International Waters Learning Exchange and Resource Network

Beijing - A new WWF study finds that many Yangtze River Basin lakes are shrinking dramatically and could dry up completely if measures aren’t taken to stem the impacts of climate change, increased industrialization, and urbanization along China’s longest river.

The module is aimed at persons working in water resources who wish to acquire specialist knowledge of international water law, especially as it relates to transboundary water challenges in the GWP regions.

In January 2011, the UNESCO-IHP - together with the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) and the World Bank - initiated a new project on "Groundwater Governance: A Global Framework for Country Action". For this three-year project, UNESCO jointly with the partners, is working closely with the Member States, the main actors in the management of groundwater resources. Under the responsibility of the UNESCO-IHP network, the Regional Consultation Workshops (RCW) are a fundamental component of the Groundwater Governance project.

FFA FISHERIES TRADE NEWS Volume 4: Issue 12 December 2011 By Amanda Hamilton, Liam Campling, Elizabeth Havice[1] CONTENTS  World Trade Organisation Outcomes from the Eighth WTO Ministerial Conference Samoa accepted by Ministers as a WTO member Preferential Trade Agreements PACPs and the EC hold informal EPA discussions Fisheries Management PNA Skipjack Purse Seine fishery is awarded MSC certification Negotiations continue for renewal of the US Treaty  PITIA expresses concerns over Southern Longline ...

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte, Jan 12 (PIA) –- Coral reef restoration project is a program of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) which started in 2005 and expected to end in 2020 aimed at rehabilitating existing ecotourism areas in the country.

Representatives from over 70 governments, as well as scientists and marine experts from around the world, will meet in Manila, the Philippines, from 23-27 January 2012, for the Global Conference on Land-Ocean Connections and the Intergovernmental Review of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment (GPA).

According to researchers from the University of Hawaii, ocean acidity levels in some regions have spiked more quickly in the last 200 years than in the preceding 21 thousand years.

Partner/Collaborator News The 5-week Training Programme (formerly the Training Programme on Regional Ocean Governance for Mediterranean and Eastern European Countries) was successfully organised in Malta for the seventh consecutive year in November-December 2011. read more

The FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department has just published FAO Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries. on the management of marine protected area and fisheriesThe document has been developed to provide information and guidance on the use of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the context of fisheries, looking specifically at fisheries features of MPAs as well as addressing the interface between fisheries management and biodiversity conservation and provide support for MPAs with multiple ...

The overall purpose of the Workshop is to contribute to a first preliminary draft of the SSF Guidelines and to provide recommendations for possible considerations and actions needed to promote and support the implementation of the SSF Guidelines. Furthermore, the workshop offers advice to the FAO Secretariat with regard to the road map and next steps in the SSF Guidelines development process and what additional actions may be required to ensure that ...