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Protection promise for Great Barrier Reef
Marine PollutionBulletin people and it is not reasonable to expect them to dig about in a report of this character to discover for themselves what are the recommendations, their order of priority and the justifications for them. The report has a page of summary of conclusions and recommendations, but this is rather like a fashionable Executive Summary and not a tabulated list of recommendations; it does not indicate relative priorities but gives page references to the point in the text where the relevant arguments are to be found. But the text of the report is emasculated by the convention of not mentioning any country by name (whether advanced or developing), except where the report would be meaningless without them. Nor is any individual investigator named, and so far as I can see, there is only one r e f e r e n c e - t o a paper published by FAO and written by a member of the Working Party. As a result, the report does not come alive
Arab Moves in Shipping The urgent need for Arab involvement in world shipping was stressed by Dr Fayez Badr, Chairman of the Oceanexpo Middle East Conference in Bahrain, in February. He said that in service activities such as shipping there was no reason why there should be less Arab involvement and competition than in other fields. He found it quite unacceptable that western companies have been reluctant to pass on knowledge or skills and have preferred to keep large profits for themselves. In fact "the Saudi National Shipping Company and the United Arab Shipping Company are leading the way in breaking into shipping markets. We hope the creation of the Islamic Shipowners' Association will provide the forum for co-ordinating a common strategy to surmount the restrictive practices indulged in by the developed world". Elsewhere in his speech, he said that the Arab communities are looking for the transfer of technology, not simply with the short-term aim of industrial development, but rather for overall self-sufficiency. At the company level, preference would be given to those organizations which guarantee that they can and will transfer knowledge, whether in the field of industry, agriculture, ports or shipping.
Turkey Faces 'Critical' Pollution Problems Turkey's historic Golden Horn and Bosphorus waterways are now so polluted that they present a major environmental hazard to Istanbul, according to a study carried out by the city's Technical University civil engineering department. The 8 km Golden Horn estuary, which leads into the Bosphorus, receives the untreated sewage of Istanbul's million inhabitants plus domestic waste, industrial 74
and is unconvincing. It is only in the annexes that one can find actual examples from which conclusions can be derived, where there is a description of actual problems in individually named countries, and of attempts to solve them; where individual scientists and advisors are freely named. It is clear that annexes must be read. Yet of the 14 of them only four are presented in the three languages, nine are English only and one in Spanish only! My conclusion is that this is a potentially very valuable report, spoilt by inadequate preparation and poor presentation. I am thankful I am not an administrator in charge of fisheries in a developing country, with only a working knowledge of English and no knowledge of French or Spanish. Yet such a man or woman is reasonably representative of the audience to which this report is addressed. H. A. C O L E
discharge, oil from ships, market refuse and other debris. Industries around it include a power station, furniture and textile factories, shipbuilders, food processors and slaughter houses. Researchers say the Golden Horn is now unable to sustain life and that the Bosphorus pollution is at a critical level. They also fear that the pollution in the strait of Bosphorus will affect the Marmara Sea which is connected by it to the Black Sea. The urgent environmental legislation needed to improve the situation has been postponed by the government every year since 1975 as Turkish industry cannot afford the technology needed to treat its waste. In addition, a plan to clean up the Golden Horn prepared by the Bosphorus Technical University in 1977 was also abandoned through lack of funds. However, an Organization for Pollution Control established by the government three years ago is now receiving support from the World Bank and is considering a number of proposals. Among these is a plan to discharge Istanbul's sewage in the Bosphorus and Marmara Sea at a depth of 50m where it would be carried out to the open Black Sea or the building of channels parallel to the Golden Horn to take its waste water and industrial effluent, again to be deposited deep in the Marmara Sea.
Protection Promise for Great Barrier Reef Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser has pledged that the entire Great Barrier Reef will become a marine park. At present only 2.4% of the 350 000 sq km site has been declared a national park. But in the opening address of the World Heritage Committee meeting in Sydney Malcolm Fraser said that extending the park to cover the whole site was not a question of "whether but when". The Reef was one of three new areas of Australia to be elected to the prestigious World Heritage List. The other two are the Kakadu National Park which provides a sanctuary for one-third of the country's bird species and
Volume 13/Number 3/March 1982
°
"Some storm last night!"
the Willandra Lakes region which is the country's richest fossil site. The Serengeti National Park in Tanzania was one of eight other regions around the world also added to the list for their outstanding natural and cultural value and their unique contribution to the heritage of all mankind.
Dumping Sewage Sludge off Ireland The European Commission is planning to submit a proposal on disposal of wastes at sea to the EEC Council of Ministers. This was announced in response to a question by Mr Cronin, an Irish Member of the European Parliament, about sewage sludge from Hamburg being dumped off the south-west Irish coast. Last April the German authorities, after consultation at the appropriate European level, licensed the Hamburg city council to discharge up to 31 000 tonnes per annum of sewage sludge in a specified zone 240 nautical miles off the Irish coast for two years. This is a limited operation and after April 1983 the sludge will be disposed of on land at a new plant which is under construction. The expensive shipping of sewage sludge to the Atlantic followed fears that the shallow North Sea is unable to receive any greater quantities of sludge than at present
without threatening the rich fish stocks. The Commission is looking into the whole question of dumping wastes at sea as a result.
Dutch Foul their own Seas The Dutch Minister of Transport claims that illegal dumping by shipping accounted for 72% of oil pollution in the North Sea in 1980. He said that the campaign against illegal dumping-washing out of tanks and emptying of s u m p s - w a s relatively ineffective, and that the Dutch were their own worst enemies: 16% of illegal dumpings were by Dutch vessels, 14% by Greek and 10% by British. 70°7o of this pollution came from cargo vessels, 26% from oil tankers and 4% from trawlers.
