WWF Celebrates 10 Years of Building NGO Capacity in the Mediterranean

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Press ReleaseComunicato / Not for distribution before 08:00 GMT onFor immediate release - 20 21 September 28 Ottobre 2004
Press Release / For immediate release - 03 December 2004

WWF celebrates 10 years of building NGO capacity in the Mediterranean

Barcelona, Spain – WWF is celebrating the completion of 10 years of its capacity building programme – Across The Waters - in the Mediterranean region, today.

“Across The Waters has come a long way in the last 10 years. What started as a small grants scheme has now evolved into a complex and sophisticated programme tackling the capacity building needs of environmental organizations in the region,"said Christoph Stein, Head of the Capacity Building Programme of the WWF Mediterranean office.
Between 1994 and 2004, Across The Waters has supported over 120 environmental organizations and trained over 400 individuals, through its grants, schools, exchanges, and leadership programme. It has contributed to the achievement of concrete conservation results such as the protection of the Velebit forests in Croatia, shark protection in Malta, and the banning of driftnets in the Mediterranean. Some more concrete information.

Such a success is also due to the envisioned, generous, and constant support of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Regional Government of Catalonia, who believed in Across the Waters at a time when capacity building was not such a familiar and universally appreciated concept as it is now.

Across The Waters now focuses on providing opportunities for growth for NGOs in the Balkans and the Maghreb in a drive to reach younger organizations and the new generation of individuals engaging in nature conservation.

Further information:
Christoph Stein

Head of Programme

Across The Waters, WWF Mediterranean

e-mail:

WWF Cork Oak Landscapes Programme

North Africa CoCoordinator, Ali Aghnaj

WWF Cork Oak Landscapes Programme

Saving the Mediterranean cork forests

Extending over about 2.7 million hectares in Portugal, Spain, Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Tunisia and France, the Mediterranean cork oak forests contribute to more than 90 % of the World cork production. In addition to provide a source of income for more than 100,000 people in the region, the cork ecosystems support a rich variety of wildlife, including endangered species. But over the last decade, damaging policies, poor forest management and changing markets have resulted in the degradation and loss of these unique habitats, sometimes at an alarming rate.

WWF is developing a new programme to tackle the situation.

A unique balance of environmental and economical values

A rich variety of wildlife

Cork oak habitats provide an incredibly diversified mixture of woodlands, pastures, scrubs … which contribute to the survival of many species, sometimes endangered :

Iberian lynx, the world's rarest and most endangered cat, reduced to about 150 individuals (Spain, Portugal) ;

Iberian imperial eagle one of the most endangered birds of prey in the world, with just 150 pairs remaining in the wild (Spain, Portugal) ;

Barbary ape Any data (Morocco) ;

Barbary deer, with numbers thought to be below 200 (at the border between Tunisia and Algeria).

A source of income

Through an integrated mix of agriculture, forestry and pastures called “montado” in Portugal and “dehesa” in Spain, people benefit from the natural resources around them, without depleting or destroying them :

cork extraction and processing ;

livestock ;

fungi, acorns, berries, honey, medicinal and aromatic plants collection ;

milk, cheese, ham productions …

contribute to local and national economies, sometimes as the main source of income.

Key ecological functions

Well managed cork oak forests allow :

soils conservation to explain why ;

water table recharge and run-off control, through the forest cycle and thanks to the tree roots ;

better forests resistance to fire and desertification thanks to regular clearing.

A natural and human balance under threat

Only one quarter of the original 3 million hectares of North African cork oak forest remains today and South-western Iberia suffered a huge loss of cork-oak forest in the mid-20th century.

Increasing human pressure and lack of management in North Africa

Population settlements in cork areas are increasing. Overgrazing, illegal logging, firewood collection, clearance for cultivation, hunting… put the natural resources under strong pressure.

Cork forests are suffering from a lack of sustainable management.

Cork trees quality and resilience are affected by a loss in harvesting skills.

Land abandonment and inappropriate subsidies in Iberia

Subsidies granted over the last 50 years have led to intensive land uses or conversion of cork to eucalyptus plantations for the paper industry.

Though EU subsidies have funded over 240,000 new ha of cork oaks in Portugal and Spain, faster and intensive cork collection keep degrading cork oak landscapes and preventing good regeneration.

