Nature Trust Malta - News

Fri, Jan 13, 2012

Nature and photography merge to create a calendar

Nature Trust (Malta) has come up with a new initiative to involve all those that are interested in nature and photography. The Nature Photographer of the Year Competition will run throughout 2012 to mark the environment NGO’s 50^th anniversary. The competition is divided into four themes, one for every three months, with a view to creating a nature calendar for 2013.

Landscapes, flora, marine and fauna are the four themes that will characterise the calendar that Nature Trust will create at the end of the competition. Following the submission of photos for each theme, a jury will declare a winner and two runners-up. The winning photo of each theme will then go on to a final, for the Nature Photographer of the Year to be selected.

Photos must be submitted by those interested at the end of January, April, July and October. This can be done by sending an email to info@naturetrustmalta.org or by leaving a CD at the Wied Għollieqa Environment Centre (Car Park 1, University of Malta). Each entry will be at a fee of €0.50, which will go towards the printing costs of the calendar.

Vincent Attard, Nature Trust (Malta) President has encouraged all to participate and show the beauty of Malta’s natural environment: “This calendar will be promoted both locally and abroad, thanks to our partners, World Wildlife Fund (WWF).”

The overall winner of the competition will be declared during an award ceremony that will be held in December at the Xrobb l-Għaġin Nature Park and Sustainable Centre. Prizes will be given out to the Nature Photographer of the Year and to all the photographers whose pictures were chosen for the calendar.

Further information on the competition can be found on the Nature Trust (Malta) Facebook page.

Fri, Jan 13, 2012

Nature Trust supports introduction of Education for Sustainable Development

“The EkoSkola programme can be seen as the main vehicle of promoting ESD” – EkoSkola programme coordinator Paul Pace

Having analysed the National Curriculum Framework, which is currently open for consultation, environmental NGO Nature Trust (Malta) feels that the document boldly addresses a range of important issues. Among other things, the organisation commends the proposal to adopt cross-curricular themes, particularly the formal introduction of Education for Sustainable Development.

The NGO welcomes the fact that the National Curriculum Framework addresses issues such as the emphasis on the learner’s developmental process, the need for a smooth transition from one cycle to the other, the consideration of diversity as an educational opportunity and the integration of various stakeholders in the educational process.

Although the document outlines a basic curricular structure, principles and aims, it avoids prescription and encourages schools to tailor the framework to their specific realities. Nature Trust believes that this is conducive to an educational process that is more relevant (and hence motivating) to the learner.

Nature Trust is very active in environmental education as it strongly believes that education is the best tool to develop environmental responsibility. The organisation has been the representative of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) – an international NGO promoting sustainable development through environmental education – since 2002.

This opportunity paved the way for students attending schools in Malta to be able to do something for the environment while having the opportunity to receive the Green Flag award for their efforts. The FEE programmes run in Malta include Eco-Schools (EkoSkola), Young Reporters for the Environment and Learning about Forests.

Nature Trust feels that the introduction of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in the educational system is long overdue. In the light of cross-curricular themes being a relatively new concept in local curriculum development and syllabus design, the NGO is proposing the appointment of qualified coordinators to ensure that cross-curricular themes are properly addressed in school/college policies and learning programmes.

Because the organisation has experience in the promotion of Education for Sustainable Development through the EkoSkola programme, it would be able to provide training for ESD coordinators and continue to support teachers and schools in their efforts to promote ESD through the EkoSkola, Young Reporters for the Environment and Learning about Forests programmes.

EkoSkola programme coordinator Paul Pace said: “The EkoSkola programme can be seen as the main vehicle of promoting ESD. Over these last 10 years the EkoSkola programme distinguished itself in the seamless integration of ESD in schools. The programme has shown that certain targets of the National Curriculum Framework can be achieved.”

