Disappearing Mangroves in Guatemala
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009I read an interesting article from Tierramérica about Guatemala’s disappearing mangroves and a discussion of probable causes and possible impacts. I’ve mentioned here before on The Temas Blog about the importance of mangroves (here, here, here, here and here) in preventing sediment runoff and filtering out contaminants before they enter the sea, stabilizing coastlines, impeding […]
Bahamas Finally Acts on Marine Protection
Friday, January 23rd, 2009Nearly two years ago I did a post about a terrific National Geographic article on the dangers of unchecked real estate and tourism development on the Bahamas’ marine habitats, and how in the end, the Bahamas may lose far more than they’d gain from ripping up mangroves to build hotels, golf courses and marinas. Thanks […]
UNEP/CARICOM: Drastic Climate Change Consequences for Insular Caribbean / PNUMA/CARICOM: drásticas consecuencias por cambio climático en el Caribe Insular
Saturday, December 27th, 2008Although this report (English only) was finished in October, it was formally unveiled at the global climate change talks in Poland in November, but did not get much media play because of all the other actions, initiatives, reports and declarations made in Poznan at the same time. But it deserves much more attention and hopefully […]
Putting a Value on Belize’s Reefs and Mangroves
Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008In a recent post I applauded efforts to estimate the true economic value of the mangroves along the coast of Mexico’s Baja California. Last month the World Resources Institute (WRI) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) released a report that estimates the economic value of Belize’s coral reefs and mangroves that I similarly applaud — in […]
Jagdeo on Climate Change and Guyana
Tuesday, August 19th, 2008Recently the Stabroek News carried an article reporting on a series of statements by President Bharrat Jagdeo on the issues of climate change. He was speaking at the People’s Progessive Party (PPP) congress. Jagdeo claimed that adapting to global climate change will cost Guyana “billions.” He said that to adapt Guyana must fortify 360 kilometers […]
Update: The Economic Value of Mexican Mangroves
Sunday, August 17th, 2008When last May I blogged about the importance of Mexico’s inventory of its mangroves, I declared that mangroves matter. One of the reasons I cited was that they usually serve as nurseries and homes for many fish, shrimp, crabs, mollusks and other marine life (in the Dominican Republic, for example, many of the endangered manatees […]
The Caribbean Challenge
Tuesday, June 24th, 2008Yes, I know, this announcement was made publicly at the end of May. I held off talking about here, in part to work first on older backlog from The Temas Blog queue, and in part to see if, as hinted, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica and St. Lucia would quickly announce that […]
Climate Change May Hit Andean Nations Hard
Thursday, June 12th, 2008In early May the Andean Community (CAN) released its report on the probable impact of global climate change on its four member states (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru). One of the key conclusions of El Carmbio Climático no tiene fronteras (“Climate Change Does Not Have Borders”) is that by 2025 the impacts of global climate change […]
Maps, Maps and More Maps
Monday, June 2nd, 2008In a prior post on the Temas library of Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) legal texts for download, I promised to highlight other changes and additions to the updated site. The biggest addition to the site has been the Temas Tools Section, a collection of references and tools that help in understanding, shaping and managing […]
Mexico Takes Stock of its Wetlands
Saturday, May 31st, 2008Mangroves matter. Why? Among other reasons: Their dense root systems keep sediment from rivers and off the land from going out to sea. This helps stabilize the coastline and provides some protection from hurricanes and tropical storms. [Studies have shown storm damage is usually greater in coastal areas where mangroves have been cleared.] It also […]
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