The Environment Chronicle

On 16 October 1990, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands signed the first Agreement under the Bonn Convention. The Agreement on the Conservation of Seals in the Wadden Sea was concluded after the first distemper in 1988, when almost 60% of the seal population in the Wadden Sea died. The recovery of seals in the Wadden Sea is a true success story of the Agreement. For Seal numbers in the trilateral Wadden Sea are on the rise. In total, about 21,600 Harbour Seals were counted in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands during the seal census in 2009. Also for the Grey Seals, though formally not covered by the Agreement on the Conservation of Seals in the Wadden Sea but protected indirectly through the Agreement, the increasing population trend has continued during the last years. In 2009, around 2,800 Grey Seals were counted in the entire Wadden Sea area.

On 15 October 2010 a new international treaty, “the Nagoya – Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety”, was adopted at one of the largest intergovernmental meetings ever held on the safe use of modern biotechnology in Nagoya, Japan. The adoption of the new treaty came at the end of the five-day meeting of the governing body of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (known as the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol or COP-MOP 5) and concluded six years of negotiations. The new supplementary Protocol provides international rules and procedure on liability and redress for damage to biodiversity resulting from living modified organisms (LMO). The new treaty shall be open for signature at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 7 March 2011 to 6 March 2012 and will enter into force 90 days after being ratified by at least 40 Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.

Real time maps of air, ground and water pollution can now be made available to everyone thanks to an EU-funded research project called INTAMAP. The INTAMAP project has developed open specifications software to draw up contour maps that not only show the exact location of polluted areas but also illustrate where pollution is coming from and where it is headed. Such information enables public authorities to decide more quickly on appropriate action to tackle the source of the pollution and allows individuals to avoid it. Researchers from Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, The Netherlands and the UK worked on the project which received some €1.8 million in EU funding. Applying ICT research to benefit Europe's citizens and businesses is a key element of the Digital Agenda for Europe adopted by the Commission in May 2010.

On 9 October tens of thousands of people took part in Munich anti-nuclear protest. A focus of the protest was the formation of a human chain, about 10 kilometers long, through the center of the city. Organizers said that some 50,000 people in all took part in the day's events, while police put the number at around 25,000. The event was the largest of its kind in Bavaria for more than two decades.

A new species of small carnivore, known as Durrell’s vontsira (Salanoia durrelli) has been identified by researchers from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, the Natural History Museum, London, Nature Heritage, Jersey, and Conservation International (CI). The small, cat-sized, speckled brown carnivore from the marshes of the Lac Alaotra wetlands in central eastern Madagascar weighs just over half a kilogramme and belongs to a family of carnivores only known from Madagascar.

Brüssel, 07 October 2010: With easy-to-reach oil becoming harder to find, there has been an increase in potentially hazardous deep-sea exploration and drilling. While the Environment Committee and many MEPs favoured a moratorium on any new deep-sea drilling in the EU, a majority (323 votes to 285) considered this a step too far.

On October 4, 2010 at 12:30 the western dam of cassette X of the sludge reservoir, owned by Magyar Alumínium ZRt (Hungarian Aluminum Co), had ruptured. Due to the ruptured dam, a mixture of 600-700 thousand m3 of red sludge and water inundated the lower sections of the settlements of Kolontár, Devecser and Somlóvásárhely via the Torna creek.

Forests and other wooded areas occupy almost 40% of the total area of the EU, cropland nearly a quarter and grassland a further fifth, while built-up and other artificial areas, such as roads and railways, account for 4%. Regarding socio-economic use, over 40% of the land in the EU is used for agriculture and almost 30% for forestry. The use of land for residential, commercial and industrial purposes accounts for just over 10% of the total area of the EU. These data are published for the first time by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union and are based on a large scale land survey, the Land Use/Cover Area frame Survey (LUCAS), conducted in 2009.

The huge 10-year study involved 2,700 scientists from 80 nations and has revealed what, where, and how much marine life there is in the world’s oceans. The variety of life uncovered in the census is much more than many experts had imagined. So far, 1,200 new species have been officially named and there are 5000 more awaiting descriptions. The total number of marine species described is now about 244,000, but experts estimate there could be more than 1 million. And new species are being described at a rate of about 1,900 per year. The scientific results were reported on October 4, 2010.

