Fw: [carib-biodiversity] MacArthur Grants to Save SOUTH PACIFIC REEF FISHERIES

[Rolph Payet]

Dear All

More funding for coral reefs.

RP
----- Original Message -----
From: Potter at Island Resources <bpotter at irf.org>
To: Caribbean Biodiversity <caribbean-biodiversity at yahoogroups.com>
Cc: Island Systems Environmental Information <virmc at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2001 8:24 AM
Subject: [carib-biodiversity] MacArthur Grants to Save SOUTH PACIFIC REEF
FISHERIES


>
> [Nice package of activities....bp]
>
>
>
> >
> >MacArthur Foundation Grants Promote Sustainable Fisheries as
> >Alternative to Destructive Fishing Practices
> >
> >$2.3 Million will Contribute to Protection of Coral Reefs and
> >Marine Habitats in Asia-Pacific Region
> >
> >Chicago, IL - The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has
> >announced grants totaling more than $2.3 million to promote
> >environmentally sound and economically viable fishing practices in
> >the coral reefs of the Asia Pacific region.
> >
> >The grants were made through the Conservation and Sustainable
> >Development area of the Foundation's Program on Global Security and
> >Sustainability. This area of the Foundation is dedicated to
> >conserving biodiversity and to building knowledge of how to use
> >natural resources in ways that will not destroy or deplete them. The
> >Foundation focuses this work in a small number of tropical regions
> >chosen for their richness of species diversity and the level of the
> >threats they face. One such area is the Asia-Pacific region, which
> >is the focus of this set of grants. The MacArthur Foundation makes
> >approximately $15 million in grants each year through the
> >Conservation and Sustainable Development area.
> >
> >Recipients include the Bishop Museum/Pacific Science Association,
> >Environmental Legal Assistance Center, the International Marinelife
> >Alliance, the Marine Aquarium Council, the Reef Check Foundation,
> >the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Wetlands International,
> >and the World Wildlife Fund.
> >
> >According to Mitchel Wallerstein, vice president of the Program on
> >Global Security and Sustainability, over the past two decades an
> >estimated 35 million acres of coral reef in the Asia-Pacific region
> >have been destroyed due to destructive fishing practices - much of
> >it related to the $1 billion live fish trade in the restaurant
> >industry and the $200 million marine (salt water) aquarium business.
> >"More than one million species of plants and animals-a quarter of
> >all marine life-are believed associated with the coral reef
> >ecosystem," said Wallerstein. "Coral reefs provide food and income
> >for millions of people, as well as valuable chemical compounds for
> >medicines. We believe this important region can provide benefits to
> >mankind without being destroyed in the process."
> >
> >A significant factor in the destruction of coral reefs is cyanide
> >fishing, which involves stunning fish by introducing cyanide into
> >the reef areas where they seek refuge. Cyanide poisons and kills
> >coral polyps and other small organisms necessary for healthy reefs.
> >An estimated 330,000 pounds of cyanide per year is used on
> >Philippine coral reefs alone, where fewer than 10 percent of the
> >reefs remain healthy.
> >
> >The demand for live fish in restaurants, primarily in Hong Kong and
> >other Asian centers, has led to widespread use of cyanide by the
> >commercial fishing industry. Fisherman are now moving from the
> >over-harvested reefs of the Philippines to the more remote and
> >pristine coral reefs in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and
> >other nations in the Western Pacific.
> >
> >To educate importers, retailers, and consumers about the advantages
> >of purchasing fish that have been harvested in a sustainable fashion
> >without using cyanide, the Foundation will award grants to three
> >organizations:
> >
> >*
> >
> >The International Marinelife Alliance will receive $600,000 to
> >support their Indo-Pacific Destructive Fishing Reform Program
> >carried out in Hong Kong and Southern China, the Philippines,
> >Vietnam, and the Pacific near the islands of Fiji and Kiribati.
> >*
> >
> >The Secretariat of the Pacific Community will receive $300,000 to
> >help local governments establish national live reef protection plans
> >and set up sustainable management strategies.
> >*
> >
> >The Bishop Museum/Pacific Science Association will receive $150,000
> >to update existing maps of coral reef species abundance in the
> >Indo-Pacific Region.
> >
> >
> >The $200 million-per-year marine aquarium trade also creates a large
> >market for reef fish harvested with cyanide. It is estimated that
> >more than 70 percent of the marine aquarium fish exported from
> >Indonesia to the trade's principal markets in the U.S. and Europe
> >are caught in this manner. To foster more environmentally sound
> >fishing practices in the aquarium trade, the Foundation is awarding
> >grants to three organizations:
> >
> >*
> >
> >The Marine Aquarium Council will receive $350,000 to train local
> >fishers in non-destructive harvesting techniques, establish a system
> >for certifying and labeling reef products harvested in a sustainable
> >fashion, and build markets in the U.S. and Europe for these
> >certified products.
> >*
> >
> >The World Wildlife Fund-U.S. will receive $200,000 to increase
> >scientific understanding of coral reef ecosystems in key marine
> >areas where salt water aquarium organisms are collected.
> >*
> >
> >The Reef Check Foundation will receive $180,000 to develop
> >techniques to monitor coral reef health in areas with high levels of
> >harvesting for the salt water aquarium trade.
> >
> >
> >Part of the solution to the problem of destructive fishing practices
> >is giving local communities greater control over their marine
> >resources. To help these local communities, the MacArthur Foundation
> >is awarding three grants.
> >
> >*
> >
> >The Environmental Legal Assistance Center will receive $240,000 in
> >support of municipal marine protected areas in Palawan and the
> >Visayas, the Philippines.
> >*
> >
> >World Wildlife Fund-South Pacific will receive $200,000 to develop
> >locally managed marine protected areas in the Madang Lagoon, Papua
> >New Guinea.
> >*
> >
> >Wetlands International-Oceania will receive $120,000 for locally
> >managed marine protected areas along the northern coast of Papua New
> >Guinea.
> >
> >
> >The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private,
> >independent grant-making institution dedicated to helping groups and
> >individuals foster lasting improvement in the human condition. The
> >Foundation seeks the development of healthy individuals and
> >effective communities; peace within and among nations; responsible
> >choices about human reproduction; and a global ecosystem capable of
> >supporting healthy human societies. The Foundation pursues its
> >mission by supporting research, policy development, education and
> >training, and practice.
> >
> >###
> >
> >
>
> --
> Island Resources, the Virgin Islands and Washington
> For fastest mail service: 1718 "P" St NW # T-4, Washington, DC 20036
> Fone 202/265-9712      fax 202/232-0748; E-mail: <bpotter at irf.org>
> -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
>   Promote Island Resources---Send Your $35 Membership to the DC Office
>   Publishers of 25 e-mail mailing lists for Caribbean Environmentalists
> -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
>
> ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
> Break free. Great
> American Smokeout
> http://us.click.yahoo.com/3vN8tD/.pSDAA/ySSFAA/icTolB/TM
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------~->
>
> ##################################################
> To unsubscribe, send a BLANK message to
<caribbean-biodiversity-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com>
> and you can always join again with a BLANK message to
> <caribbean-biodiversity-subscribe at yahoogroups.com>
> ##################################################
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>

~~~~~~~
For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the
digests, please visit www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the
menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver.