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Environment and development in coastal regions and in small islands |
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Environment and development in coastal regions and in small islands |
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April 1997 - September 1997
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Environment and development in coastal regions and in small islands (CSI)
Co-operative actions were continued through a series of pilot projects on freshwater security in small islands, coastal cities and the urban environment, societal impacts from coastal erosion, coastal biodiversity maintenance and community-based approaches to coastal resources management. Assistance was provided through the Apia Office towards planning a groundwater recharge study in Kiribati and Tonga. In West Africa, a public awareness campaign was organized (May 1997) in Yeumbeul, Senegal, following a survey on groundwater quality and hygiene in this coastal town.
A contribution was made to the Indonesian component of the worldwide monitoring activity ‘Coral Check’ (June-August 1997). An exhibition on environmental awareness and a workshop on traditional market waste management and recycling was organized in Jakarta (4-8 June and August 1997, respectively). A newsletter for public information concerning integrated coastal management was launched in March 1997 and a ‘fishermen-to-fishermen’ news bulletin supported. In the Philippines, an environmental survey of the Ulugan Bay was carried out in collaboration with the University of the Philippines. An advanced training course for coastal zone assessment and zonation took place (September 1997) in collaboration with the UNESCO National Commission, Palawan Council for Sustainable Development and the city government of Puerto Princesa.
An international workshop on submarine archaeology and coastal management in the Mediterranean (Alexandria, 7-11 April) was organized through the Cairo Office. Attended by about 100 participants, the workshop developed an action plan to identify integrated solutions to the problems of coastline instability threatening the Qayet Bey Citadel and the Alexandria Lighthouse. In West Africa, through the Dakar Office and the newly established UNESCO Chair for integrated coastal management and sustainable development, a consultancy mission to Gambia on coastal erosion and protection of national heritage sites was carried out (4-8 August 1997). Coastal erosion monitoring was initiated near the coastal village of Yoff (Senegal) to protect its cultural and biological heritage sites. In East Africa, a public awareness campaign on local radio and television was finalized in Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania in co-operation with the Communication, Information and Informatics Sectors and IOC. The follow-up seminar for government officials, hotel owners and other stakeholders (Kenya, 23-25 June) was attended by over 200 participants. Consultancy missions (June-August 1997) to the Caribbean (Antigua, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) provided training and technical advice to local personnel on data gathering and control. A manual for stakeholders on the development of safe setbacks to avoid or minimize coastal erosion impacts was published as CSI Info 4.
In Panama, a workshop organized by CATHALAC on relations between health and climatological variabilities was attended by specialists from eight countries of North, Central and South America and the Caribbean (17-18 June 1997). Two manuscripts were published: 'Mangrove Ecosystem Studies in Latin America and Africa', with the contributions of some 60 scientists, and 'Manual of Fish Eggs and Larvae from Asian Mangrove Waters'.
Monitoring of ecosystem productivity is continuing with particular focus on upgrading measurements at sites in Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Bonaire (Netherlands Antilles) and Venezuela. In Haiti, the first phase of an initiative to evaluate, rehabilitate and properly manage the coastal environment and resources was completed and has resulted in a project proposal, submitted to the country’s officials (July 1997) and under discussion with funding sources.
Activities aimed at training and the dissemination of results of pilot projects continued. The first African Chair in integrated coastal management and sustainable development, established at the University of Cheikh Antia Diop (Dakar, Senegal), has completed its first semester. Fifteen students from Mauritania, Morocco and Senegal received basic and applied training through formal courses and field 'training-through-research'. The first Russian BSc. course in integrated coastal management was launched at an international seminar in St. Petersburg (29-30 May 1997), during which professors and practitioners discussed possible solutions to the challenges of providing a high-quality transdisciplinary education within existing university structures. A cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary compilation, entitled 'UNESCO on Coastal Regions and Small Islands', citing the relevant published works involving the participation of the Organization's diverse programmes during the period 1980-1995, was produced as CSI Info 2.