4 Year Spill Toll Figures Figures published recently show that 784 oil spills were reported in Nigeria from 1976 to 1978, totalling 56 148 750 gallons. A seminar paper from S.A. Awobajo of the Environmental Affairs Unit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation's Inspectorate also revealed that in the first five months of last year petroleum installations in Nigeria reported 121 spills totalling over 400 000 gallons. 75
Arab Moves in Shipping The urgent need for Arab involvement in world shipping was stressed by Dr Fayez Badr, Chairman of the Oceanexpo Middle East Conference in Bahrain, in February. He said that in service activities such as shipping there was no reason why there should be less Arab involvement and competition than in other fields. He found it quite unacceptable that western companies have been reluctant to pass on knowledge or skills and have preferred to keep large profits for themselves. In fact "the Saudi National Shipping Company and the United Arab Shipping Company are leading the way in breaking into shipping markets. We hope the creation of the Islamic Shipowners' Association will provide the forum for co-ordinating a common strategy to surmount the restrictive practices indulged in by the developed world". Elsewhere in his speech, he said that the Arab communities are looking for the transfer of technology, not simply with the short-term aim of industrial development, but rather for overall self-sufficiency. At the company level, preference would be given to those organizations which guarantee that they can and will transfer knowledge, whether in the field of industry, agriculture, ports or shipping.
Turkey Faces 'Critical' Pollution Problems Turkey's historic Golden Horn and Bosphorus waterways are now so polluted that they present a major environmental hazard to Istanbul, according to a study carried out by the city's Technical University civil engineering department. The 8 km Golden Horn estuary, which leads into the Bosphorus, receives the untreated sewage of Istanbul's million inhabitants plus domestic waste, industrial 74
and is unconvincing. It is only in the annexes that one can find actual examples from which conclusions can be derived, where there is a description of actual problems in individually named countries, and of attempts to solve them; where individual scientists and advisors are freely named. It is clear that annexes must be read. Yet of the 14 of them only four are presented in the three languages, nine are English only and one in Spanish only! My conclusion is that this is a potentially very valuable report, spoilt by inadequate preparation and poor presentation. I am thankful I am not an administrator in charge of fisheries in a developing country, with only a working knowledge of English and no knowledge of French or Spanish. Yet such a man or woman is reasonably representative of the audience to which this report is addressed. H. A. C O L E
discharge, oil from ships, market refuse and other debris. Industries around it include a power station, furniture and textile factories, shipbuilders, food processors and slaughter houses. Researchers say the Golden Horn is now unable to sustain life and that the Bosphorus pollution is at a critical level. They also fear that the pollution in the strait of Bosphorus will affect the Marmara Sea which is connected by it to the Black Sea. The urgent environmental legislation needed to improve the situation has been postponed by the government every year since 1975 as Turkish industry cannot afford the technology needed to treat its waste. In addition, a plan to clean up the Golden Horn prepared by the Bosphorus Technical University in 1977 was also abandoned through lack of funds. However, an Organization for Pollution Control established by the government three years ago is now receiving support from the World Bank and is considering a number of proposals. Among these is a plan to discharge Istanbul's sewage in the Bosphorus and Marmara Sea at a depth of 50m where it would be carried out to the open Black Sea or the building of channels parallel to the Golden Horn to take its waste water and industrial effluent, again to be deposited deep in the Marmara Sea.
Protection Promise for Great Barrier Reef Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser has pledged that the entire Great Barrier Reef will become a marine park. At present only 2.4% of the 350 000 sq km site has been declared a national park. But in the opening address of the World Heritage Committee meeting in Sydney Malcolm Fraser said that extending the park to cover the whole site was not a question of "whether but when". The Reef was one of three new areas of Australia to be elected to the prestigious World Heritage List. The other two are the Kakadu National Park which provides a sanctuary for one-third of the country's bird species and
Volume 13/Number 3/March 1982
°
"Some storm last night!"
the Willandra Lakes region which is the country's richest fossil site. The Serengeti National Park in Tanzania was one of eight other regions around the world also added to the list for their outstanding natural and cultural value and their unique contribution to the heritage of all mankind.
Dumping Sewage Sludge off Ireland The European Commission is planning to submit a proposal on disposal of wastes at sea to the EEC Council of Ministers. This was announced in response to a question by Mr Cronin, an Irish Member of the European Parliament, about sewage sludge from Hamburg being dumped off the south-west Irish coast. Last April the German authorities, after consultation at the appropriate European level, licensed the Hamburg city council to discharge up to 31 000 tonnes per annum of sewage sludge in a specified zone 240 nautical miles off the Irish coast for two years. This is a limited operation and after April 1983 the sludge will be disposed of on land at a new plant which is under construction. The expensive shipping of sewage sludge to the Atlantic followed fears that the shallow North Sea is unable to receive any greater quantities of sludge than at present
without threatening the rich fish stocks. The Commission is looking into the whole question of dumping wastes at sea as a result.
Dutch Foul their own Seas The Dutch Minister of Transport claims that illegal dumping by shipping accounted for 72% of oil pollution in the North Sea in 1980. He said that the campaign against illegal dumping-washing out of tanks and emptying of s u m p s - w a s relatively ineffective, and that the Dutch were their own worst enemies: 16% of illegal dumpings were by Dutch vessels, 14% by Greek and 10% by British. 70°7o of this pollution came from cargo vessels, 26% from oil tankers and 4% from trawlers.
4 Year Spill Toll Figures Figures published recently show that 784 oil spills were reported in Nigeria from 1976 to 1978, totalling 56 148 750 gallons. A seminar paper from S.A. Awobajo of the Environmental Affairs Unit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation's Inspectorate also revealed that in the first five months of last year petroleum installations in Nigeria reported 121 spills totalling over 400 000 gallons. 75