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By Mario
Marogna D - 2080.
An
important contribution to the "environmental education week",
currently running in Porto Torres, has been Professor Giancarlo Nicola's
interesting conference, sponsored by the local Rotary Club and his
President Dr. Piero Pintore.
The
illustrious guest, P.D.G. of Rotary International, President of A.E.R.A. (European
Rotary Association for the Environment) has presented a variety of
possibilities for collaboration between A.E.R.A., the local authority, and
the national park of Asinara, in the presence of the Mayor of Porto
Torres, local authorities, local businessmen and various other guests.
After introducing various initiatives established by A.E.R.A. throughout
Italy, he dealt in depth with the "Pelagos" operation, out of
which the International Marine Park was born.
As
is well known, in the last few months, with the support of Dominque Voynet
(Minister for the Environment of the French Republic), of Bernard Fautrier
(plenypotentiary Minister for the Principalty of Monaco) and of Edo Ronchi
(Minister for the Environment of the Italian Republic), the marine park
area has been increased to nearly 100.000 square kilometres. The park will
be triangle shaped, marked by the French, Monaco, Liguria and Tuscany
coasts on the north side, by the northern coast of Sardinia, of the Gulf
and Island of Asinara, and the "Bocche di Bonifacio" on the
south side. On the west side, an imaginary line between point
Escampobariou (Toulouse) in France, and Capo Falcone in Sardinia will join
another line between "Fosso Chiarone" in Tuscany and "Capo
Ferro" in Sardinia, delimiting the park.
According
to our guest speaker, in order to guarantee the park's successful future,
it is necessary to fully involve all the relevant departments (Environment,
Foreign Office, Agriculture and Fisheries, Transport), together with
everyone whose livelyhood depends on the sea; fishermen, local authorities,
and the tourist industry.
Recent
scientific research has revealed that within the park area a species of
autoctone whales has taken residence.
The
area is over-abundant in Krill, the miniscule crustaceans that whales feed
on, and that constitutes an ideal habitat for at least 8 types of
cetaceans: fin and sperm whales, bottle-nosed and striped dolphins, beaked
whales, and others. The park also offers an extraordinary opportunity for
research and a better knowledge of these animals, their mysterious ways
and the interactions amongst the various components of such pelagic
ecosystem.
The
sea has no borders, and the preservation of cetaceans within such a vast
area must rely on a shared, international effort. Therefore, the
monitoring and the fight against all types of pollution has to be
increased.
The
main difficulty facing such project arises from this environment being
almost entirely within international waters, within which it is necessary
to implement and enforce legislation and legal mechanisms for its
protection and management.
For
example, let us mention the significant effect of non-selective fishing
methods in use until recently, like drift-nets fishing, adopted mainly by
fishing fleets foreign to the local economic reality.
Nets up to 100 metres in length
were often used by Korean and Japanese fishing boats. Such nets, fitted
with radio and laser sensors were floated, left to drift, and collected
later, with an indiscriminate bounty harmful to both flora and fauna.
Amongst the various opportunities the park's resources offer,
whale-watching, close-up observation of whales and dolphins within their
natural habitat, has been highlighted.
Such
activity represents a great opportunity for economic development to the
local communities, considering that, although still a practically unknown
activity within the Mediterranean sea, on a global scale, there's been an
extraordinary growth in popularity for whale-watching in the last few
years (roughly a 15% yearly increase).
Porto
Torres, may 24,2000
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