UNEP/GRID-Arendal’s Blue Carbon Photography Contest

Grassroots organizations involved in coastal and marine conservation are invited to participate in UNEP/GRID-Arendal’s Blue Carbon Photography Contest. Selected photographs are intended for use in a special publication for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa (COP17), and for an online image resource - the Blue Carbon Photography Library.


The theme of the contest “Life on the coasts - Blue Carbon” focuses on the importance of a healthy marine environment in coastal livelihoods.

We are looking for iconic images in two categories – People & the Environment, and Coastal & Marine Ecosystems. Examples include coastal and underwater scenes, community based restoration and conservation projects, our connection to healthy coastal ecosystems (e.g. fisheries, tourism), and how a changing ocean and climate impact the daily life of people and communities living along the coast.

As long as there is a clear affiliation with a grassroots organization, all professional and non-professional photographers worldwide are welcome to submit. Organization logos will also be highlighted in the special publication. Blue Climate Solutions has offered a digital underwater camera as a prize for the best image. Additional sponsors are welcome.

**To SUBMIT your images, please see the Competition Rules and send all submissions to: photocontest@grida.no

**The DEADLINE for submitting pictures to UNEP/GRID-Arendal is SEPTEMBER 30, 2011. Finalists will be announced in October 2011.

Personal Release forms are required for all images that include recognizable subjects and children (see Competition Rules).

After reviewing the following Competition Rules, you will be fully prepared to enter the contest.

Contest information and rules can be found at: http://www.grida.no/marine/activities/blue-carbon-photo-contest.aspx?id=4808

Best of luck to all!
Steven Lutz
UNEP/GRID-Arendal
Arendal, Norway
Email: photocontest@grida.no

UNEP/GRID-Arendal is a non-profit, administratively independent institution and an official collaborating centre of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). It was established in 1989 by the Norwegian Ministry of Environment to support UN’s Environment Programme and other UN agencies. Its mission is to communicate environmental information to policy-makers and facilitate environmental decision-making for change.



Suzanne Garrett
DCMC Coordinator
IUCN
1630 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20009
202.518.2072

Refuge System Sets Goals for Next Decade

Friends of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument
to Join 1,200 at One of Nation’s
Largest Gatherings of Conservationists

Representing Friends of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument (FOMTM) Ignacio V. “Ike” Cabrera, Chairman and Laurie Peterka, Secretary, will be among 1,200 professionals and citizen conservationists who will hear from Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, retired U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, who headed the federal response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and historian/author Douglas Brinkley at the National Wildlife Refuge System Conserving the Future conference in Madison, WI. The conference will be held July 11-14, when a new vision will be ratified to guide the Refuge System for the next decade.

The conference – one of the nation’s largest gatherings of conservationists — is the culmination of a months-long, highly transparent process to create a reinvigorated vision for the Refuge System. Over the past six months, Americans submitted more than 10,000 comments to the draft vision, posted online at http://americaswildlife.org, where more information about the vision and the conference is available.

Speakers will also include noted oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle; award-winning nature photographer Dewitt Jones who traveled the globe for National Geographic; MacArthur-winning environmental activist Majora Carter of the Bronx, New York; and Juan Martinez of Los Angeles, with the nonprofit Children & Nature Network and named by National Geographic as one of its Emerging Explorers.

FOMTM was among more than 100 nonprofit Refuge System Friends organizations at the conference. FOMTM formed in the Spring of 2008 to express the voice of the local community and consists of a cross-section of indigenous and resident people of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands who are dedicated to the conservation, preservation and protection of flora, fauna and geological features of the oceans; and the proper management of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument. The organization was a recipient of a 2009 EPA Environmental Award for their community outreach work supporting marine protected areas. Currently, FOMTM follows and reports on progress of the steps outlined in the 2008 declaration.

The Refuge System, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is the nation’s largest network of federal lands and waters dedicated to the protection of wildlife and the habitat on which it depends. The Refuge System is composed of 553 national wildlife refuges spanning about 150 million acres. More than 44 million people visit wildlife refuges each year.

The new vision will help the Refuge System implement the best wildlife conservation practices guided by the latest science. The Refuge System’s new vision recognizes the rapid social and environmental changes that have taken place over the last decade or so.

One idea slated for discussion: to establish an interagency team to improve habitat conservation and the conservation literacy of America, especially among the young.

FOMTM is attending the NWR conference to network with like-minded professionals and volunteers in order to bring whatever resources it can back to the local community. Any particular programs that may be launched as a consequence of participation will be announced at http://marianamonument.blogspot.com/, where you can also follow all other activities that FOMTM is involved on behalf of the community.

The Conserving the Future conference will also showcase a modern face of the federal government: Many conference proceedings will be live-streamed. Texting, mobile communications and social networking will all play essential communications roles.

The Refuge System will offset carbon emissions tied to conference travel with contributions to The Conservation Fund’s Go Zero program.

World Oceans Day - How will you celebrate?

