Topic: papua new guinea

Report Finds 85% of Reefs in the Coral Triangle Are Threatened - Now Available in Bahasa Indonesian

Lauren Zelin — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:35:32 -0400

“Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle” maps threats to reefs in Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste

The report Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle, released at the 12th International Coral Reef Symposium this past July is now available in Bahasa Indonesian. The report finds that more than 85 percent of reefs in the Coral Triangle are directly threatened by local human activities, substantially more than the global average of 60 percent. Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle shows that the greatest local threats to reefs in the countries that make up the Coral Triangle are overfishing, watershed-based pollution, and coastal development. When these threats are combined with recent coral bleaching, prompted by rising ocean temperatures, the percent of reefs rated as threatened increases to more than 90 percent across the Coral Triangle region.

Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle was developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) in close collaboration with the USAID Coral Triangle Support Partnership (CTSP), a consortium of WWF, The Nature Conservancy, and Conservation International that assists the six Coral Triangle governments in implementing their regional and national Coral Triangle Initiative plans of action. This report was adapted from WRI’s landmark 2011 global analysis of threats to coral reefs, Reefs at Risk Revisited, supplemented with more recent and detailed data for the Coral Triangle region.

Indonesia is home to 16% of the world’s coral reefs (second only to Australia in total reef area) and the highest reef-associated population in the world, with nearly 60 million people living on the coast near coral reefs. The bahasa Indonesia edition of this report is intended to inform local and national decision-makers of the status of the country’s and region’s coral reefs and support coastal management activities in Indonesia.

To read the full report in Bahasa Indonesian click here: Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle

85% Terumbu Karang di Coral Triangle Tergolong “Terancam”

Lauren Zelin — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:44:56 -0400

Laporan lengkap sekarang tersedia dalam Bahasa Indonesia.

“Terumbu Karang yang Terancam di Coral Triangle” memetakan tingkat ancaman terhadap terumbu karang di Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua Nugini, Filipina, Kepulauan Solomon, dan Timor-Leste.

Laporan Terumbu Karang yang Terancam di Coral Triangle (Kawasan Segitiga Terumbu Karang) kini tersedia dalam Bahasa Indonesia. Laporan ini dirilis pada bulan Juli lalu di acara Simposium Internasional Terumbu Karang ke 12. Laporan ini menemukan bahwa lebih dari 85 persen dari terumbu karang di Kawasan Segitiga Terumbu Karang (Coral Triangle) secara langsung terancam oleh aktivitas manusia, jauh melebihi rata-rata global yaitu 60 persen. Temuan laporan ini menunjukkan bahwa ancaman terbesar bagi terumbu karang di negara-negara kawasan Coral Triangle adalah penangkapan ikan yang berlebihan, polusi pada daerah aliran sungai, dan pembangunan kawasan pesisir. Ketika ancaman ini digabungkan dengan pemutihan terumbu karang (coral bleaching) yang didorong oleh kenaikan suhu laut, terumbu karang yang tergolong “terancam” meningkat menjadi 90%.

Laporan Terumbu “Terumbu Karang yang Terancam di Coral Triangle” dikembangkan oleh World Resources Institute (WRI) dan bekerjasama dengan Kemitraan Pendukung Segitiga Terumbu Karang USAID, sebuah konsorsium yang berisi WWF, The Nature Conservancy, dan Conservation International. Konsorsium ini membantu mengimplementasi rencana aksi enam negara yang membentuk Kawasan Segitiga Terumbu Karang. Laporan ini diadaptasi dari analisis WRI tahun 2011 tentang ancaman terhadap terumbu karang pada tingkat global, Reefs at Risk Revisited. Laporan ini dilengkapi dengan data terbaru dan lebih mendetil untuk wilayah Segitiga Terumbu Karang.

Indonesia adalah rumah bagi 16% dari terumbu karang dunia (kedua terbanyak setelah Australia) dan hampir 60 juta penduduk yang mata pencahariannya tergantung pada terumbu karang. Edisi Bahasa Indonesia dari laporan ini diharapkan dapat menginformasikan pembuat kebijakan baik di tingkat lokal maupun nasional mengenai keadaan terumbu karang di wilayah pesisir Indonesia.

