Print this Page
E-mail this Article
|
World Conservation Congress Sets New Priorities for Global Conservation
NRDC president John Adams chaired a workshop on the potential impacts of the 2004 U.S. national election on international conservation. NRDC also sponsored workshops on the threats to wildlands in Canada and Latin America and on the dangers of ocean noise, including high-intensity naval sonar, to marine life. The NRDC team helped secure the passage of a series of resolutions and recommendations related to high seas bottom trawling, ocean noise and NRDC's Macal River Valley and Heart of the Boreal Forest BioGems. Marine Life and Ocean Ecosystems NRDC played a key role in securing the passage of two resolutions that support the preservation and restoration of ocean health and diversity. One resolution called on the United Nations General Assembly to impose a moratorium on bottom trawling in the high seas, a destructive fishing practice that has devastating impacts on fragile deepwater coral ecosystems and threatens ocean biodiversity.
The congress also voted in favor of a resolution calling for urgent action by states to reduce harm to whales and other marine life from high-intensity naval sonar systems. Used by the U.S. Navy and militaries around the world, these systems blast sound waves through the ocean at up to 245 decibels -- estimated to be as loud as a Saturn V rocket at launch. In recent years, scientists have linked the use of high-intensity sonar to the deaths and strandings of hundreds of whales from the Bahamas to the Canary Islands to Japan. The WCC resolution was the fourth international action in two months calling for limits on the use of military sonar and other sources of damaging underwater sound. Belize's Macal River Valley
Construction of the dam is currently underway, but the government of Belize has failed to provide any evidence that it has followed through on promises to monitor and mitigate the environmental impacts of the project. NRDC's Belizean partners will continue to press their government to respond to the WCC resolution. The Boreal Forest
The congress called for protecting the health of the entire boreal region through ecologically based land-use planning that respects the rights and interests of indigenous peoples. The recommendation helped reinforce a proposal for the preservation of 10.6 million acres of the boreal forest in Manitoba and Ontario as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Canadian boreal forest, which includes NRDC's Heart of the Boreal Forest BioGem, provides key habitat for bears, wolves and caribou, as well as a nesting ground for millions of songbirds and waterfowl, and is of vital spiritual and cultural importance to some 600 indigenous communities. NRDC's team at the World Conservation Congress: John Adams, president; Frances Beinecke, executive director; Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, Canada boreal forest project; Shannon Heyck-Williams, earth legacy campaign; Michael Jasny, marine mammal protection project; Joel Reynolds, marine mammal protection project (director); Jacob Scherr, international program (director); Lisa Speer, ocean protection initiative; Jose Yunis, Latin American BioGems. Related Pages on NRDC's BioGems Website Related Websites last revised 12.15.04 |