How about becoming an Ocean Hero?

Be an Ocean Hero This Summer!

World Oceans Day, June 8, is a day for celebrating the oceans' beauty and bounty. This summer, do more than just celebrate. Be an ocean hero.

CLICK HERE: Bing an ocean hero is easy – just pledge to recycle, clean up or eat sustainable seafood this summer.

Saipan: Opportunit​y to Visit NOAA Research Ship

An opportunity has arisen to visit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) research ship (the Hi'ialakai) on Thursday of this week (the 28th).

The Hawaii based vessel has been conducting research around the Marianas (including the northern islands) over the last month with both off-island and local scientists. The ship will be returning to Saipan this Wednesday and is offering students and the general public an opportunity to tour the ship and talk with the scientists conducting the research.

If you are interested in coming out please either email Aric Bickel or Ranger Nancy Kelchner at American Memorial Park to reserve your spot, as there are only so many people the boat can handle. Visitation hours on Thursday for students are between 12 and 2:00pm and between 3 and 4:00pm for the general public. Those coming out (and others interested) are asked to visit the vessels website http://noaacred.blogspot.com/  to familiarize themselves with the work being done and get an idea of which scientists they would like the speak with/what questions they would like to ask.

This is a great opportunity to get a first hand look at some of the research that is being done at the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument. Feel free to contact Aric with your questions!

Planning Begins for Management of the Marianas Trench and Pacific Remote Islands

Federal officials from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the NOAA Fisheries Service are soliciting information, ideas, suggestions and concerns related to the development of management plans for the Marianas Trench and Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monuments. These management plans will guide management of these two unique marine national monuments for the next 15 years.

 

The Marianas Trench Marine National Monument in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the Pacific Remote Islands National Monument were created in January 2009 by President George W. Bush under the authority of the Antiquities Act of 1906. Together, the two monuments include more than 182,000 square miles of ocean, coral reefs, submerged lands, islands and atolls and represent some of the most remote and pristine marine areas on Earth.

 

The Marianas Trench Marine National Monument consists of 95,216 square miles within three units: the Marianas Trench Unit, which is 1,100 miles long, 44 miles wide and includes only the submerged lands; the Volcanic Unit, which consists of circles (1 nautical mile radius) around 21 undersea mud volcanoes and thermal vents along the Mariana Arc and again, includes only the submerged lands; and the Islands Unit, which includes only the waters and submerged lands of the three northernmost Mariana Islands: Farallon de Pajaros or Uracas, Maug, and Asuncion. The Marianas Trench Unit and the Volcanic Unit are also managed as units of the National Wildlife Refuge System.

 

The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument spans 86,888 square miles and also incorporates seven national wildlife refuges: Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Palmyra Atoll and Wake Atoll.

 

Public comments will be accepted until July 31, 2011. [Emphasis Added] Opportunities for additional public input will be announced throughout the planning process and public meetings may be scheduled [Emphasis Added] to help share information and obtain comments. Once draft plans are completed they will be released for additional public review and comment before being finalized. The plans will be revised every 15 years and will be reviewed annually.

 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration are cooperating in the development of the plans and will carry out their designated management roles under their respective authorities.

 

While other topics will likely be identified during public scoping, the following are among the preliminary issues that may be addressed during the development of draft management plans:

• Climate change impacts and adaptation
• Marine debris impacts and removal
• Invasive species prevention and control
• Other potential threats to the ecosystem (e.g. trespass; illegal fishing and shipwrecks, groundings and spills)
• Emergency response to natural and manmade disasters and natural resources damage assessments
• Habitat conservation and restoration
• Historic and cultural resources
• Public education and outreach
• Scientific exploration and research opportunities
• Developing an appropriate permitting program for activities within the monuments.

More information is included in two Notices of Intent to develop management plans published in the Federal Register on April 5, 2011.

 

For the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument, please send written comments or requests for more information by any of the following methods:

• Email: MTMNM@noaa.gov
• Fax: 808-973-2941
• Mail: Heidi Hirsh, NOAA Fisheries Service, 1601 Kapiolani Blvd., #1110, Honolulu, HI 96814

 

Additional information about the Monument and its two refuges is available at http://www.fws.gov/marianastrenchmarinemonument and http://www.fpir.noaa.gov/MNM/mnm_index.html

 

For the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, please send your written comments or requests for more information by any of the following methods:

• Email: Pacific_Reefs@fws.gov
• Fax: 808-792-9586
• Mail: Susan White, Project Leader, Pacific Reefs National Wildlife Refuge Complex, 300 Ala Moana Blvd., Room 5-231, Honolulu, HI 96850

 Additional information about the Monument and its seven refuge units is available at http://www.fws.gov/pacificremoteislandsmarinemonument and http://www.fpir.noaa.gov/MNM/mnm_index.html  

 

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov

 

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Visit us at http://www.noaa.gov or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/usnoaagov.

(PR - April 6, 2011: NMFS, NOAA, DOI, FWS)