proposals vetted by Malcolm Reading.
…
Monette’s consortium is proposing quake-resistant housing using steel rather than wood framing, with extrusion joints allowing for some building sway during earth movements. Joints connecting the floor panelling and underlying anchor screws have similarly been designed to allow for sway with earth tremors.The consortium is proposing to use lightweight steel-plated foam panelling for the roof and walls.
Read more at the Montréal Gazette.
[Photo: Phil Carpenter/Montréal Gazette]
reefing the main: the montserrat expedition
August 27th, 2010
The Montserrat Expedition was filmed for FKCC and Reef Check Org. The Freedom Boat’s team of explorers was commissioned to survey the coral reefs of Montserrat, West Indies. Their journey goes far beyond coral reef conservation as they immerse themselves in the culture and environment of the Caribbean as well as the ocean.
Hailing from the southernmost port of Key West, Florida, The Freedom Boat is a 1977 39 ft. Cal, Sloop Rigged Sailboat with a traditional Racer/Cruiser style hull. Her Graceful lines slice through the sea with triumphant ease taking us to destinations beyond the seldom traveled but into the virtual unknown. We focus on conservation and education by partnering with institutions of higher learning, Non-Profit Organizations and Private research groups.
For more information please visit www.thefreedomboat.com.
SECORE and coral conservation in curaçao
August 27th, 2010
Scientists from the PPG Aquarium are in Curaçao working on a coral conservation project. From the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium blog:
Hello, I’m Bob Snowden, an aquarist at the PPG Aquarium. I’m writing this update from the Caribbean island of Curaco, where I’m part of a team working on conserving and restoring endangered coral reefs.
The project, called SECORE (SExual COral REproduction) is an ongoing non-profit initiative that combines the knowledge of top aquarists and leading scientists from around the world.
Joining me from the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium are Ashley Kidd, an aquarist and our dive safety officer, and zoo photographer Paul Selvaggio.
We are here to observe the once-a-year spawning of some very important reef-building corals – the Caribbean elkhorn coral (acropora palmata) and the Caribbean staghorn coral (acropora cervicornis). This coral is typically found in the Florida Keys, the Bahamas and the Caribbean islands. These varieties are both listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red list of endangered species. Since 1980, populations have declined by up to 98% throughout their range from disease outbreaks, with losses compounded locally by hurricanes, increased predation and bleaching.
At present the SECORE team is in Curaçao for a coral spawning field workshop that started on August 23 and runs until September 2:
Curacao harbors some of the last Elkhorn coral and Staghorn coral populations that are still reproducing. The findings of the upcoming project will help to conserve corals in the Caribbean and around the world.
The annual spawning event of endangered Elkhorn coral and Staghorn coral is expected to take place during the workshop. If that indeed happens, a group of international scientists and aquarists will collect eggs and sperm from these corals in the reefs around Curacao.
…
[The] main goal of this workshop is of course to collect sperm and eggs and culture new corals from these.
Other goals of this workshop are:• sharing know-how of using sexual reproduction in aqua culture;
• introducing breeding techniques for sexual recruits among public aquaria worldwide
• contribution to conservation of corals on a broad scale
• preservation of the endangered Elkhorn coral Acropora palmata and the Staghorn coral Acropora cervicornis
• networking between sea aquaria and research institutes
• development of excellent methods for coral reef conservation and restoration.Among the participants, you find coral conservationists, aquarists, scientists and researchers.
The SECORE workshop offer researchers the infrastructure, the tools and know-how, which are necessary to work with coral spawn, coral larvae and primary settled corals.
There’s more about the Curaçao workshop at the SECORE website. SECORE also has a Facebook page and a Flickr account.
Previously on Green Antilles: Coral nurseries and reef restoration, Baby corals use sound to find new homes.
[Photo: Rodrigo Sala]
environmental planning and resettlement in haiti
August 27th, 2010
In an article written for the US State Department’s Bureau of International Information Programs, Stephen Kaufman explains how environmental factors inform plans to resettle displaced Haitians:
For many of the 1.5 million Haitians living in relief camps since the January 12 earthquake, shelter that is sturdier, more weatherproof and more secure cannot come soon enough. But the tremendous demand is balanced by the need to prepare temporary resettlement sites that can offer improved living conditions for up to three years with minimal impact on the environment.
Mollie Lemon, an employee at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, recently returned from six weeks supporting personnel from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the country by lending her background in environmental science to help identify the best sites to resettle the many Haitians who are still living in tents.
USAID had provided the International Organization for Migration in Haiti with $15 million in emergency funding to improve ad hoc and temporary shelters for those affected by the disaster, including the development of new sites and resettlement.
Lemon’s group operated from the perspective that environmentally sustainable settlements are critical to the well-being of the disaster survivors as well as the environment. A poorly planned site could leave people vulnerable to flooding, landslides and diseases.
“You’re trying to respond quickly to the situation posed by this humanitarian crisis while at the same time realizing that people are probably going to be living in these for a fairly long time, and so it’s about striking that balance between getting people moved into a safe place as soon as possible while at the same time following the standards and the environmental best practices,” she told America.gov.
Read the full article at ReliefWeb.
Previously on Green Antilles: Clearing Haiti’s earthquake debris, Conversations about environmental rehabilitation in Haiti, Earthquake worsens environmental damage in Haiti.
[Photo: United Nations Photo]