Read the full report in bahasa Indonesian here: Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle

Coming Soon: Global Forest Watch 2.0

James Anderson — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 08:03:32 -0500

Welcome to the home of Global Forest Watch 2.0, a powerful near real-time forest monitoring system that unites satellite technology, data sharing, and human networks around the world to fight deforestation.

GFW 2.0 is currently under development, and will launch in late 2013.

Read more below, and email gfw2@wri.org to participate in the pilot testing period or be notified when GFW 2.0 launches. Please note that as we prepare for the launch, the original Global Forest Watch website has been redirected to this page.

Watch a Short Preview of Global Forest Watch 2.0 at the UN Forum on Forests 10, in Istanbul.

Watch the full version here

Speakers:

Zulkifli Hasan, Minister of Forestry, Indonesia
Kerri-Ann Jones, Assistant Secretary for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General, United Nations
Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson, Global Environment Facility
Tim Christophersen, Senior Program Officer, Forests and Climate Change, UNEP
Nigel Sizer, Director, Global Forests Initiative, World Resources Institute

Photo by David Gilbert

WHY FORESTS, WHY NOW?

Forests provide food jobs, raw materials, climate benefits and more. But without clear, up-to-date information, governments, companies and communities lack the tools to monitor and manage these resources.

We can track a company’s financial information daily, but information about forests is often years out of date.

Deforestation continues today in part because by the time satellite images are available, analyzed, and shared, the forest clearing is long done. The illegal loggers have moved on; cattle are already grazing amidst stumps; the oil palm plantation has been established. We simply find out too late.

New technologies can overcome these challenges

Fortunately, a convergence of technologies and human networks offers the ability to address these challenges for the first time:

Advances in satellite and remote sensing technology, including the launch of NASA’s Landsat 8 in early 2013, and new private systems, enable higher spatial resolution analysis and much more rapid updates of information. This has enabled the development of near-real-time forest cover change detection.
Brazilian partner IMAZON, is making its Amazon Alert System available through GFW 2.0, and also the DETER system which is innovating in detection of forest degradation. Brazil has seen a remarkable drop in deforestation in the Amazon of almost 80 percent partly due to improved linked to more effective use of satellite imagery.
Cloud computing and open source software can now be used to rapidly process and interpret large volumes of satellite data at low cost by utilizing clusters of servers scattered around the world. Google Earth Engine’s team is partnered with Global Forest Watch 2.0 to optimize easy access to cloud computing-based forest cover information.
High speed internet connectivity enables sending data and forest maps processed in North America, Europe, or Singapore to laptops and mobile phones in Jakarta, Kinshasa, Lima, Vladivostok, and other corners of the globe.
Smartphones are more common than ever and can be used by anyone in the field to download maps and satellite images, as well as upload GPS coordinates and photographs from the ground.
Crowdsourcing using simple web interfaces can empower thousands if not millions of people to gather and share information, participate in forest monitoring, and hold decision-makers accountable. • Social media outlets are creating a flat, networked world in which information travels fast, communities self-organize, and people get mobilized.

ABOUT GLOBAL FOREST WATCH 2.0

These enhanced technologies and social movements are the foundation for Global Forest Watch 2.0. GFW 2.0 will unite a near-real-time deforestation alert system, complementary satellite imagery and monitoring systems, WRI’s data-rich collection of maps, mobile technology, and a networked world to create never-before-possible transparency for faraway forests.

The platform is currently under development, and will be launched in late 2013.

This powerful new platform will enable responsible companies, NGOs, the media, and progressive government leaders to hold those responsible accountable for forest management.

GFW 2.0 can be useful to multiple groups of users involved with the sustainable management of forests:

Buyers of sustainable commodities. GFW 2.0 will enable buyers of sustainably sourced commodities―such as certified timber, palm oil, soya, and beef―to confirm adherence to or violations of supplier commitments to “no deforestation,” “no clearing of high conservation value forest,” and related criteria.
Suppliers of sustainable commodities. GFW 2.0 will help suppliers of sustainable commodities prove to buyers, investors, governments, and NGOs that their commodities are adhering to best forest management practices, national laws, criteria of the relevant commodity roundtables, or investor lending conditions.
Governments. GFW 2.0 is designed to help progressive elements in governments better enforce sustainable forest management and forest protection laws. GFW 2.0 is also designed to be a trusted, independent, and user-friendly way to help investors in REDD+ and other forest conservation projects monitor performance and hold countries accountable to their commitments on greenhouse gas emission reductions and forest conservation.
Conservation and community organizations. GFW 2.0 will enable NGOs dedicated to forest conservation, indigenous rights, and forest communities to identify deforestation hotspots as they arise and quickly mobilize action to curtail further clearing.
The media. GFW 2.0 will enable local, national, and international media to ring the alarm bell on deforestation hotspots around the globe at a pace never-before-possible, and thereby put pressure on governments, companies, and others to curtail forest conversion and illegal logging in time

