Rallying for urgent action on biodiversity

AS the world celebrated the diversity of life on earth, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are calling on governments to make fundamental changes to economic planning to avoid the collapse of the world’s life support system.
On Saturday, the world marked the International Day for Biological Diversity, proclaimed by the United Nations in 1993 to “increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues”.
Biodiversity and healthy natural ecosystems underpin human well-being and the economy by providing a range of benefits or “services” such as clean air and water, protection from natural disasters and medicine and food. Experts estimate the global economic value of biodiversity to be as high as US$33 trillion (K96.6 trillion) per year.
“Governments rarely take the economic and social benefits of nature into account in their policies and activities,” Rolf Hogan, biodiversity manager at WWF International, said. “This leads to the destruction of natural ecosystems and the undermining of our future. It is reaching a crisis point.”
Simultaneously, the world’s governments have failed to meet the promise they made in 2002 to significantly reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010, the international year of biodiversity.
Recent studies, including the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Global Biodiversity Outlook 3, show that massive further loss of biodiversity is becoming increasingly likely. Several “tipping points” are approaching, in which ecosystems shift to less productive states from which it may be impossible to recover, according to the studies.
In a statement delivered to a scientific meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity earlier last week, 24 international NGOs including WWF – representing civil society, conservation and indigenous people – told governments that they had failed because they did “not address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss”.
“Current economic and governance systems and policies promote the over-consumption of natural resources by some countries and segments of society,” the statement said. “This is driving the destruction of habitats and undermining the rights and livelihoods of millions of people who depend on them.
“We are at a turning point. Fundamental change is urgently required.
“The International Day for Biological Diversity should act as a reminder that heads of state need to heed this call by NGOs to make concrete commitments when they meet at the United Nations general assembly special session on biodiversity in September,” Hogan said.
“We cannot expect environmental ministries to take this on alone.
“Conservation and the sustainable use of biodiversity must move from the political fringes and into the centre stage if we are to prevent a catastrophic loss of biodiversity.” – WWF

‘Big eye tuna nears being over-fished’

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By SHEILA LASIBORI

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THE big eye tuna specie is close to being over-fished unless countries of the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) cut their fishing rate by 30%.
This is according to a ‘Status of stocks report’ (1/2008) on both purse seine fishery and long-line for the period 2004 to 2008 that was compiled by the secretariat of the Pacific community (SPC).
The status report was disclosed to the forum fisheries committee (FFC) of 17-member countries including PNG at its 74th meeting in Solomon Islands from May 11-14.
Sylvester Pokajam, managing director for National Fisheries Authority (NFA) who chaired the meeting, said it was during this meeting that scientists from SPC told the gathering of the status on fish stock especially the big eye tuna.
“On the big eye, the assessment is very, very bleak … all fishing is currently occurring, therefore, scientists are calling for a reduction in effort by 30% to save the big eye on current level.
“What they are saying is, if we continue to fish on current level the big eye stock will be depleted … so now they are calling for 30% effort cut on the fishing on big eye,” Pokajam said shortly after his return to the country.
“So, this is an area in which I want to send a message to PNG and its citizens on the status of this stock because many times we hear from non-governmental organisations, and other people within PNG that fish is being depleted or over-fished.
“So I want to ensure that people know that this is the current situation based on the stock assessment carried out by SPC,” Pokajam said.
He also discussed status report on other fish species.
According to the stock status, the South Pacific albacore was not being over-fished as it was being fished within its maximum sustainable yield annually of 98,000 metric tonnes.
Pokajam said the status of the yellow fin stock also revealed that it was not over-fished, and the skip jack stock was also not over-fished.
“The current status is sustainable for skip jack,” he said, adding that the maximum sustainable yield that could be harvested in the WCPO by the purse seine are two to three million metric tonnes on sustainable basis.