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Pacific music legend George "Fiji" Veikoso dies aged 55
Pacific music legend George "Fiji" Veikoso dies aged 55

ABC News

time5 days ago

  • Entertainment
  • ABC News

Pacific music legend George "Fiji" Veikoso dies aged 55

On the program today Fijian-born recording artist and Pacific music legend George "Fiji" Veikoso has died at the age of 55 in Suva. an opposition MP in Solomon Islands says the country risks creating a wedge in the solidarity of the Pacific Islands Forum if it refuses to allow Taiwan to attend. Pacific leaders celebrate after the International Court of Justice ruled that states that fail to deal with climate change could be subject to reparations. Polling in Papua New Guinea's Porgera-Paiela district has been completed peacefully, despite the hijacking of ballot boxes and the destruction of key bridges. In Fiji, the National Geographic Pristine Seas expedition sets sail to study the health of Fiji's oceans. And the Solomon Islands women's captain opens up on the side's historic win at the OFC Nations Cup.

The race to 30x30: How far behind are we on ocean protection?
The race to 30x30: How far behind are we on ocean protection?

Euronews

time13-06-2025

  • Science
  • Euronews

The race to 30x30: How far behind are we on ocean protection?

In 2022, the world made the groundbreaking commitment to protect at least 30 per cent of all land and sea by 2030. But, as the vital role of oceans in fighting climate change becomes clearer, a pressing question remains - how much of our marine environment still needs safeguarding to reach that goal? According to new research from Dynamic Planet and National Geographic Pristine Seas, far more than governments are currently prepared to commit. For the first time, experts have quantified the vast gap between the roughly 8 per cent of global oceans currently under some kind of protection and the 30 per cent target. To close this gap, they say 85 new coastal marine protected areas (MPAs) would need to be established every day until 2030. The study estimates the world needs around 190,000 small MPAs in coastal areas, plus 300 large MPAs in remote offshore waters to meet the 30x30 target. 'Our analysis, which covers over 13,000 MPAs worldwide, quickly revealed how far behind the world really is,' says Juan Mayorga, a co-author of the study and marine data scientist at National Geographic Pristine Seas. 'The exact number of additional MPAs needed depends on their size and the standards for what counts as truly protected, but the scale of the challenge is undeniable.' Marine Protected Areas, or MPAs, are sections of the ocean where human activity is more strictly managed to protect natural or cultural resources. Similar to national parks on land, they aim to conserve marine ecosystems, biodiversity, and cultural heritage, while sometimes also supporting the sustainable use of marine resources within their bounds. MPAs vary in purpose and level of protection. Some are fully protected, prohibiting fishing, drilling, or other extractive activities, allowing marine life to thrive without human interference. Others may allow limited, sustainable use of resources such as small-scale fishing or tourism under regulation. But the primary goal is to preserve important habitats and fragile ecosystems like coral reefs, seagrass beds, and breeding grounds for fish, turtles, and other species. According to the study's authors, coastal MPAs are especially crucial, as most biodiversity and human activity concentrate near the shore. Reaching the target, they say, will require massive commitments from countries with extensive coastlines and marine territories such as Indonesia, Canada, Russia and the United States. The highest need is in East Asia and the Pacific, where 102 large and 75,000 small MPAs are required. A total of 65 large and 33,000 small MPAs are needed across Europe, South Asia, and the Coral Triangle - a biodiverse region encompassing Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, and others. On paper, it appears that some countries have already met the target, but far more action is needed to ensure these areas are truly protected. Nations like Australia, Chile, France and the UK have already surpassed the 30 per cent protection threshold for their waters. But France and the UK accomplished this with a heavy reliance on creating MPAs in their overseas territories. This raises concerns over effective enforcement and impacts on local communities. Many existing protected areas aren't effective either. In the EU, 80 per cent of MPAs lack proper management and offer minimal protection from damaging human activities. So widespread is the problem that many individual country governments and even the EU itself are facing legal action for allowing damaging fishing practices like bottom trawling in these areas. The creation of protected areas has accelerated as concern over ocean health grows. A slew of commitments have been made at the UN Ocean Conference this week, with many governments using the opportunity to unveil new MPAs on the international stage. Colombia, another country that has already surpassed the 30 per cent target, announced the protection of two of the most remote coral reefs in the Caribbean Sea. Together, the new Serranilla and Bajo Nuevo MPAs encompass 3,800 square kilometres, home to a dazzling array of sealife. The Government of Tanzania announced the designation of two new MPAs in highly biodiverse waters off Pemba Island. The North-East Pemba Conservation Area and the South-East Pemba Conservation Area together span over 1,300 square kilometres and protect vital coral reefs, seagrasses, mangroves, and the habitat of threatened sharks and rays. And President Moetai Brotherson of French Polynesia announced the creation of the world's largest MPA, covering almost 5 million square kilometres. Once implemented, the designation will safeguard 220,000 square kilometres near the Society Islands and 680,000 square kilometres near the Gambier Islands. In addition to these fully protected areas where all activity is prohibited, additional artisanal fishing zones will expand the overall protection to 1,086,000 square kilometres, an area around twice the size of continental France. While these are landmark commitments, experts warn that progress remains far too slow. Most countries have not even outlined how they plan to meet the 30x30 target. 'The pace of implementation of marine protected areas is totally inadequate for what the world needs,' says Enric Sala, co-author of the study and founder of National Geographic Pristine Seas. 'We've had too many conferences full of speeches and good intentions; now we need leadership and real action. Without more effective protection now, the ocean won't be able to continue providing for us, especially for coastal communities in the Global South who are already suffering from overfishing and global warming.'