Aside from providing appropriate educational material, the introduction of ESD in the national curriculum involves a series of complementary actions aimed at making educational institutions sustainable. These actions can be gradually implemented based on the specific needs of the school/college. These actions include:

• the participation of students in decision-making fora
• a commitment to a change in lifestyle (particularly on an institutional level)
• having curriculum planning sessions to identify sustainable themes (at various levels: college, school, class, subject)
• having an ESD champion or organisation that monitors and supports ESD implementation
• pre/in-service teacher training on sustainable development issues and ESD.

The National Curriculum Framework also places great emphasis on hands-on and experiential learning. This is highly commendable. Experiential learning is intimately related to out-of-class activities that would include visits to sites of special educational interest and outdoor spaces.

In this regard, Nature Trust is proposing a revision of the current policy that restricts the number of out-of-class activities that teachers can plan for their class. In line with the learning experiences promoted in the National Curriculum Framework, teachers should be free to organise such activities as long as they are planned and visibly integrated in their Scheme of Work.

Fri, Jan 13, 2012

Mediterranean bluefin tuna needs more than half measures on traceability, says WWF

Nature Trust (Malta) is a World Wildlife Fund partner

Istanbul, Turkey – WWF is disappointed by the insufficiency of measures to improve traceability of bluefin tuna – and the management of Mediterranean swordfish – adopted today by ICCAT, the Atlantic tuna fisheries commission, and cautions that bolder and more complete steps are urgently required.

It was hoped that this year’s meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) would see countries adopt a comprehensive plan to protect Mediterranean swordfish, as well as take steps to ensure the full traceability of bluefin tuna from ocean to plate – but only half measures have been agreed.

WWF welcomes the bringing into force of an electronic catch documentation scheme for Mediterranean bluefin – obliging fleets, tugboats, tuna fattening farms and national authorities to log all catches digitally instead of the current highly imperfect paper-based system.

But without an improvement in the provision and accuracy of data on tuna being transferred into the many fish farms that line the Mediterranean – processing the majority of tuna caught in this sea – the measure falls far short of what is required.

“ICCAT’s new bluefin tuna electronic catch documentation scheme is an important and positive leap forwards in the monitoring of the fishery and protection of the species,” said Dr Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean.

“But no matter how comprehensive and functional this mechanism, WWF is concerned that the continued absence of data on quantity and size of bluefin tuna caged in fattening farms creates a black hole and provides an easy facility for the laundering of illegal, unregulated and unreported catches of Mediterranean bluefin tuna.”

WWF is calling for a thorough and reliable assessment of all fish transfers to tuna fattening farms across the Mediterranean – or, in the absence of this, for the banning of tuna farming altogether in the region.

On swordfish – another popular and overexploited Mediterranean fish – measures adopted today are weak and insufficient. The new legal minimum catch size of 90 cm only highlights the amounts of juvenile fish that have been caught up to now.

But steps have been put in place to allow for a Mediterranean swordfish recovery and management plan to be established by 2013. These include the obligation for countries to provide complete data on catches and fleet size, as well as scientific information on the species.

This new collection of swordfish data should allow ICCAT’s scientific committee to carry out an improved assessment of the swordfish stock and fishery in 2013 – as well as assess overcapacity. This should in turn pave the way for a necessary fishing fleet reduction plan, similar to the one currently in force for Mediterranean bluefin tuna.

“WWF is disappointed at the lack of ambitious measures adopted by ICCAT for Mediterranean swordfish – a fishery riddled with overfishing and too much catch of juvenile fish,” said Dr Susana Sainz-Trápaga, Fisheries Advocacy Officer at WWF Mediterranean.

“But good fisheries management requires accurate and comprehensive data, as well as sound science – and the measures adopted by ICCAT members in Istanbul should help provide this. WWF will be keeping an extremely close watch now to ensure countries comply with this fundamental new obligation of swordfish data provision,” said WWF’s Dr Sainz-Trápaga.