Ursula Heinen-Esser, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Environment Ministry accepted the UNESCO certificate recognising the German-Dutch Wadden Sea as World Natural Heritage on behalf of the German government on 2 Oktober 2010. The ceremony took place aboard a ship in the German Wadden Sea.

Marine species of October 2010 in the International Year of Biodiversity is the Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina). The southern elephant seal, Mirounga leonina, is the biggest species of seal and its total number is estimated at 750,000 animals. To gain an insight into the underwater world of the seals, marine biologists from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven have been using special satellite transmitters on the animals for several years. The data obtained in this way are of the utmost interest for oceanographers as well.

The world's rivers are in crisis, according to a study by researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Limnology and the City College of New York (CCNY) that is published in the Sept. 30, 2010 issue of the scientific journal Nature. The study, led by UW-Madison limnologist and professor of zoology Peter McIntyre and CCNY modeler Charles Vörösmarty, combines, for the first time, indices of water security and biodiversity for all of the world's rivers, many of which are severely degraded due to issues of pollution, water diversion and introduced species.

The European Commission is urging five Member States to comply with EU air quality standards. Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland and Slovakia have so far failed to effectively tackle excess emissions of tiny airborne particles known as PM10. The Member States have two months to comply with the reasoned opinion under EU infringement procedures. In the absence of satisfactory responses from the Member States concerned, the Commission may refer them to the European Court of Justice. Airborne particles (PM10) are mainly present in pollutant emissions from industry, traffic and domestic heating. They can cause asthma, cardiovascular problems, lung cancer and premature death.

Environmental organisations in Argentina are celebrating the passage of a law restricting the extraction of minerals, oil and gas near glaciers, in order to protect these vast freshwater reserves. By a vote of 35 to 33, the Senate in Argentina approved a bill to preserve glaciers and their surrounding areas on 30 September 2010. The new law stipulates that glaciers are "public goods" and forbids "destroying or moving" the huge ice masses.

On 28 September 2010, the German Government adopted its new Energy Concept for the period until 2050.

On 27 September 2010,the world’s largest solar boat MS TÛRANOR PlanetSolar started on its journey around the world in Monaco. With this expedition, the iniatiors of this project would like to focus the public awareness on the importance of renewable energies for environmental protection.

On 24 September 2010, the Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR) designated the first ever network of marine protected areas in the high seas beyond national jurisdiction. With the decisions, the area covered by marine protected areas in the North-East Atlantic has been expanded to 433,000 square kilometres, which is equal in size to the Baltic Sea. Now a total of around 3 percent of the North-East Atlantic is under protection. Two of the six areas designated today lie beyond national jurisdiction in the high seas.

On 23 September 2010, Vattenfall inaugurated the Thanet Offshore Wind Farm, off the south east coast of England, currently the largest offshore wind farm in the world. With its 100 turbines, the Thanet Offshore Wind Farm has a combined energy capacity corresponding to the annual electricity needs of over 200,000 households.

As a contribution to the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity, which the General Assembly proclaimed in 2006 to stress the necessity to reverse the continued loss of biodiversity (A/RES/61/203 ), the General Assembly convened a high-level meeting on biodiversity on 22 September 2010.

The EU needs to halt biodiversity loss by 2020 and to restore biodiversity wherever feasible, says Parliament in a resolution approved on 21 September 2010. MEPs deeply regret that the aim of halting biodiversity loss by 2010 has not been met and they believe that biodiversity conservation should be mainstreamed in all EU policy areas. The resolution was approved by a show of hands.

Tens of thousands demonstrated in Berlin on 18 September 2010 against plans by the government to extend the lifetimes of Germany's nuclear power stations. Organizers said the protest drew 100,000 people. Police put the figure much lower, at around 40,000 according to initial estimates. Opposition party leaders joined the peaceful march around Berlin's government district.