French Polynesia Just Created The World's Largest Marine Protected Area
French Polynesia Just Created The World's Largest Marine Protected Area

Time​ Magazine

time09-06-2025

  • Politics
  • Time​ Magazine

French Polynesia Just Created The World's Largest Marine Protected Area

French Polynesia announced the creation of the world's largest Marine Protected Area (MPA), at the U.N. Ocean Conference in France on Monday. The MPA will cover the entirety of the country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), almost 5 million square kilometers (more than 1.9 million square miles) and will restrict extractive practices like deep-sea mining and bottom-trawling, a destructive type of fishing that drags large nets along the seafloor. Of that 5 million, 1.1 million square kilometers (424,712 square miles) will be designated as a highly or fully protected area, known as class 1 and 2, where only traditional coastal fishing, ecotourism, and scientific exploration, will be allowed. The government has also pledged to add an additional 500,000 square kilometers (193, 051 square miles) to the highly protected area by World Ocean Day 2026. 'We have been managing this EEZ wisely for centuries, using the techniques that were passed on from the generations before us and our ancestors,' French Polynesia's President, Moetai Brotherson, told TIME. 'But now we wanted to take a bold step to be in line with the international standards of the [International Union for Conservation of Nature] IUCN.' IUCN standards for MPAs require the area to include, among other things, defined goals and objectives for conservation along with ensuring the resources and capacity to effectively implement. Research has shown that MPAs help marine animals recover within their boundaries, and could prove a useful tool for supporting climate change adaptation and mitigation. French Polynesia has been steadfast in its efforts to conserve its exclusive economic zone. In 2018, the country announced that it would classify the entirety of its EEZ as a Managed Marine Area. This announcement, Brotherson says, builds on those efforts by increasing the level of conservation. 'There were some measures of protection that didn't match the [IUCN] standards,' Brotherson says. 'So we upgraded our local regulation to match all the standards of the IUCN.' 'This is an extraordinary achievement and a globally significant contribution to the protection of our One Ocean,' Grethel Aguilar, IUCN Director General, said in a statement. 'By prioritizing biodiversity, traditional knowledge, and future generations, French Polynesia has set a new standard for leadership in marine conservation. These commitments show that small Island territories can have a massive impact on global sustainability.' But much remains to be done. Research from Dynamic Planet and National Geographic Pristine Seas found that 85 new marine protected areas would need to be created from now until 2030 in order to meet the goal of protecting 30% of the oceans by 2030, as set by the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People in 2020 and signed by over 100 countries. So far, only 8.3% of the ocean is currently protected as MPAs. Ahead of the U.N. Ocean Conference, Samoa also announced that it would protect 30% of its national waters, an area roughly the size of Taiwan. Small island nations, Brotherson says, should be on the frontlines when it comes to ocean protection. '[Island nations] EEZs account for 7% of all the ocean surface, but we have only 0.1% of the total GDP in the world,' he says. 'We don't have the financial means that match the responsibility that we have towards the ocean.' But Brotherson notes that international cooperation is essential to ensure protections are enacted. 'It's very important to us that big countries, big players, large NGOs, can help us implement the measures that we vote [on],' he says. 'Because it's one thing to pass a law. It's another story to make sure that it is respected.'

How to watch Ocean with David Attenborough on Disney+
How to watch Ocean with David Attenborough on Disney+

