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Round-the-world news
Marine Pollution Bulletin
Nuclear Waste Controversy As the debate on the disposal of nuclear waste continues, an article in North Sea Monitor (No. 83.4) argues that storage of radioactive waste on land, where it can be monitored, is probably the best solution at present available. The report criticizes an article by Alan Preston, director of the British Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Fisheries Laboratory, published in UNEP's Siren (No. 21), which argued that dumping at sea might not be the worst option available from an environmental point of view. However, Preston says that Monitor does not refer to scientific research which shows that the sea might be the ecological system least affected by waste dumping. It backs the stance of author Louise Trussell whose article in the same issue of Siren argued that in fact scientific research has demonstrated that high degrees of local contamination will result from radioactive waste dumping in the sea.
IUCN Assembly The next General Assembly of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a gathering held every three years, will be convened in Madrid, Spain, this year from 5 to 15 November. Founded in 1948, IUCN now includes 57 State members, 121 ministries or other government agencies and 330 major national and international non-government organizations and groups--a total of 508 members in 114 countries. The Union, which works in close partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme and several other UN agencies, also advises the World Wildlife Fund in a technical capacity on its publicity campaigns and the selection and running of more than 3800 conservation field projects in 130 countries. For details of the Madrid Assembly, contact the IUCN Secretariat, World Conservation Centre, Avenue du Mont-Blanc, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland.
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Queen's Award for Environmental Firm A British firm which has advised the EEC about acid rain, carried out an environmental impact study for the Dutch Government, and prepared a master plan for tackling industrial waste in Kuwait has been awarded the Queen's Award for export achievement 1984. Environmental Resources Ltd of London has won recognition for these and other projects for which it has been employed as consultant.
Round-the-World News Britain A lucrative trade, which operates around the Scilly Isles, could upset the balance of marine nature if action is not taken, according to Mr Tam Dalyell, M.P. Thousands of sea urchins are collected each week, during the summer, for ornamental purposes, and there are growing fears that the trade will grow even larger. If sea urchins are removed from an area, there is nothing to eat the giant kelp. Last summer the kelp spread rapidly, upsetting the balance of the marine ecosystem around the islands.
Norway Following the introduction in October last year of a Pollution Control Act, the Norwegian Government is now planning additional legislation intended to make Environmental Impact Assessment of new offshore petroleum developments mandatory. The proposed new Petroleum Act would enable the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy to evaluate the environmental consequences of petroleum development in proposed new exploration areas before deciding whether to permit oil companies to move in. Areas likely to be the subject of such evaluations will probably include the zone north of latitude 62"N in the northern Skagerrak and those close to the Norwegian coastline.
Nuclear Waste Controversy As the debate on the disposal of nuclear waste continues, an article in North Sea Monitor (No. 83.4) argues that storage of radioactive waste on land, where it can be monitored, is probably the best solution at present available. The report criticizes an article by Alan Preston, director of the British Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Fisheries Laboratory, published in UNEP's Siren (No. 21), which argued that dumping at sea might not be the worst option available from an environmental point of view. However, Preston says that Monitor does not refer to scientific research which shows that the sea might be the ecological system least affected by waste dumping. It backs the stance of author Louise Trussell whose article in the same issue of Siren argued that in fact scientific research has demonstrated that high degrees of local contamination will result from radioactive waste dumping in the sea.
IUCN Assembly The next General Assembly of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a gathering held every three years, will be convened in Madrid, Spain, this year from 5 to 15 November. Founded in 1948, IUCN now includes 57 State members, 121 ministries or other government agencies and 330 major national and international non-government organizations and groups--a total of 508 members in 114 countries. The Union, which works in close partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme and several other UN agencies, also advises the World Wildlife Fund in a technical capacity on its publicity campaigns and the selection and running of more than 3800 conservation field projects in 130 countries. For details of the Madrid Assembly, contact the IUCN Secretariat, World Conservation Centre, Avenue du Mont-Blanc, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland.
206
Queen's Award for Environmental Firm A British firm which has advised the EEC about acid rain, carried out an environmental impact study for the Dutch Government, and prepared a master plan for tackling industrial waste in Kuwait has been awarded the Queen's Award for export achievement 1984. Environmental Resources Ltd of London has won recognition for these and other projects for which it has been employed as consultant.
Round-the-World News Britain A lucrative trade, which operates around the Scilly Isles, could upset the balance of marine nature if action is not taken, according to Mr Tam Dalyell, M.P. Thousands of sea urchins are collected each week, during the summer, for ornamental purposes, and there are growing fears that the trade will grow even larger. If sea urchins are removed from an area, there is nothing to eat the giant kelp. Last summer the kelp spread rapidly, upsetting the balance of the marine ecosystem around the islands.
Norway Following the introduction in October last year of a Pollution Control Act, the Norwegian Government is now planning additional legislation intended to make Environmental Impact Assessment of new offshore petroleum developments mandatory. The proposed new Petroleum Act would enable the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy to evaluate the environmental consequences of petroleum development in proposed new exploration areas before deciding whether to permit oil companies to move in. Areas likely to be the subject of such evaluations will probably include the zone north of latitude 62"N in the northern Skagerrak and those close to the Norwegian coastline.