Scientists from the German Primate Center (DPZ) in Göttingen have identified a new species: the northern buffed-cheeked gibbon, Nomascus annamensis. Researchers were able to identify it through its characteristic vocalizations. An analysis of the frequency and tempo of their calls, along with genetic research, show that this is, in fact, a new species. Crested gibbons, a monogamous species that live in the tree tops of tropical jungles, are among the most endangered primate species in the world. Knowledge of their biology and distribution is of great importance for their conservation (Vietnamese Journal of Primatology 1(4), 2010). Crested gibbons are only found in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and southern China. Until now, it has been assumed that there are six different species, their territories separated by rivers. The German-American-Vietnamese research team led by Christian Roos has now been able to identify a seventh species.

The world's freshwater turtle populations are being decimated by a perfect storm of habitat loss, hunting and a lucrative pet trade, and urgent action is needed to save them according to new analysis from Conservation International. The new analysis, which has been undertaken for World Water Week, identifies that the worrying decline in many of the world's turtle species is evidence that humanity's management of vital freshwater ecosystems is causing deep and damaging environmental impacts that will affect people and wildlife alike. Dr Peter Paul van Dijk, Director of Conservation International's Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Conservation Program said: "More than 40 percent of the planet's freshwater turtle species are threatened with extinction – making them among the most threatened groups of animals on the planet. Their decline is an indicator that the freshwater ecosystems that millions of people rely on for irrigation, food and water are being damaged in a manner that could have dire consequences for people and turtles alike."

In 2010, the summer sea ice cover in the Arctic Ocean will reach one of its lowest levels in the past 20 years. This is shown in analyses of satellite pictures carried out by Prof. Dr. Lars Kaleschke at the University of Hamburg's KlimaCampus. The average expected for this September is one of the four lowest figures shown since satellite analyses were first carried out early in the 1970s. Scientist registered the lowest expansion of sea ice at 4.2 million square kilometers in 2007. The minimum expanse of sea ice fluctuates considerably from one year to the next; on a statistical average, the area has been reduced by around eight per cent every ten years since 1970.

Officials with Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish are investigating why hundreds of thousands of dead fish were found in the Bayou Chaland area of the state, which is west of the Mississippi River. Workers with the Plaquemines Parish Inland Waterways Strike Force discovered the massive fish kill Sept. 10, 2010, and reported it to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries.

On 8 September 2010 the European Parliament adopted a text agreed with the Council to update Directive 86/609/EEC on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes. The aim of the new Directive is to strengthen legislation, and improve the welfare of experimental animals. Publication of the final text is foreseen in autumn 2010.

On 9 September 2010 the Report “TEEB for Local and Regional Policy Makers” was launched. The new report, entitled TEEB for Local and Regional Policy Makers, prepared by The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) initiative hosted and supported by the United Nations Environment Programme, highlights how much cities depend on nature, and illustrates how ecosystem services can provide cost-effective solutions to municipal services.

By integrating satellite mapping, airborne-laser technology, and ground-based plot surveys, scientists from the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology, with colleagues from the World Wildlife Fund and in coordination with the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment (MINAM), have revealed the first high-resolution maps of carbon locked up in tropical forest vegetation and emitted by land-use practices. These new maps pave the way for accurate monitoring of carbon storage and emissions for the proposed United Nations initiative on Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD). The study is published in the September 6, 2010, early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

On 3 September 2010 was an international meeting on biodiversity in Geneva (Switzerland). Switzerland invited ministers representing the former and upcoming presidencies of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to an informal meeting. The participants agreed on the Geneva Ministerial Biodiversity Call for Immediate Action, in which they affirmed the key role of biodiversity and its services for humans and called for a trend reversal in international biodiversity policies. The declaration calls upon heads of state and government, who will meet at the high-level meeting of the General Assembly as a contribution to the International Year of Biodiversity on 22 September of this year, to send a clear signal to the delegates of the 10th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD in Japan this October.