Rhyl Journal

time04-06-2025

  • Entertainment
  • Rhyl Journal

How to watch Ocean with David Attenborough on Disney+

Dramatic footage from the new film captures the destruction caused to the seabed by bottom trawling. Ocean With David Attenborough was released in cinemas to mark the renowned naturalist and TV presenter's 99th birthday and includes a sequence where the camera follows a bottom trawl, where nets are dragged with a metal beam across the seabed to catch fish. As the iron chains travel across the ocean floor they can be seen bulldozing through the habitat, stirring up silt which releases carbon and scooping up species indiscriminately. A post shared by National Geographic UK (@natgeouk) The footage is thought to be the first time the process has been filmed in such high quality, showing the scale of destruction caused by trawling. Sir David can be heard saying that 'very few places are safe' from the damaging fishing method, which occurs daily across vast swathes of the world's seabeds. In the clip, he also highlights how trawlers, often on the hunt for a single species, discard almost everything they catch. 'It's hard to imagine a more wasteful way to catch fish,' he notes. While bottom trawling and other forms of destructive fishing are allowed in UK waters, conservationists have long been campaigning for a full ban across all marine protected areas. A post shared by National Geographic UK (@natgeouk) The impacts of bottom trawling and dredging are largely hidden from public view and are carried out without the knowledge of what marine life is being destroyed. Ocean looks to spotlight how human actions are leading to the collapse of the ecosystem. The film also hopes to highlight the need to protect nearly a third of the oceans so they can recover from overfishing and habitat destruction, secure food for billions of people and tackle climate change. Sir David also highlights the destruction from coral bleaching and shares inspiring stories from around the world, delivering the message that taking collective action will provide the opportunity for marine life to recover. 'If we save the sea, we save our world,' he says. Toby Nowlan, Keith Scholey and Colin Butfield, who directed the film, said: 'Collaborating with David Attenborough to deliver this powerful message is a dream come true for us as filmmakers and storytellers. 'We hope that sharing this unprecedented look at bottom trawling will bring greater awareness to the reality of what's happening beneath the waves and inspire audiences to protect the world around us.' Enric Sala, National Geographic Pristine Seas founder and executive producer of the film, said: 'I couldn't think of a more crucial time for this film to be available to a global audience. 'For the first time, people can see the destruction of bottom trawling unfold in front of their eyes — the heavy nets dragging across the ocean's precious floor and killing everything in their wake. 'I hope the film makes people all over the world fall in love with the ocean and inspires them to protect it.' Ocean with David Attenborough is available to watch in UK cinemas now across various dates and time slots. Recommended reading: Disney+ viewers in UK risk £1k TV Licence fine if caught tuning into new content How to get up to £170 TV Licence refund ahead of licence fee rise this year Netflix to double, amid rises for Disney+ and Amazon, says new report However, if you'd like to watch the film from the comfort of your own home, here's how you can. Ocean with David Attenborough will be available to watch on Disney+ from Sunday, June 8, so to watch the film you will need a Disney+ account. The series will also be available to watch on Sunday at 8pm on National Geographic UK.

How to watch Ocean with David Attenborough on Disney+
How to watch Ocean with David Attenborough on Disney+

South Wales Guardian

time04-06-2025

  • Entertainment
  • South Wales Guardian

How to watch Ocean with David Attenborough on Disney+

Dramatic footage from the new film captures the destruction caused to the seabed by bottom trawling. Ocean With David Attenborough was released in cinemas to mark the renowned naturalist and TV presenter's 99th birthday and includes a sequence where the camera follows a bottom trawl, where nets are dragged with a metal beam across the seabed to catch fish. As the iron chains travel across the ocean floor they can be seen bulldozing through the habitat, stirring up silt which releases carbon and scooping up species indiscriminately. A post shared by National Geographic UK (@natgeouk) The footage is thought to be the first time the process has been filmed in such high quality, showing the scale of destruction caused by trawling. Sir David can be heard saying that 'very few places are safe' from the damaging fishing method, which occurs daily across vast swathes of the world's seabeds. In the clip, he also highlights how trawlers, often on the hunt for a single species, discard almost everything they catch. 'It's hard to imagine a more wasteful way to catch fish,' he notes. While bottom trawling and other forms of destructive fishing are allowed in UK waters, conservationists have long been campaigning for a full ban across all marine protected areas. A post shared by National Geographic UK (@natgeouk) The impacts of bottom trawling and dredging are largely hidden from public view and are carried out without the knowledge of what marine life is being destroyed. Ocean looks to spotlight how human actions are leading to the collapse of the ecosystem. The film also hopes to highlight the need to protect nearly a third of the oceans so they can recover from overfishing and habitat destruction, secure food for billions of people and tackle climate change. Sir David also highlights the destruction from coral bleaching and shares inspiring stories from around the world, delivering the message that taking collective action will provide the opportunity for marine life to recover. 'If we save the sea, we save our world,' he says. Toby Nowlan, Keith Scholey and Colin Butfield, who directed the film, said: 'Collaborating with David Attenborough to deliver this powerful message is a dream come true for us as filmmakers and storytellers. 'We hope that sharing this unprecedented look at bottom trawling will bring greater awareness to the reality of what's happening beneath the waves and inspire audiences to protect the world around us.' Enric Sala, National Geographic Pristine Seas founder and executive producer of the film, said: 'I couldn't think of a more crucial time for this film to be available to a global audience. 'For the first time, people can see the destruction of bottom trawling unfold in front of their eyes — the heavy nets dragging across the ocean's precious floor and killing everything in their wake. 'I hope the film makes people all over the world fall in love with the ocean and inspires them to protect it.' Ocean with David Attenborough is available to watch in UK cinemas now across various dates and time slots. Recommended reading: Disney+ viewers in UK risk £1k TV Licence fine if caught tuning into new content How to get up to £170 TV Licence refund ahead of licence fee rise this year Netflix to double, amid rises for Disney+ and Amazon, says new report However, if you'd like to watch the film from the comfort of your own home, here's how you can. Ocean with David Attenborough will be available to watch on Disney+ from Sunday, June 8, so to watch the film you will need a Disney+ account. The series will also be available to watch on Sunday at 8pm on National Geographic UK.

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