World Ocean Radio - Ecosystems
In the 20th century, U.S. waterways had become dumping grounds for industrial, urban, and agricultural waste. Today many of these waterways are getting cleaner. In this episode of World Ocean Radio we highlight Tampa Bay, Florida, whose revival of seagrass and cleaner waters serve as an example of engagement, cooperation, determination, and leadership. What can be learned from this success as a means to meet environmental challenges and solve today’s problems?
There are many whale-related hot button topics being discussed today: hunting (particularly by the Japanese), seismic testing, inexplicable strandings, the ingestion of plastic pollution, and the growing controversy over the morality of their captivity and exploitation. In this week's episode of World Ocean Radio host Peter Neill discusses the practice of keeping cetaceans for their entertainment value and explores new and proposed bills and legislation in both Canada and the United States which will help to protect cetaceans in captivity, further strengthen existing Acts to prohibit their import and export, to phase out Orcas from entertainment parks, and to modify the criminal code to prevent the taking of cetaceans such as whales, dolphins and porpoise from the wild or to breed those in captivity.
Oysters have had a history of ebb and flow, plenty and scarcity, and in New York Harbor there was a time when the waters were so polluted that oyster populations diminished and interest in consumption vanished. Enter the Harbor School, an innovative high school on Governor’s Island on the East River in New York City. They have launched a project to revive the defunct oyster populations through an ambitious goal of restoring no less than one billion oysters to the harbor. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill will discuss the school’s history and their restorative ecosystem service activities and their effort to reconnect the harbor to the 30 million people living within its vast urban watershed.
Mangroves serve an extraordinary range of beneficial uses from their place in the food chain to natural protection for coastal areas to their contribution to human health and well-being. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill will discuss organizations and charters which affirm conservation tactics and sustainable management practices to secure natural habitat, and will remind us that despite conservation efforts and the development of new mangrove forests, this valuable, bio-diverse ecosystem which is oftentimes ignored, under extreme pressure, continued devastation and loss deserves our concern and protection.
La mangrove offre un éventail d'utilités bénéfique, de par sa position dans la chaîne alimentaire, à la protection de la nature dans les régions côtières due à sa contribution à la santé et au bien-être des êtres humains. Dans cet épisode de la radio océan du monde nous discutons des organismes et des chartes pratiquant une tactique de conservation, et des stratégies de gestion durables pour fixer l'habitat naturel. Et nous rappelons les auditeurs qu'en dépit des efforts de conservation et du développement de nouvelles forêts de palétuviers, cet écosystème riche et bio-divers est souvent ignoré, maltraité, sous pression extrême, et nécessite notre attention et notre protection.
Os mangueirais proporcionam um extraordinário leque de benefícios, desde o seu papel na cadeia alimentar até à protecção natural das zonas costeiras e ao seu contributo para a saúde e bem-estar humanos. Neste episódio da World Ocean Radio referimos organizações e tratados que remetem para tácticas de conservação e práticas de gestão sustentável, destinadas a proteger os habitats naturais. Seremos recordados de que, apesar dos esforços de conservação e do desenvolvimento de novos mangueirais, este valiosíssimo ecossistema de biodiversidade, tantas vezes desprezado, se mantém sob extrema pressão, contínua devastação e perda, e merece a nossa preocupação e protecção.
Los manglares sirven para una amplia gama de aplicaciones beneficiosas, desde su lugar en la cadena alimentaria hasta la protección natural de las zonas costeras y su contribución a la salud y bienestar humanos. En este episodio de World Ocean Radio hablamos sobre las organizaciones y las cartas que llevan a cabo táctica de conservación y estrategias de manejo sostenibles para resguardar el hábitat natural. Y recordamos a los oyentes que a pesar de los esfuerzos en la conservación y el desarrollo de nuevos bosques de manglares, este ecosistema valioso y bio-diverso, está muchas veces ignorado, abusado, bajo extrema presión, y necesita nuestra preocupación y protección.
