Call for cooperation to contain damage by Chile's salmon farms
The proposed Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) (Nature 465, 525; 2010) should be part of a broader complementary system of scientific input. This would help to coordinate data that fall under the remit of multiple international environmental agencies and agreements. And it would minimize the risks of duplication in scientific review and reporting. A global consultation of scientists and others, coordinated by DesertNet International and the United Nations Institute for Water, Environment and Health (www.desertnet-international. org), has suggested that an equivalent intergovernmental science-policy panel for land and water issues is needed. Otherwise, important independent questions are likely to be absorbed by the scientific bodies that advise on climate change and biodiversity loss. Crucial matters may not receive the policy attention they deserve if solely addressed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the proposed IPBES. Examples are the impacts of trends in population growth and demographic bulges; food and energy insecurity; migration; and ‘land and water grabbing’ by wealthy foreign companies in developing nations. Lindsay C. Stringer School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK e-mail: l.stringer@leeds.ac.uk Call for cooperation to contain damage by Chile’s salmon farms
Gradual changes of benthic biodiversity in Comau fjord, Chilean Patagonia - Lateral observations over a decade of taxonomic research
Due to its huge extension and inaccessibility Chilean Patagonia for the longest time has been seen as a pristine region with never ending marine resources. But as a byproduct of the inaccessibility its ecosystems are still poorly known. During the last two decades, the aquaculture industry brought an unparalleled economic development to the area and the number of small-scale fishermen who go for pelagic and demersal fish and shellfish multiplied. Since 2003, we have been studying the benthic biodiversity of the Comau Fjord, Northern Patagonia. We have compared benthic photos that show large, long-living species down to 40 m depth on a key study site, which were taken in 2003 and again in 2013. Additionally we compared the decapod fauna which was inventoried in 2005/2006 and again in 2011. The analysis of photographs taken during the last ten years of taxonomic studies demonstrated an important decline in abundance in megabenthic species, throughout several taxa.
International EMS systems: New South Wales, Australia.
Australia has an area of 7,692,024 km 2 and a population of 19,169,083. The state of New South Wales (NSW) has an area of 801,428 square kilometres and a population of 6,663,700 (June 2002). It contributes 10% of the land area of Australia and 34% of the population. The length of the coastline is 2007 km with an east-west distance of 1450 km (Fig. 1). Approximately 90% of the NSW population resides within 100 km of the coast. The population density is greatest in the Greater Metropolitan Region around Sydney, an area of 1580 square km, population of 4,154,722. Only 0.6% live in regions classified as remote or very remote (based upon distance to regional townships). The climate is generally mild, although temperature extremes range from � /20 8C (Charlotte’s Pass) to 50 8C (far Western NSW). The highest point is 2228 m at Mt. Kosciuszko. However, most of NSW is below 500 m in altitude.