Management week 7

Question 1

Intended learning outcomes

Answer 1

Describe conservation and management organisations and legislation for marine mammals

Question 2

Conservation and management history

Answer 2

• Long long human history of natural resource exploitation
• 18-19th century: natural history becomes popular
  – Charles Darwin, Alexander von Humboldt, and others
  – Collection of rare species before their extinction
  – 1872 Yellowstone National Park is the first nature reserve
  – 1909 first national parks in Europe (in Sweden)

Question 3

Conservation and management history timeline (no need to memorize)

Answer 3

• 1901: ICES (International Council for Exploration of the Sea)
• 1929: Norwegian Whaling Act
• 1931: Geneva Convention for Regulation of Whaling
• 1946: IWC (International Whaling Commission)
• 1948: IUCN (Red List established 1964)
• 1961: WWF
• 1972: Greenpeace
• 1972: US Marine Mammal Protection Act
• 1972: OSPAR (Oslo-Paris Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic)
• 1974: HELCOM (Helsinki Commission, Baltic Sea management)
• 1975: CITES (Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species)
• 1978: Definition of the term “Conservation biology” by Bruce Wilcox and Michael E. Soulé
• 1992:EUHabitatsDirective
• 1992:NAMMCO
  – North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission
  – Norway, Faroes, Iceland and Greenland
  – Alternative to IWC, to protect pinnipeds and small whales
• 1994:ASCOBANS
  – Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas
• 2001:ACCOBANS
  – Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans in the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and contiguous Atlantic area
• 2008:EUMarineStrategyFrameworkDirective
• So a mix of scientific advice, management and legislation with some overlap in goals and areas

Question 4

IUCN

Answer 4

• International Union for Conservation of Nature
• “Influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable”
• Red List to provide scientifically based information on the status of species and subspecies globally
• …so provides information, but no legal requirements!

Question 5

CITES

Answer 5

• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Washington Conv.)
• Lists more than 35,000 species
• Protect endangered species by regulation of trade
• Transport authorized through licensing system
• Voluntary for countries, but legal consequences for persons/companies who break rules

Question 6

Countries that don’t “lie under” CITES

Answer 6

Western Sahara
South Sudan
Turkmenistan
Kyrgyzstan
North Korea
Antartica

Question 7

ICES

Answer 7

• International Council on the Exploration of the Seas
• The world’s oldest intergovernmental science organization founded in 1902; now 20 member states
• Headquarter in Copenhagen
• Multidisciplinary forum for marine science relating to the North Atlantic, North Sea and Baltic Sea
  – Promote, encourage, develop, and coordinate research
  – Publish and otherwise disseminate results of research
  – Provide non-biased, non-political scientific advice
• …so only research and advice; no decision making!

Question 8

NAMMCO

Answer 8

• North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission
• Formed in 1992 due to dissatisfaction with IWC
• Norway, Faroes, Iceland and Greenland, as well as several observer countries
• Covers all North Atlantic marine mammals
  – Scientific based management
  – Sustainable use of marine resources
  – Rights and needs of coastal communities
• Three independent committees
  – Scientific committee
  – Management committee
  – Decision-making committee

Question 9

EU legislation

Answer 9

• Habitats Directive (1992)
  – Assessment at national level
  – Qualitative judgement
• Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008)
  – Assessment at population/management unit level
  – Definition of quantitative thresholds
• Regional Sea Conventions (RSC)
  – HELCOM (Baltic Sea)
  – OSPAR (Northeast Atlantic Ocean)
  – Barcelona Convention (Mediterranean Sea)
  – Bucharest Convention (Black Sea)

Question 10

Habitats directive (EU legislation)

Answer 10

• Natura 2000 (N2K) sites
  – Network of protected sites across the European Union
  – The largest network of protected areas in the world
  – 3150 marine sites; 10% of EU marine area (year 2019)
  – Report on the state of protected areas every six years
  – Porpoises and seals used as indicator species
• Issues
  – Good coverage of terrestrial sites
  – Not so good for marine sites/species…

Examples:
- Monitoring porpoises in Natura 2000 areas

Question 11

Marine Strategy Framework Directive (EU legislation)

Answer 11

• Adopted in 2008 to address problems in Natura 2000 with poor marine coverage of protected sites
• Keypoints
  – Establishment targets and indicators to achieve “Good Environmental Status (GES)”
  – Monitoring programme for assessment and update of management and conservation targets
  – Implement measures to achieve or maintain GES

Question 12

Regional Sea Conventions (EU legislation)

Answer 12

• OSPAR, HELCOM, Barcelona and Bucharest conventions
• Minimize human impacts (noise, pollution, etc)
• Establish Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

Question 13

OSPAR (Regional sea conventions (EU legislation))

Answer 13

• Oslo-Paris Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic
• Covers “all human activities that might adversely affect the marine environment of the North East Atlantic“ except for fisheries, which is covered by ICES
• Regulates European standards on
  – Marine biodiversity
  – Eutrophication
  – Hazardous and radio active substances
  – Offshore oil and gas industry
  – Monitoring of environment

Question 14

HELCOM (Regional sea conventions (EU legislation))

Answer 14

• The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (Helsinki Commission)
• Main functions
  – Environmental monitoring
  – Development of indicators
  – Science database
  – Recommendations
  – Policymaking
  – Supervisory body (policeman)

Question 15

Marine protection future?

Answer 15

• UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030 “The Science We Need For The Ocean We Want”
• Marine Protection Atlas (www.mpatlas.org)
  – Only 7-8% of Earth’s marine areas under some sort of protection
  – Aim is to get 30% protected by 2030
• UN High Seas Treaty (2023-)
  – High Seas (dark blue) cover 2/3 of all oceans, but only 1% is protected
  – Conservation, sustainable use and sharing of marine biological diversity
  – Legal framework for establishing MPAs (Marine Protected Areas)

Marine mammal example: Blue corridors initiative