Climate change and forest fires

Degraded and converted forests are more vulnerable to fires. Add data

Exotic plantations have also increased large scale fire risk appearance. Add data

Fires are often deliberately started to provide land for grazing or agriculture or development.

Changing markets

Cork stoppers provide the highest share of the cork economy, amounting to 80% in value. Increasing replacement by plastic stoppers, for example, may cause a decline in the value of cork-oak forest, often resulting in land conversion.

A complex set of other threats also include bad water management, infrastructure and urban development, lack of policy implementation and management for protected areas, lack of awareness in public institutions and civil society on the ecological and economic values of cork forests…

Without a continued demand, cork landscapes will lose their economic value, putting nature and people in danger.

WWF launches a programme to protect, restore and manage the natural wealth of cork oak landscapes

According to WWF recent studies the survival of cork oak landscapes today is crucial. The programme will first focus the Kroumirie Mogod region in North West Tunisia, Oued Laou River basin in the Rif, North of Morocco, Southern Spain and Portugal.

Approach

The WWF cork oak landscapes programme relies on :

policy and advocacy work to support the conservation of cork oak forests ;

field work with locals, managers, owners … to develop management plans and activities for the sustainable production and processing of cork and related non timber forest products ;

market support to maintain or increase the market demand for cork products.

To check the order

Strategy

Network and capacity building

The aim is to promote cooperation and increase awareness on the different issues affecting the cork landscapes : management and harvesting practices, policies, market opportunities, etc., through :

training courses and toolkits, on good practices and policy ;

a newsletter for partners in the programme ;

an online resource and information centre (synergies will be sought with other existing databases and online resource centres) ;

an exchange programme, to facilitate exchange of know-how and skills on restoration and good harvesting techniques, sustainable use of non timber forest products, sharing lessons, establishment of partnerships…

Good practices

WWF will address issues such as ecological restoration, co-management, access rights to nature resources, etc., through :

pilot projects, in Tunisia, Morocco, Southern Portugal and Spain ;

promotion of good management and restoration practices based on existing initiatives such as the FSC certification standards.

Markets support

WWF will contribute to ensure long-term viability of the cork oak economy, through :

support for the various forest products and services ;

communications activities addressing address key targets and aiming to support or reverse trends, increase public awareness on the issue ...

Policy and Advocacy

Where Government policies and laws conflict or have a negative impact on cork landscapes, WWF will advocate for changes in the legislation. This will include :

In North Africa : proposals to improve national policies and funding mechanisms enabling community-based management .

In Spain and Portugal : lobbying the EU Common Agricultural Policy and Water Framework Directive, which currently offer damaging subsidies to landowners, and the national forestry policies which encourage fast growing non-native plantations, such as eucalyptus.

Support for certain markets can also be the best solutions for nature.

To achieve the success of the cork oak landscape programme, the efforts of all people involved are crucial at local and international levels, from local communities to decision makers, from forest managers to industry, from shepherds to consumers.

Contacts AL SUD L’IMPRONTA ECOLOGICA E’ PIU’ “SOSTENIBILE”

Ministero dell’Ambiente e WWF presentano il primo studio sull’impronta ecologica delle sei regioni dell’Obiettivo 1

Gli abitanti di Campania, Puglia, Basilicata, Sicilia, Calabria e Sardegna “pesano” meno sull’ambiente rispetto alle Regioni del Centro-Nord. Ma tra le regioni del Mezzogiorno, solo Basilicata e Sardegna vivono “entro i propri limiti”. E’ questo il primo, sommario risultato del calcolo dell’impronta ecologica delle Regioni dell’Obiettivo 1 realizzato dal Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e dal WWF Italia. L’impronta ecologica delle Regioni del Mezzogiorno (cioè quanto “pesano” sull’ambiente e le risorse naturali gli stili di vita degli abitanti raggruppati per regione) è pari a 3,5 ettari globali procapite. In pratica ogni abitante delle 5 regioni ha bisogno per vivere di 3,5 ettari di territorio bioproduttivo, a fronte di una disponibilità, nel nostro Paese, di 1,18 ettari globali a persona. Il primo studio sul calcolo dell’impronta ecologica delle Regioni, realizzato da ricercatori che operano all’interno del WWF e che hanno applicato il metodo messo a punto dal WWF a livello internazionale, e’ stato presentato oggi a Roma presso la sede del CNEL con gli interventi di Giovanni Brunelli, Direttore Divisione Fondi strutturali europei del Ministero dell’Ambiente, Gianfranco Bologna, Direttore Scientifico WWF, Mathis Wackernagel, l’originatore del metodo dell’impronta ecologica e Direttore del Global Footprint Network, e di Guglielmo Bilanzone, del Centro Ricerche Applicate per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile (CRAS). Sono inoltre intervenuti importanti studiosi quali Riccardo Valentini, dell’Università della Tuscia, presidente della Commissione italiana del CNR sul cambiamento globale e presidente del Comitato Scientifico internazionale della Convenzione sulla Desertificazione ed Antonio Navarra, illustre climatologo, senior scientist all’Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia.

La Regione con la minor impronta ecologica è la Sicilia, con 3,37 ettari globali procapite, seguita da Basilicata (3,41), Puglia (3,45) Campania (3,56) e Sardegna (3,66) e Calabria (3,69). L’Italia ha un’impronta ecologica di 3,8 ettari a persona, con un deficit ecologico di 2,66 ettari globali a persona. Da notare, scorporati per settore, gli alti consumi di energia della Sicilia (5.500 milioni di kWh per uso domestico per anno) a fronte degli appena 472 della Basilicata, e l’alto consumo di litri di benzina pro-capite della Sardegna: 28,11 al mese contro i 18,49 della Sicilia. Bassissima l’incidenza della raccolta differenziata dei rifiuti al Sud: con appena il 3,7% dei rifiuti raccolti separatamente, la Puglia è la regione più virtuosa tra le sei oggetto dello studio, seguita da Basilicata (2,25%) e Sicilia (1,90%). Calabria ultima con appena lo 0,68% degli scarti avviati al recupero.

Se le differenze tra le regioni in termini di “impronta” generale non sono rilevanti, diverso è il discorso legato al “calcolo del deficit ecologico”, cioè la differenza tra l’impronta ecologica e la disponibilità locale di superficie bioproduttiva. Le uniche regioni che potrebbero disporre delle risorse necessarie per soddisfare i propri consumi (anche per la bassa densità di popolazione) sono la Sardegna, che ha un surplus di disponibilità di quasi mezzo ettaro per abitante, e la Basilicata, con un valore superiore ai due ettari.

Per calcolare l’impronta ecologica di una nazione, di una città o di una singola famiglia, il punto di partenza è il calcolo dei consumi raggruppati in alimenti, trasporti, abitazioni, beni di consumo e servizi. Il calcolo dell’impronta ecologica ha lo scopo di fornire agli operatori politici uno strumento utile per orientare le scelte al fine di integrare la sostenibilità ambientale del governo del territorio. “Il calcolo dell’impronta ecologica può diventare una base molto importante per il lavoro operativo che è necessario svolgere nel nostro Paese per l’individuazione e la messa in atto di politiche di sviluppo sostenibile” ha dichiarato il Direttore Scientifico del WWF Italia, Gianfranco Bologna. “L’obiettivo deve essere quello di lavorare con i migliori strumenti a disposizione per il raggiungimento di uno sviluppo sociale ed ambientale più equo e meno insostenibile dell’attuale. L’impronta ecologica è uno strumento di straordinaria valenza educativa che offre una chiara idea del sovraconsumo di capitale naturale e della corrispondente pressione sulla capacità di carico di un Paese rispetto agli ecosistemi che ne supportano la popolazione”.

Pochi giorni fa il WWF ha presentato, in Italia e a livello internazionale, il Living Planet Report 2004, che consolida e conferma il trend fatto registrare dai precedenti rapporti: attualmente l’umanita’ consuma il 20% di risorse in piu’ rispetto alle capacita’ di rigenerazione del Pianeta, causando il declino del 40% delle popolazioni animali selvatiche. Il “sorpasso ecologico” tra impatto e capacita’ bioproduttive degli ecosistemi (“Ecological overshoot) e’ cominciato negli anni ’80, come ha sottolineato l’inventore del metodo dell’impronta ecologica, Mathis Wackernagel.