Applying new technology

GFW 2.0 combines satellites, new algorithms, cloud computing, mobile phone technologies, and WRI databases to connect images, maps, photos, and data with forest clearing alerts ultimately within two weeks of significant deforestation occurring.

Because GFW 2.0 will be powered by Google Earth Engine and Earth Builder, it will bring to target users a seamless experience of the best technology offered by WRI, Google, and their partners, as Bloomberg does for the world’s vast, complex array of financial information.

Mobilizing human networks

GFW 2.0 will mobilize networks of people to ensure sustainable management of forests and greater forest conservation. Global Forest Watch “anchor” NGOs in each priority country or region, will actively use and contribute content in an open-source, network model.

These groups will include ScanEx and its non-profit affiliate Transparent World in Russia, Imazon in Brazil and their Amazon-wide network of partners across the seven neighboring countries, the Observatoire Satellital des Forêts d’Afrique Centrale (OSFAC) which covers the Central Africa region. More partners in Canada, China, Europe, and the United States are joining every day.

Watch a Sneak Peek of GFW 2.0 presented at Rio+20

Video streaming by Ustream

Speakers:

Carlos Souza Jr., Senior Researcher, IMAZON
Charles Barber, Forest Division Chief, Bureau of Oceans, Environment and Science, U.S. Department of State
Rebecca Moore, Google
Nigel Sizer, Director, Global Forest Initiative, World Resources Institute

Watch UNEP’s press conference featuring GFW 2.0 at COP18 in Doha

Speakers:

Mr. Heru Prasetyo, Deputy I, Presidential Delivery Unit on Development Monitoring and Oversight, Government of Indonesia
Tim Christophersen, Senior Programme Officer, Forests and Climate Change, UNEP
Jane Feehan, Natural Resources Specialist, European Investment Bank
Nigel Sizer, Director, Global Forest Initiative, World Resources Institute

Watch a Sneak Peek of Global Forest Watch 2.0 at the U.S. Pavilion, COP18 in Doha

Video streaming by Ustream

Speakers:

Nigel Sizer, Director, Forests Initiative, World Resources Institute
Nirarta “Koni” Samadhi, Head of REDD+ Task Force Working Group on Moratorium Monitoring, Presidential Work Unit on Monitoring and Development Oversight (UKP4), Government of Indonesia
Per Fredrik Ilsaas Pharo, Director, International Climate and Forest Initiative, Norwegian Ministry of the Environment, Government of Norway
Tim Christophersen, Senior Program Officer, Forests and Climate Change, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Read more about WRI’s forest work here.

RELEASE: 85 Percent of Reefs in the Coral Triangle Are Threatened, New Report Finds

Lauren Zelin — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 18:17:43 -0400

“Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle” maps threats to reefs in Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste

A new report finds that more than 85 percent of reefs in the Coral Triangle are directly threatened by local human activities, substantially more than the global average of 60 percent. Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle shows that the greatest local threats to reefs in the countries that make up the Coral Triangle —Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste—are overfishing, watershed-based pollution, and coastal development. When these threats are combined with recent coral bleaching, prompted by rising ocean temperatures, the percent of reefs rated as threatened increases to more than 90 percent.

Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle was developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) in close collaboration with the USAID Coral Triangle Support Partnership (CTSP), a consortium of WWF, The Nature Conservancy, and Conservation International that assists the six Coral Triangle governments in implementing their regional and national Coral Triangle Initiative plans of action. The report was released at the 12th International Coral Reef Symposium in Cairns, Australia.

