Alanna Mitchel is author of the first comprehensive book on the health of the world’s oceans, “Sea Sick”. This highly acclaimed book is a chronicle of Mitchell’s journey to visit leading scientists in nine of the global ocean’s hotspots to see firsthand what is really happening around the world. Whether it’s the impact of coral reef bleaching, the puzzle of the oxygen-less dead zones such as the one in the Gulf of Mexico, or the shocking implications of the changing Ph balance of the sea, Mitchell explains the science behind the story to create an engaging, accessible yet authoritative account. “Each chapter in the book blends lucid, factual explanation of complex subjects with engaging chronicles of the author’s travels to far-flung parts of the globe.” Quill & Quire “A strong examination of degraded global ocean health based on years of research with top world scientists.” The Vancouver Province
Location:Bob Wright Centre (SCI) – B150, University of Victoria – Victoria, BC
Times:19:00 – 22:00
Pricing:$10 general admission $8 students

Power Sharing in the Coastal Zone:

Shifting Roles of Government in Community-based Coastal Management

Marine Affairs Program Seminar
Larry Hildebrand, PhD
Manager, Sustainable Community and Ecosystem Programs, Environment Canada (Atlantic Region)
Adjunct Professor of Marine Affairs and Environmental Studies at Dalhousie University

Monday March 1, 2010 | 3:00-4:00 pm

Room 308
Schulich School of Law
Dalhousie University
6061 University Avenue
Halifax, NS

Abstract:  Governments and community-based organizations can work together effectively in collaborative coastal governance initiatives by sharing many of the management functions inherent to these processes. The key to these partnerships is for the government partners to make some significant shifts in their attitude, behaviour and comfort levels in sharing power with their community-based partners.  Governments can, over time, rely on community-based organizations to take on certain management functions that are best placed for delivery at the local level.  A Ph.D. research project at Cardiff University focused on the almost 20-year old Atlantic Coastal Action Program (ACAP), demonstrated that the vast majority of the 83 management functions tested for in this program (e.g., strategic planning, partnership management, priority setting) have already shifted to a community lead, but with a strong desire for government involvement.  It is important to note that this shifting of responsibilities is not an abrogation by government of its legal rights, obligations and accountabilities, but rather a recognition that community-based organizations can have the capacity, commitment and on-the-ground partnerships to take on the responsibility for local leadership and action.

Bio:  Larry Hildebrand is the Manager of Sustainable Community and Ecosystem programs for Environment Canada in the Atlantic Region and Adjunct Professor of Marine Affairs and Environmental Studies at Dalhousie University. Larry is also active in the coastal and ocean NGO sector, serving as an executive board member of the Coastal Zone Canada Association, the Canadian Coastal Science & Engineering Association, The U.S. Coastal Society and the Elizabeth Mann Borgese Centre for Ocean Governance. Larry has also served in various academic and training/capacity building efforts with colleagues at Dalhousie and other institutions in Vietnam, China, Philippines, Cuba, Uruguay, Mexico, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sweden, Iceland and Canada. He has conducted external evaluations of coastal management projects for UNDP/GEF in Cuba and Belize, served on the editorial boards for the journals Coastal Management and Ocean & Coastal Management, represented Canada on international coastal and ocean policy working groups for the OECD and Convention on Biological Diversity, is a frequently invited keynote speaker at domestic and international coastal management conferences, and has published extensively in various books, peer-reviewed journals, government reports and conference proceedings.

Larry is the recipient of the H.B. Nicholls Award for Significant Achievement in the Field of Coastal Zone Management in Canada and the Public Service Award of Excellence for Exemplary Contribution under Extraordinary Circumstances, the latter following his mission to Thailand immediately following the 2004 Asian tsunami.  Dr. Hildebrand has degrees in marine biology and coastal zone management and recently completed his Ph.D. at Cardiff University in Wales.  He will be presenting on his doctoral research.

Canada: “Canadian Navy to modernize ships without US equipment”

Times-Colonist, 24 January 2010

Citing problems over bilateral trade with the US, the Canadian Navy intends to modernize its frigates using as little American equipment as possible.  American weapon and defence technology exports fall under the rules of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), which the US strictly enforces.  ITAR provisions frequently delay the delivery of military equipment to Canada and closely governs what Canada can and cannot do with the equipment.  Additionally, agreements with the US have occasionally been problematic due to broader national security concerns in Washington; in 2006, US government officials tried unsuccessfully to bar Canadians who were born in certain countries or who possess dual citizenship from working on US technology.  The request, which violated Canadian law, was denied.  Consequently, Ottawa intends to use technology that is not regulated by the ITAR: key radars, sensors, and software to be installed on the Halifax-class frigates will either be indigenously-constructed or imported from countries such as Sweden, Israel, Germany, and the Netherlands.  The command-and-control system, for example, is being developed jointly by Lockheed Martin Canada and Saab Electronics System of Sweden.  Canada will also be able to market this technology to other navies without having to first gain US permission.  The mid-life overhauls of these 12 Canadian frigates is estimated to cost CAD $3.1 billion and will be finished by 2017.

