R.H. Jongbloed

Rational application of chemicals in response to oil spills may reduce environmental damage.

Oil spills, for example those due to tanker collisions and groundings or platform accidents, can have huge adverse impacts on marine systems. The impact of an oil spill at sea depends on a number of factors, such as spill volume, type of oil spilled, weather conditions, and proximity to environmentally, economically, or socially sensitive areas. Oil spilled at sea threatens marine organisms, whole ecosystems, and economic resources in the immediate vicinity, such as fisheries, aquaculture, recreation, and tourism. Adequate response to any oil spill to minimize damage is therefore of great importance. The common response to an oil spill is to remove all visible oil from the water surface, either mechanically or by using chemicals to disperse the oil into the water column to biodegrade. This is not always the most suitable response to an oil spill, as the chemical application itself may also have adverse effects, or no response may be needed. In this article we discuss advantages and disadvantages of using chemical treatments to reduce the impact of an oil spill in relation to the conditions of the spill. The main characteristics of chemical treatment agents are discussed and presented within the context of a basic decision support scheme.

Kwetsbare soorten voor energie-infrastructuur in Nederland : overzicht van effecten van hernieuwbare energie-infrastructuur en hoogspanningslijnen op de kwetsbare soorten vogels, vleermuizen, zeezoogdieren en vissen, en oplossingsrichtingen voor een natuurinclusieve energietransitie

De cumulatieve impact van energie-infrastructuur kan een belangrijke rol spelen bij de populatieontwikkeling van kwetsbare soorten door sterfte en habitatverlies als gevolg van aanvaringen met die energie-infrastructuur of het verstorende effect van dergelijke infrastructuur. In dit rapport wordt een zo actueel en volledig mogelijk overzicht gegeven van de staat van kennis en de relatieve kwetsbaarheid van vogels, vleermuizen, zeezoogdieren en vissen in relatie tot de impact van windturbines, hoogspanningslijn en, waterkrachtcentrales en zonnepaneelvelden. Voor deze soortgroepen en energie-infrastructuur worden de kwetsbare soorten gerangschikt op basis van hun kwetsbaarheid en wordt inzichtelijk gemaakt waar de verspreiding van de kwetsbaarste soorten overlapt met de energie-infrastructuur. We evalueren hoe de cumulatieve impact van energie-infrastructuur op de soortgroepen gekwantificeerd kan worden nu en in de toekomst, en hoe die impact zich verhoudt tot andere antropogene drukfactoren voor de kwetsbaarste soorten. We bespreken mitigatie- en compensatiemaatregelen die in potentie kunnen voorkomen dat Nederlandse populaties van soorten afnemen als gevolg van de huidige en toekomstige energie-infrastructuur op zee en op land. Tot slot worden suggesties gedaan voor het opvullen van de belangrijkste kennishiaten en oplossingsrichtingen die het mogelijk maken de effecten op kwetsbare soorten bij de verdere groei van energie-infrastructuur op land en op zee te minimaliseren.

Description of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the Proposed Marine Nomination Properties of the Bonaire and Curaçao Marine Parks (BCMP)

The Los Roques and las Aves oceanic coral reef archipelagos of Venezuela lie in a biogeographically unique area of the Caribbean and possess extensive lagoonal seagrass beds mangroves and shallow macroalgae meadows rich with sea life. These areas form part of a biogeographic unity together with Bonaire and Curaçao as part of the Leeward Antilles ridge islands. Both archipelago’s are areas of low human impact. While the Aves islands remain uninhabited and are an area of restricted fishing activity, Los Roques, has been a managed park since 1972. While both archipelago’s represent similarly rich biodiversity values, Los Roques has been much better documented than Las Aves. Los Roques is the largest coral reef marine protected area of Venezuela. It is about 157 km from Venezuelas mainland coast and covers about 225,153 ha. It is a recognized Important Bird Area (IBA) of Venezuela on account of its large seabird breeding colonies. Notwithstanding year-round habitation by about 1500 people and receiving 75 thousand visitors a year it has among the lowest levels of human ecological impact in the Caribbean and represents intact and well-connected coastal ecosystems. Recent assessments show that it also possesses exemplary fish faunas (Elise et al. 2017), that may be considered as a benchmark for overfished coral reef fish faunas throughout the region. In 2012, Los Roques was designated as a shark sanctuary on account of its documented importance as a shark nursery area. Local park management enjoys broad community support from the various stakeholders who have a convergent and largely shared vision regarding a sustainable future for the park. Thanks to effective management Los Roques has also successfully maintained its importance to seabird colonies for the last 50 years since the earlies surveys. Even though the area has been found to be vulnerable to climate change and how this appears to affect regional oceanographic processes, the geographic location of these archipelago’s, the current management regime, and which largely safeguard them from most hurricane damage, and the current management regime, have been effective in protecting the unique biodiversity and coastal ecosystems of these intact coralline island systems.