Climate change: Average temperatures on the rise, more hot days. Germany's National Meteorological Service, the Deutscher Wetterdienst, and the Federal Environment Agency believe the trend in weather records confirm the forecasts made by climate researchers. Extreme weather events with heavy precipitation or heat waves have increased tangibly in the past few decades, and it is likely that their occurrence and intensity will continue to rise. The annual mean temperature in Germany increased by 1.1°C from 1881 to 2009. It could climb another 2 to 4°C by the end of the century. The rising temperatures are expected to trigger ever more and intense heat waves. Measurements taken at some of the Meteorological Service’s stations have proven that the number of summer days (days with maximum temperatures of 25°C and above) has more than doubled since 1950.

On 1 September 2010, Commission adopted a decision outlining the criteria necessary to achieve good environmental status for Europe's seas. The definition of the criteria is a requirement under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive which aims to achieve good environmental status in all EU marine waters by 2020. The Commission decision focuses on different aspects of marine ecosystems including biological diversity, fish population, eutrophication, contaminants, litter and noise.

Marine species of September 2010 in the International Year of Biodiversity is the Antarctic is the Oarweed (Laminaria digitata), a North Atlantic brown alga. Laminarians are brown algae that are several metres long and are designated as kelp because of their form of growth and leathery structure. They form large forest-like underwater stocks along rocky coasts flooded with light (kelp forests). As they offer protection, food and a habitat for many other marine organisms, they are especially important for coastal ecosystems.

The second phase of the Commission Regulation on household lamps enters into force on 1 September. Standard light bulbs of more than 60 watts will no longer be sold.

Cairn Energy's Stena Don oil rig is scaled by Greenpeace activists to demand an end to offshore drilling.

On 30 August 2010, the Federal Government published the study it commissioned to model scenarios for its upcoming energy concept. The government instructed three research institutes to provide a scientific basis for its energy concept. Prognos (Basel), EWI (Cologne) and GWS (Osnabrück) submitted their joint study last Friday, 27 August 2010. The Federal Government is planning to decide about the Energy Concept on 28 September 2010. The nine scenarios consist of one reference scenario and 8 different prolongation scenarios. The reference scenario assumes a continuation of current trends and no changes to the present energy law regime, in particular no prolongation of the operating times of the German nuclear power plants. The 8 target scenarios consist of two sets of 4 scenarios each, with extensions of 4, 12, 20 and 28 years for the operation of nuclear power plants. The two sets differ regarding upgrading costs for the existing nuclear power plants.

On 30 August 2010, the InterAcademy Council has released its report “Climate Change Assessments - Review of the Processes and Procedures of the IPCC”. The review committee states that the process to produce the periodic assessment reports has been successful overall. However, it recommends fundamentally reforming the IPCC management structure and strengthening its procedures.

On 27 August 2010 the Mongolian cabinet held meeting in the Gobi desert. The meeting of 12 government ministers was held in scorching heat in Gashuunii Khooloi, a sandy valley in South Gobi province, about 670 kilometers south of Ulan-Bator. Minister of Natural Environment and Tourism Gansukh Luumed said Mongolian herders' traditional way of life is under threat. "Global climate change accelerates the desertification process in Mongolia. Currently, 70 percent of Mongolian land is affected by desertification."

EU scientists have succeeded in obtaining viable mass eggs from Atlantic bluefin tuna in captivity, using natural means and without any hormonal induction. If breeding can be developed on a commercial scale, pressure on endangered wild stocks could be significantly relieved. This is the result of the third year of work of SELFDOTT, a research project funded by the European Union to the tune of € 2.98 million and co-ordinated by the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO). A total of 10 million eggs were produced in a single day. Getting naturally spawned eggs from captive individuals represents an important step forward in research on Atlantic bluefin tuna aquaculture, bringing commercial breeding of this species closer. That could contribute to a sustainable management of bluefin tuna. SELFDOTT is a consortium representing 13 government bodies, research institutes and industry organisations from France (IFREMER, CNRS, University of Montpellier 2), Germany (University of Düsseldorf), Greece (HCMR), Israel (NCM-IOLR), Italy (University of Bari), Malta (MCFS, Malta FishFarming), Norway (Skretting) and Spain (University of Cádiz, Ricardo Fuentes Group and the co-ordinating IEO).

On 24 August 2010, the Minstry of Environment and Forests rejected the environment clearance of Vedanta bauxite mining project in Niyamgiri of Orissa, India.