(Courtesy “Daily Intelligence Brief”. World Naval Edition, January 27 2010. Office of the Asia-Pacific Advisor, Maritime Forces Pacific, Canadian Navy)

Sherry Pictou and Tony Charles

Friday January 29, 12 noon

McNally Building MN208, at Saint Mary’s University (Halifax, NS)

International Development Studies Noon Seminar

Opening Event for International Week at Saint Mary’s University

Sherry Pictou is a member of Bear River First Nation. Her work has a focus on adult education and community-based approaches to natural resource management. Ms. Pictou is on the Board of Directors of the Bay of Fundy Marine Resource Centre, and the Bear River First Nation Culture and Heritage Centre, and is the North American representative on the Coordinating Committee for the World Forum of Fisher Peoples.

Tony Charles is a professor at Saint Mary’s University with a joint appointment in the Business School and in the Environmental Studies Program. He specializes in interdisciplinary research on fisheries and coastal issues, with emphasis on management and policy, coastal communities and small-scale fisheries, both in Atlantic Canada and internationally.

The December 2009 edition of MAP Matters (pdf file), the newsletter of the Dalhousie University Marine Affairs Program, is now available.

The Importance of Oceans, Coasts, and Small Island Developing States in the Climate Regime

December 14, 2009 | 8:00 to 22:00
European Environment Agency, central Copenhagen

The Oceans Day event is organized by the Global Forum on Oceans, Coasts, and Islands, the Government of Indonesia and the European Environment Agency and 46 other entities from around the world.

The Oceans Day Program is attached. Registration is already at capacity but spaces have been reserved for government delegates and media accredited to COP-15.

The Oceans Day will highlight:

1. the central role of oceans in climate. Oceans generate oxygen, absorb carbon dioxide and regulate climate and temperature. Just as we cannot do without a healthy heart and lungs, the world cannot do without a healthy ocean;
2. the fact that the close to 50% of the human population that lives in coastal areas and the 44 small island countries that are especially dependent on the oceans are at the frontline of climate change.  Coastal populations in 173 coastal countries will suffer disproportionate impacts from ocean warming, sea level rise, extreme weather events, and ocean acidification.

Oceans Day at Copenhagen will urge the international community to:

1. Proceed with utmost caution to ensure the continuing functioning of the oceans in sustaining life on Earth by adopting the most stringent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions within a short time frame
2. Emphasize the positive contribution that oceans can play to mitigate global warming, for example, through ocean-based renewable energy (such as windpower), and through the use of natural carbon sinks in coastal areas, such as mangroves, kelp forests, and coral reefs
3. Begin immediately, and with sufficient financing, adaptation efforts in coastal communities and island nations in all regions of the world and prepare the public for the inevitable changes that will occur.

For more information on Oceans Day 2009 visit: http://www.ceoe.udel.edu/cmp/oceans_day/index.html

For more information on the Global Forum on Oceans, Coasts, and Islands visit: http://www.globaloceans.org/

Ottawa Citizen, 26 November 2009 – Last Thursday, the Department of National Defence announced that a CAD $900,000 design contract for a Canadian Forces naval base at Nanisivik in Nunavut was awarded to Vancouver firm WorleyParsons Westmar, but the complex is predicted to be operational by 2014, not 2012 as previously estimated.  Initial site studies for the Nanisivik Naval Facility (NNF) have been completed, and construction could begin in 2011, but the project is likely to slip further behind schedule with logistical and environmental challenges.  NNF, which is projected to cost $100m, is designed to act as a staging base for vessels operating in the high Arctic, and the Associate Deputy Minister of Defence has said that the US and other Canadian allies could be granted access to the facility.

(Courtesy “Daily Intelligence Brief”. World Naval Edition, December 2 2009. Office of the Asia-Pacific Advisor, Maritime Forces Pacific, Canadian Navy)

Witness the public launch of live data from NEPTUNE Canada’s deep-sea instruments and sensors, and learn how it will shape public policy.

David H. Turpin, PhD, FRSC President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Victoria invites you to join us online via webcast www.neptunecanada.ca Tuesday, December 8, 2009 | 10 a.m. –11 a.m. PST or join the event in person Auditorium B150, Bob Wright Centre, University of Victoria (Map and parking info—Lot #1)

NEPTUNE Canada has completed installation in the Pacific Ocean of 800 kilometres of powered fibre-optic cable, five observatory nodes at key scientific sites, and over 200 instruments and sensors…(to depths of nearly 3000 metres). NEPTUNE Canada will help us better understand natural hazards, resources, ocean/climate change, ecosystems, tectonic activity and much more. NEPTUNE Canada acknowledges support and funding from the Government of Canada through the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and CANARIE, and from the Government of British Columbia through the British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund.