Posted June 1996
FAO's Contribution to the Global Programme of Action for the Protection
of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities
FAO is the largest specialized agency within the United Nations system.
Since it's inception it has worked to alleviate poverty and hunger by promoting
agricultural development, improved nutrition and the pursuit of food security.
The Organization offers direct development assistance, collects, analyses
and disseminates information, provides policy and planning advice to governments
and acts as an international forum for debate on food and agriculture issues.
FAO is active in land and water development, plant and animal production,
forestry, fisheries, economic and social policy, investment, nutrition,
food standards and commodities and trade. It also plays a major role in
dealing with food and agricultural emergencies.
A specific priority of the Organization is encouraging sustainable agriculture
and rural development, a long-term strategy for the conservation and management
of natural resources. In this context, it promotes an integrated approach,
with environmental, social and economic considerations included in the formulation
of development projects.
The areas in which FAO could contribute to the implementation of the GPA
for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities
would include:
Identification and assessment of problems related to pesticides
FAO's Plant Protection Service (AGPP) is actively involved in helping countries
establish and strengthen their plant protection capabilities, advising on
organisation and management, providing operational guidelines and training
scientific and technical personnel. AGPP assists in several actions relevant
to the implementation of the GPA, including specifically:
The International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides
The Code was developed to address a number of difficulties associated with
the use of pesticides in developing countries where adequate regulatory
infrastructures are frequently lacking. The code incorporates the principle
of Prior Informed Consent (PIC) on the basis of which countries are provided
with detailed information on the chemical in question and on reasons for
bans or severe restrictions in the form of Decision Guidance Documents.
In the light of this information, countries are asked to assess their position
and the risk associated with pesticide, and to make timely and informed
decisions as to the importation and use of the chemical concerned. The import
decisions are transmitted to all other participating countries every six
months.
Activities on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
Based on its vast experience in the sound management and evaluation of pesticides,
and the overlapping character of pesticides subject to the Prior Informed
Consent procedure and the activities on Persistent Organic Pollutants, AGPP
has contributed and continues to provide the following information on POPs:
toxicological profiles; evaluation of pesticide residues in food; information
concerning possible alternative pesticides; and collection of data on production
and consumption of pesticides qualifying for POPs in collaboration with
the Statistical division of FAO.
Pesticide Disposal
In many developing countries, considerable stocks of outdated pesticides
have accumulated which represent a potentially significant hazard to human
health and the environment. A series of technical guidelines are being developed,
in cooperation with UNEP and WHO, relating to the disposal of pesticide
containers and pesticide waste as well as how to more effectively manage
pesticide stocks in order to prevent the accumulation of obsolete stocks
in the future.
2. Identification and assessment of problems related to nutrients
The Plant Nutrition Management Service (AGLN) is responsible for all activities
related to plant nutrition management and the supply of plant nutrient sources
to farmers. AGLN proposes the following objectives as basis for action to
control, prevent and reduce the transfer of loads of nutrients to the marine
environment:
- to identify in broad terms the flows of nutrients and organic materials
supplied by the main watersheds to the sea, or by the main point sources
(cities, industries);
- to identify economically viable methods and economic/financial incentives
for:
- a better management of plant nutrient cycles in cropped areas, limiting
losses;
- the recycling to crops of organic wastes after proper processing,
limiting the dumping of heavy metals and undesirable chemical compounds,
pests and diseases to the cropped area;
- the trapping of plant nutrients transported in excess by surface water
to the sea;
- to promote legislation, investments and organization reducing the load
of nutrients and organic materials where eutrophication has taken or will
rapidly take place under present trends;
- to protect and, where appropriate, to develop the areas where it is
biologically and economically feasible to extract plant nutrients from surface
waters.
In pursuing these objectives, AGLN has presented project proposals to several
donors for a better management of plant nutrient cycles and the recycling
of organic wastes in agriculture. A regional project is ongoing with the
support of Japan on Effective Management of Nitrogen Fertilizers in irrigated
rice fields and the environment in South-East Asia.
3. Identification and assessment of problems related to sediment mobilization
The Soil Resources, Management and Conservation Service (AGLS) is responsible
for development and application of integrated land resources planning and
management; the inventory, evaluation, development and improvement of soil
resources, their management and conservation in close cooperation with regional
and field staff. This service also promotes soil and land use classification
and correlation at world and regional levels and the creation of regional
and national soil and terrain databases.
In relation to the problem of sediment mobilization, AGLS has contributed
to the development of a common consolidated erosion mapping methodology
for Mediterranean coastal areas. This instrument provides two types of information:
- Assessment of current on-site and active erosion processes and subsequent
identification of curative measures;
- Analysis of potential erosion in specific areas based on parametres
such as physiography (slopes), lithography and/or soils and land vegetation
cover, and subsequent identification of preventive measures.
This mapping methodology is coupled with parallel measurement operations
which aim to evaluate actual soil loss by measuring discharges in experimental
plots and/or subwatersheds affected by specific and well representative
erosion constraints. Erosion mapping identifies and describes dynamic processes
in a 6qualitative way, including extreme situations such as overall irreversible
degradation on one hand, and stable, non-affected areas on the other. Experimental
measurement data would be of particular need and relevance to all intermediate
and typical cases where land degradation, and specifically soil erosion,
need to be quantified and assessed in terms of priority after having been
identified and located by means of systemic mapping.
4. Forest management in coastal areas
FAO's Forest Resources Division (Forest Resources Development Service and
Forest Conservation Research and Education Service) is responsible for the
assessment, management, conservation and development of forest resources
of all types: within this programme many activities are developed that contribute
to minimizing effects of land based activities on marine ecosystems: prominent
among them are the conservation, management and development of mangrove
ecosystems and the management of coastal watershed.
Managing and conserving mangrove forests
Mangrove forests play key functions including:
- the regulation of water flows on coastal and riverine areasfacilitating
the maintenance of important biological processes;
- the protection of coastal areas against erosion, but also
- the sequestration of incoming sediments mobilized from the continent.
The conservation of mangroves and their sustainable management contribute
to protecting the coastal areas and marine systems. This involves assessment
of resources through specific projects and studies or the 10 year global
forest resources assessment exercises; effective management of mangrove
systems to secure normal utilization of the forest; and facilitating regeneration
of mangrove on depleted areas. At the moment FAO, with the support of the
Netherlands, is launching the formulation of an important project on the
conservation and development of Mangrove forests of West Africa which if
implemented will contribute much to the protection of marine areas in a
region where erosion is taking billions of tons of material to the sea.
Watershed management in coastal areas
Managing Plateau or mountain watershed in areas close to the sea is essential
to curbing the inflow of sediments to the sea. The contribution of the Forest
Conservation, Research and Education Service in this area involves the coordination
of work on chapter 13 of Agenda 21 (Sustainable Mountain development and
on upland watershed management).
5.Aquaculture management in inland and coastal areas
The Inland Water Resources and Aquaculture Service (FIRI) of the FAO Fisheries
Department is in charge of all activities related to inland fisheries and
aquaculture, including planning, conservation and management of resources,
monitoring of status and trends of the two sub-sectors, development of technologies
for sustainable enhancement of inland fisheries, and integrated resource
management in aquaculture. FIRI is active in several technical areas relevant
to the scope of the Global Plan of Action. A summary of major relevant activities
is given as follows:
Responsible aquaculture development
FIRI has contributed to the formulation of Article 9 - "Aquaculture
Development" of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries which
was adopted by the 28th Session of the FAO Conference in October 1995. This
Article contains provisions for the responsible development of aquaculture
including culture-based fisheries in areas under national jurisdiction and
within transboundary aquatic ecosystems, for the use of aquatic genetic
resources, and for responsible aquaculture practices at the production level.
Currently, efforts are being undertaken to prepare aquaculture specific
guidelines in support of the implementation of the provisions given in the
Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.
Environmental assessment and management of aquaculture development in
Asia-Pacific
During 1992-1994, technical assistance was provided by FIRI to 18 countries
in Asia-Pacific through a regional project on the environmental assessment
and management of aquaculture development, which helped identifying major
environmental interactions of aquaculture as well as possible actions to
ensure sustainable development of aquaculture through sound conservation
and management of resources utilized by the sector.
Promotion of environmental management of coastal aquaculture development
In relation to coastal aquaculture, including both land- and seabased practices,
FIRI has produced technical guidelines for the promotion of environmental
management of coastal aquaculture development, published in 1992. FAO is
the lead agency for GESAMP Working Group on Environmental Impacts of Coastal
Aquaculture for which FIRI provides the technical secretariat. Two major
reports have been produced by this GESAMP Working Group: "Reducing
environmental impacts of coastal aquaculture" (1991) and " Monitoring
the ecological effects of coastal aquaculture wastes" (in press). Currently,
this expert group is working on environmental hazards and safe use of chemicals
in coastal aquaculture.
FIRI will continue to provide technical and policy advice to FAO Member
Countries on options for environmental management of aquaculture operations
covering aspects such as efficient utilization of resources (land, water,
seed, feed, etc.), sustainable expansion of aquafarms (with particular emphasis
on appropriate allocation of space with a view of conserving valuable habitats
and endemic living resources), and opportunities and constraints of intensification
of aquaculture practices.
