East Asia Monitor
UNU
e-Newsletter
The world's coastal zones are facing tremendous problems and only by joining our efforts some of these problems can be alleviated
Dr. Miguel Clüsener-Godt
UNESCO, Division of Ecological Sciences, The Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB), 1 rue Miollis, F-75732 PARIS Cedex 15, France.
In April and May 2003, I had the opportunity to participate in the UNESCO/UNU exchange scheme for professional staff. I spent 5 weeks at UNU/HQ in Tokyo. Therefore, I am also involved in the "Coastal Hydrosphere Project" that is a joint partnership between UNU, UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB), ORI, the University of Tokyo, the Iwate Prefectural Government and the Shimadzu Corporation.
This joint venture is extremely fruitful as it brings together UN-agencies, research institutions, government institutions and the private Sector. UNESCO/MAB is participating via a project entitled "Asia Pacific Co-operation for the Sustainable Use of Renewable Natural Resources in Biosphere Reserves and Similarly Managed Areas" (ASPACO). The Government of Japan finances this project for the time period 2001-2003.
The project aims at increasing local capabilities for research, training and management for the sustainable use of renewable resources, the conservation of mangrove ecosystems and for environmental awareness raising among local populations. The focus of the project research activities concerns the preservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Its activities include establishing an exchange of information, research results and scientists, and the dissemination of knowledge from comparative research through publications or/and network databases. This has been achieved in partnership with the International Society of Mangrove Ecosystems (ISME), an Okinawa based NGO which operates a network of around 700 scientists on mangroves and coastal areas all around the world. Through these activities, it will be possible to strengthen existing capacities and to increase the local capacity for carrying out management, research and training in the islands and coastal zones.
The project's main goal is environmental education in the context of wise use of coastal natural resources. The exchange of experience in buffer-zone development of biosphere reserves and the training of biosphere reserve managers creates both the impetus and the tools at the senior and junior management level for improved conservation efforts. The training component of the project is carried out through regular meetings, workshops, seminars, etc. As this component is the backbone of the project, it is executed by local research institutions, universities, colleges, etc., in close co-operation with other specialised UN-agencies, such as UNU and UNEP. The involvement of UNESCO field staff working mainly with the education sector is crucial for its successful implementation.
Dissemination of results is compulsory for the awareness-raising aspect of the project. Publications emanating from this project are produced in developing countries, thus guaranteeing the capacity-building aspect of the project in editing and publishing results. Websites established by UNESCO, ISME and other partners are helpful tools to publish training and capacity-building information. Results produced by the project are disseminated in the form of reports via the Internet and via printed and audio-visual publications. Local and regional information is provided to the institutions concerned for dissemination. Synthesis reports, such as digests or books are also foreseen for the project. Information on ASPACO is available at: http://www.unesco.org/mab/aspaco/index.htm
The world's coastal zones are facing tremendous problems and only by joining our efforts some of these problems can be alleviated. This means that we must come together to define our common goals and our activities, and we must try to implement our projects with a maximum of synergy. In this way we avoid duplicating eachothers actions or leaving important gaps. I hope that we can continue in the future to implement a series of these joint efforts and that we will continue to try together to sustainably improve the environmental situation of coastal zones. I am confident that we are already on the right course.