Uganda designates first aquatic reserve
In November 2007, Uganda designated a reserve in Lake Victoria with the goal of protecting and restoring populations of Nile perch and other fish stocks. Commercial fishing is now banned inside the 100-km2 Commonwealth Lake Reserve, while recreational fishing is permitted under strict conditions. The protected area took effect in December and is Uganda’s first aquatic reserve. The largest lake in Africa, Lake Victoria is subject to territorial administration by Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya. More details on the new reserve are available at www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/599178.
DVD: India workshop on marine reserves
Proceedings from an October 2007 workshop on fisheries and marine reserves in India are available on DVD. Organized by Greenpeace India, the workshop convened fishermen, scientists, conservationists, and MPA practitioners to discuss the role of MPAs in marine resource conservation, and how participants could work together to achieve common goals. The DVD contains Powerpoint presentations from the workshop, audio recordings, short films, and a declaration signed by participants in English, Hindi, and other coastal languages. For more information or to order the DVD, e-mail Sanjiv Gopal, oceans campaign manager for Greenpeace India, at sgopal@dialb.greenpeace.org.
Proceedings: Mediterranean MPA conference
Presentations from the 1st Conference of the Network of Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean (MedPAN), held at Port-Cros National Park in France in October 2007, are available online at www.medpan.org. The meeting’s 110 delegates signed the “Port-Cros Declaration”, which called for more action to create a coherent, representative, and effectively managed network of MPAs in the Mediterranean Sea by 2012. MPAs currently cover 4% of the Mediterranean, according to WWF.
Proceedings: UK conference on MPAs
A new report summarizes findings from an October 2007 conference to discuss the creation of a network of MPAs in the UK. The conference, Towards a Coherent Network of Marine Protected Areas, was sponsored by Natural England, the UK government’s statutory body on nature conservation in England. The 53-page report of the meeting is available in PDF format at http://naturalengland.communisis.com/naturalenglandshop/docs/NERR006.pdf.
Advisory committee recommends model for effective MPA management planning
The U.S. Federal Advisory Committee on Marine Protected Areas has recommended a brief framework to guide the development of plans for effective MPA management. The model is summarized in the committee’s latest recommendations, released in November 2007 and available at www.mpa.gov/pdf/fac/fac_recommend2noaadoi_nov07.pdf. The document also includes a recommended process for determining which existing MPAs in the U.S. should constitute a forthcoming national system of MPAs. For a complete list of the Committee’s products since 2003, go to www.mpa.gov/mpafac/fac.html.