“Across the Coral Triangle region, coastal communities depend on coral reefs for food, livelihoods, and protection from waves during storms, but the threats to reefs in this region are incredibly high,” said Lauretta Burke, senior associate at WRI and a lead author of the report. “Reefs are resilient—they can recover from coral bleaching and other impacts—particularly if other threats are low. The benefits reefs provide are at risk, which is why concerted action to mitigate threats to reefs across the Coral Triangle region is so important.”

The Coral Triangle features immense biodiversity–it contains nearly 30 percent of the world’s coral reefs and more than 3,000 species of fish—twice the number found anywhere else in the world. More than 130 million people living in the region rely on reef ecosystems for food, employment, and revenue from tourism.

“The influence of coral reefs on the most important aspects of people’s lives cannot be overstated,” emphasized Katie Reytar, research associate at WRI and a lead author. “The influence extends far beyond the Coral Triangle to people around the world who benefit from the fisheries, tourism, medicines, and numerous other services that reefs provide.”

The report calls attention to the vulnerability of coral reefs in the Coral Triangle and factors leading to degradation and loss. The report shows that:
* On the list of countries most vulnerable to social and economic impacts from the loss of coral reef services such as food, employment, and shoreline protection, five of the six Coral Triangle countries topped the list;
* An assessment of the existing coverage and management effectiveness of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Coral Triangle found that 16 percent of the region’s coral reefs are inside MPAs, which is substantially lower than the global average of 28 percent;
* Less than one percent of MPAs in the Coral Triangle were found to be fully effective at reducing threats such as overfishing and destructive fishing.

Alan White, a contributing author to this report and senior scientist at The Nature Conservancy and partner in CTSP, noted that “while there is still room for improvement in increasing the effectiveness of MPAs, especially large MPAs that require significant resources to manage, a lot of progress has been made in building up awareness about reef protection at the local level and in providing communities with the tools and resources to manage the reefs that they depend on.”

Considered the center of coral diversity in the world, Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle illustrates the vulnerability of the region’s reefs and highlights strategies to protect them. Among the many recommendations offered in the report for protecting reefs in the Coral Triangle, the most urgent is to reduce local pressures such as overfishing, destructive fishing, and run-off from land.

“Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle is an important contribution for supporting the six Coral Triangle countries in making critical decisions related to protecting their marine resources,” said Maurice Knight, a contributing author and Team Leader for CTSP. “The region-wide perspective on the status of coral reefs as depicted in this report demonstrates the urgency of the situation and the need for immediate action.”

Healthy reefs are more likely to survive the negative effects of climate change, such as coral bleaching caused by higher ocean temperatures or reduced coral growth rates due to increased ocean acidity. Tackling the local threats first will buy reefs time until the global community can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle report will inform the activities of the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF), a multilateral partnership formed in 2009 by the six countries of the Coral Triangle to promote sustainable fishing, improve MPA management, strengthen climate change adaptation, and protect threatened species in the region.

The new report was adapted from WRI’s landmark 2011 global analysis of threats to coral reefs, Reefs at Risk Revisited, supplemented with more recent and detailed data for the Coral Triangle region.

To download the Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle report visit: http://www.wri.org/publication/reefs-at-risk-revisited-coral-triangle. To watch WRI’s new video “Polyps in Peril!” featuring Celine Cousteau with animation by Jim Toomey visit: www.wri.org/polypsinperil.

Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle

Sarah Parsons — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 10:53:54 -0400

Summary: Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle

Download the 2011 global analysis of threats to coral reefs, Reefs at Risk Revisited

The World Resources Institute produced the report in close collaboration with the USAID-funded Coral Triangle Support Partnership (CTSP). Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle was adapted from WRI’s 2011 global analysis of threats to coral reefs, Reefs at Risk Revisited, and supplemented with more recent and detailed data for the Coral Triangle region.

Threats to coral reefs in the Coral Triangle are much higher than the global average. More than 85 percent of reefs within the Coral Triangle Region are currently threatened by local stressors (such as overfishing, pollution, and coastal development), which is substantially higher than the global average of 60 percent. Nearly 45 percent are at high or very high threat levels. When the influence of recent thermal stress and coral bleaching is combined with these local threats, the percent of reefs rated as threatened increases to more than 90 percent, which is substantially greater than the global average of 75 percent.

Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle studies current and future threats to the Coral Triangle’s reefs, evaluates social and economic vulnerability to reef degradation and loss throughout the six countries, examines reef management initiatives, and identifies solutions to help safeguard reefs.