Meanwhile, serious allegations of illegal bluefin tuna fishing by foreign fleets in Libyan waters during the country’s unrest in the 2011 fishing season attracted heated discussion at the Istanbul meeting. ICCAT members have committed to carry out research in 2012 on this issue, which WWF will closely scrutinise.

A commitment to improve science also emerged this year, with members agreeing on the need to strengthen the quality of scientific advice developed by ICCAT’s own scientists. External experts will be invited to participate in fish stock assessments, and for the first time peer reviewing of ICCAT’s science will also be introduced.

“WWF is pleased to see the introduction of these measures that will strengthen ICCAT’s science, which at the end of the day forms the foundations of its fisheries recovery and management plans,” said Dr Tudela of WWF. “We hope these improvements will already benefit the next stock assessment of bluefin tuna in the coming year, which will in turn strengthen future management measures for this endangered fish. This and accurate reporting by countries will pave the way for better fisheries management in future.”

ICCAT members meeting in Istanbul have also agreed on a fundamental ‘no data, no fish’ principle whereby unless countries provide requested data on each fishery, they cannot send boats out to catch that fish again the following year.

Protection measures were also introduced for silky sharks – recently ranked the most vulnerable of all Atlantic shark species. The silky shark is a frequent victim of accidental catch in several ICCAT fisheries, and countries are now obliged to release this species if caught in fishing nets and other gears.

The next stock assessment – and potential amendment of species recovery and management measures – for the East Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna, ICCAT’s headline species, will take place at the 2012 annual meeting.

Fri, Jan 13, 2012

Shark conservation gets a boost: European Commission Pushes to Close Loopholes in Shark Finning Ban

Maltese members of the Shark Alliance

welcome European proposal on shark finning

The Maltese members of the Shark Alliance, Nature Trust (Malta), Greenhouse, Sharklab and Sharkman’s World, have welcomed the European Commission’s long-awaited proposal to close the loopholes in the EU’s ban on shark finning, the wasteful practice of slicing off a shark’s fins and discarding the body at sea.

The current EU regulation, adopted in 2003, is too lenient to ensure that finning does not carry on undetected and unpunished. The proposal, if adopted by the European Parliament and Council of Ministers, would ensure that all sharks taken by EU vessels or in EU waters are landed with their fins still naturally attached to their bodies. Marine conservationists and scientists recommended this policy as the most reliable means of enforcing a finning ban.

Malta has been a leader in shark conservation, having been the first country in Europe to protect shark species. Last year all five MEPs signed the declaration proposing the complete finning ban. Over the last five years, Maltese members of the Shark Alliance worked hard to raise awareness and to achieve support from the public and the Maltese authorities.

Nature Trust (Malta) executive president Vince Attard said: “Millions of sharks are finned worldwide every year. It is great to see that the EU does not want to play a part in this practice. On behalf of the other NGOs we wish to thank our MEPs and the support we received in making this proposal successful.”

Sandrine Polti, shark policy adviser to the Pew Environment Group and the Shark Alliance said: “The Commission’s proposal is a positive step toward the much-needed protection of sharks. The responsibility now lies with the fisheries ministers and members of the European Parliament for all 27 EU member states, who must agree to this proposal as the only reliable way of ensuring that sharks are not finned.”

Shark fins are the key ingredient in a traditional and expensive Asian soup. The EU, particularly Spain, is one of the world’s largest suppliers of shark fins to Asia.

The Commission has proposed ending special fishing permits – still granted by some member states – that allow fishermen to remove shark fins at sea and bring bodies and fins to port separately. Spain has issued the largest number of these permits, enough to cover its entire longline fleet. The country’s fishing industry and government are expected to continue to lead the opposition to proposed improvements in the finning ban.

Last month, as part of the fifth annual European Shark Week, tens of thousands of concerned citizens across Europe called on EU Fisheries Ministers to help close loopholes in the finning ban and to fulfill the commitments of the EU Plan of Action for sharks.

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