Fiordland is home to a unique marine environment...Department of Conservation operations director southern South Island Aaron Fleming has described it as a globally significant area. It was high in biodiversity and home to many special species such as black coral and soft corals
With the establishment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, the Human Development Forum launched a series of publications entitled A Better World, each volume dedicated to one of the 17 SDGs. This volume, published in June 2020, covers Goal 14 — Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. It is our belief that enhancing the contribution of marine biodiversity is hugely beneficial to the world in general, and to the future of small island developing states and least developed countries in particular.
Interest in deep-sea mining for copper, cobalt, zinc, manganese and other valuable metals has grown substantially in the last decade and mining activities are anticipated to begin soon.
In a study published recently in Ecology and Evolution, an international team of researchers focused on what can happen to ocean ecosystems when fishing pressure increases or decreases, and how this differs between tropical to temperate marine ecosystems.
The Cook Islands government will allow miners to prospect for minerals on its seabed, with an eye to commencing mining within five years.
The results have been confirmed by the special Management Area Report 2020 that was compiled by the Ministry of Fisheries in partnership with Australia's James Cook University.
In the coastal waters across much of our planet are meadows of seagrass that are critical to the health of our ocean. Seagrasses evolved millions of years ago when flowering plants on land took up residence in the sea.
Asia-Pacific region is one of the world’s most ethnically and culturally diverse regions. It is also one of its most biodiverse. Yet local marine ecosystems are nearing a tipping point as a result of various environmental stresses caused by unsustainable human practices.
The environmental impact of deep-sea mining is only partially known. Also, there is a lack of standards to regulate mining and set binding thresholds for the impact on the local organisms.
There’s no denying the grandeur and allure of a nature reserve or marine protected area. The concept is easy to understand: limit human activity there and marine ecosystems will thrive.