Informazioni:

Chantal MENARD – WWF Mediterranean, Rome

+39 06 844 97 417

Tuna overexploitation in the Mediterranean denounced from inside the tuna farming industry for the first time

Rome, Italy – A report[1] released today by a Spanish-based tuna-farming consulting company, ATRT– Advanced Tuna Ranching Technologies, denounces the unsustainability and illegality of a number of tuna fishing and fattening practices in the Mediterranean. The report confirms all the concerns previously raised by WWF about the mismanagement of this already highly overexploited stock which may lead soon to the commercial extinction of the species. The Conservation organisation urges the European Union to consider this report and to immediately stop urgently subsidising the tuna farm industry.

According to the ATRT report “…….report, from 2001 2002 to 2004 the production amount of farmed tuna farmed has increased from XXX 14,620 to XXX22,500 tonnes, leading to the overexploitation of the resource and oversaturation of the market. The authors also mention than With a The authors state that “overfishing and overfarming in 2003 has led the Japanese Sogo Soshas (multinationals) to stock of some a 14,500 tonnes stock of tuna fished and farmed in 2003 was still waiting to be sold in Japan waiting in the before this year fishing season even started, and while 17,000 some 28,000 more tons are are expected to be produced this year. Tr, these data are clearly showing how the fast growing tuna farming business is out of control. According to WWF …. Not sustainable

. Estimates say that the Japanese market cannot absorb more than 14,000 tons a year. This has led the average sale price for tuna on the Japanese market down by 60%”.

ATRT mentions that overfishing and overfarming have been partly encouraged by EU subsidies ($34 million since 1997 distributed to France, Greece, Italy and Spain) coupled with Japanese and Australian heavy investments in Spain, Turkey, Cyprus, Greece and Croatia. WWF has has already denounced loopholes in the EU legislation that allowing tuna farms to benefit from aquaculture subsidies whereas it should not be considered as aquaculture (wild tuna being caught and then fattened in farms). WWF is urging the EU to exclude the tuna farming sector from the subsidies given to aquaculture.

“It is the first time thatThough this report is coming from inside the the tuna industry, we consider its content is credible. Although produced by a party with vested interests in the sector, the exhaustive information contained in this report is highly reliable because of the quality of the evidence provided and the high level of the analysis developed. is being questioned from the inside. Unfortunately,T Unfortunately the data in the report confirms and give an even worsethe picture than the one that WWF has been documenting and denouncing since 2001”, said Paolo Guglielmi, Head of the Marine Unit at WWF Mediterranean Programme.

The comprehensive study made by ATRT uncovers a great deal of previously unreported information, pointing detailing illegal tuna farm practices of tuna fishing, shipping, processing and trading which violate the existing rules. Illegalities are common at each step of the tuna fishing and farming chain, in particular The main problem comes from tuna stocks production which escape from registration as they are landedit is directly shipped outside EU territoriesthe Mediterranean, to Far East countries. The fraud is estimated to XXX tons, against XXXX declared. This is far beyond the officially authorised quota of XXX per year.

Tthe main problem comes from tuna unreported tuna production which is directly shipped to Far East countries and escapes from registration duties in EU countries.

WWF urgently asks EU and ICCATs for the real-time monitoring of the catches by appointed independent observers on board in order to ensure that the quotas are respected. WWF also asks for an immediate moratorium on new tuna farming plans and the attribution of specific quotas of the total tuna catches for the tuna farms.

Mediterranean countries involved in tuna fishing and farming are: Algeria, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Libya, Malta, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey. Countries involved in Mediterranean tuna trading are: China, Japan, Korea and United states.

“We cannot let this industry grow in a uncontrolled manner when we know exactly where the problems come from., said Tony Long ..

For further information:

Chantal MénardAnne RémyChantal Ménard, Communications Department, WWF Mediterranean Programme Office,

tel : +39 06 844 97 424417

/42417 – cmenardcmenardaremy@wwfmedpo.org

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NOTES TO EDITORS:

ICCAT : International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas

Two monographic reports on tuna farming have been issued by WWF in 2002 and 2004.