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Loading ...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 […]
World Bank: Coastal and Marine Ecosystem Services Severely Undervalued
Monday, April 6th, 2009From the World Bank: Coastal and Marine Ecosystem Services Severely Undervalued New World Bank Review Calls for Action to Protect the Marine Environment Properly valuing coastal and marine ecosystem services is critical to sustainable development, according to the World Bank publication “Environment Matters 2008” launched today. Titled: “Valuing Coastal and Marine Ecosystem Services”, the review […]
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 […]
A Unique GEO for MEROSUR
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008Last month a GEO for the Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR or MERCOSUL) was finally unveiled with much fanfare by representatives of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at the meeting of MERCOSUR Environment Ministers. What’s a GEO? It’s probably the best known type of comprehensive environmental diagnosis available. “GEO” was the acronym for “Global […]
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 […]
A Poor Report Card for the Mesoamerican Reef
Monday, December 22nd, 2008A “report card” on the health of the Mesoamerican Reef (MAR) was released recently, and it was not pretty. Not the type of report card a student would want to take home to his/her parents. The MAR follows the Caribbean coastline of Mexico and Central America for over 1,000 kilometers, and as such is the […]
Update: Mapping Brazil’s Basins to Prepare Against Oil Spills
Tuesday, September 9th, 2008Over a year ago I had a post here about the efforts of Brazil’s Environment Ministry (MMA) to prepare comprehensive atlases of the Brazilian sedimentary basins where oil and gas exploration, drilling and related activities are permitted. [80% of Brazil’s oil and gas exploration/exploitation occurs offshore.] The atlas covering the very important Santos Basin was […]
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 […]