Articles tagged with: Marine Life
Posted in Eco-Friendly, Go green, Tourism on 22 July 2008
Its holiday season and the internet, newspapers & magazines are rife with travel options and eco-tourism offers. For those who like to spend their money on quality deals like a concern for nature and like to opt for a LEED certified hotel, here’s another option-Blue (tourism) if you are bored with ‘green’ one!
Blue tourism is the latest offering to the environmentally concerned vacationers. This new concept in world travel is an initiative taken by Kerzner Marine Foundation. The latter is a private, non-profit foundation by Kerzner International that owns and operates the Atlantis on Paradise Island (Bahamas). The foundation is dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of endangered global marine ecosystems which have become the poor victims of over-exploitation by humans. It has started The Blue Project in the newest hotel there, The Reef and to ultra luxurious Cove Atlantis hotel (already a preferred choice among tourists).
The Blue project offers resort guests & visitors an opportunity to support the ocean and interact with marine life through a carefully crafted combination of ocean-based experiences that are also benefiting the marine conservation programs.
A portion of revenue collected from booking fees for the recreational programs and ocean tours and hotel stay per se is donated to the Blue Project. Both the project and the foundation lay stress on scientific research, education and community outreach to preserve the marine flora & fauna via eco-tourism.
The Reef spells innovation at many levels. It is the Atlantis resort’s 1st Condotel. The latter means that a guest can purchase an ultra-luxe suite (furnished and equipped by the hotel) for his/her use for any ninety days in a year and for the rest of the time, this condo remains in the hotel’s rental pool. The owner receives 50% of fee.
The condo suites are designed for an ultimate experience of luxury and relaxation. Every suite has a master bedroom, living spaces, gorgeous bathrooms, ocean view and Nassau harbor view and a personal kitchen all fully furnished! The Reef lacks a restaurant which explains the presence of your own kitchen in your suite. Besides, on rainy days one can explore a host of indoor facilities provided by the resort. These include a movie theatre, a pottery studio and an arcade.. At the Reef, kids can enjoy a 24-hour “Toy Room Service as well.
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In case you like fishes and love to explore marine life there’s snorkeling to do at the 171 acres of beach area at The Atlantis. The latter also provides a stupendous view of aqua-life in its own aquarium which has more than 50,000 fish, a predator pool and a Dolphin Cay (Wow!).
One can participate in the Kerzner Marine Foundation’s efforts by visiting the fish hospital, fish nursery, special food-prep areas and state-of-the-art labs to monitor water quality. Bahamas is a heaven waiting for you and your family. For further details and more information on reservations, visit the Reef Atlantis but don’t be lazy for the resort runs choc-a-block with tourists across globe during the peak-season!
Via: roadandtravel
Posted in Earth, Ocean, Pollution on 4 July 2008
Rising CO2 levels is just not a nuisance for those living above the seas but for those dwelling underneath oceans as well. So far, the focus is shifted more towards the implication of increased levels of this gas in atmosphere; concerns on Global Warming thus being voiced by Governments and Public alike every other day. But oceanographers have warned that there’s another reason to check our carbon emissions as more carbon dioxide in the air means more of it in our oceans and seas. Most of us don’t realize that oceans are the absorbing-pits of this green house gas. As per an estimate, the world’s oceans have absorbed 40 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions produced by humans in the industrial age. And more and more CO2 in oceans is becoming a threat to Coral reefs - nature’s most lively and intricate architecture. Since the time Earth’s landscape comprised of nothing more than huge primordial soup in hot water bodies, these corals are being formed and today they are important for the healthy survival of other marine flora and fauna.
Some might say that, since oceans are there to suck up all that CO2 why should we bother about cutting back our emissions? The reason being ocean waters originally basic in nature (pH wise) are becoming highly acidic day by day, rendering it unfit for the creatures like corals. Already the acidity of ocean waters has shifted about 0.1 on the pH scale, or 10 percent, since pre-industrial times, and could get far more acidic by mid-century. So, besides aggravating global warming, increasing CO2 level is contributing towards ocean acidification. Scientists predict that if we continue to burn fossil fuels at this rate, the acidification process will acquire dangerous proportions. If the current carbon emission rate is not checked over the next decade, marine life including coral reefs will face extinction threat. Think about a scenario where the Great Barrier Reef (Australia) and other famous coral reefs get destroyed. Not only the loss would be incurred upon tourism industry but the ecological impact would far reaching and very drastic.
Already the situation is pretty serious with WWF clearly stating that G8 countries are unable to check their emissions. To overcome this problem measures taken by only G8 countries aren’t enough. People all over the world should unite and work synergistically to protect our natural assets for coming generations.
Via BlogWired
Posted in Animals, Pollution on 23 June 2008
St. Paul Island in the Pribilofs, Alaska is better known as Seal Island to wildlife lovers, locals and tourists. Having evolved from a volcanic past of the bygone era, the island today is home to the largest population of Northern fur seals. But this largest population is rapidly shrinking in size and facing extinction owning to human activities like seal-hunting and dumping wastes and other debris on the island. Northern fur seals and other marine mammals like sea lions, walruses, elephant seals etc. comprise the fauna of Alaska. As per the 2000 IUCN Red Data List, Northern fur seals are declared as ‘Vulnerable’ species. During the months of May and June, these animals gather on the shores of the Pribilof Islands, which are the rookeries (breeding sites) of these creatures. The sight of large male calling out for females to mate and join its harem is usually an idyllic one. But an increase in unchecked human activities have made these rookeries into dumping grounds for masses of debris , plastic bottles , tires , fishing nets and ropes.
Reports of deaths of these animals, caused by their painful entanglement in huge fishing nets are increasing every year. While, the domestic fishing liners of Alaska contribute some of this junk, a major chunk of it gets carried to the island from distant locations via ocean currents. The debris specially, the plastic bottles bear identification symbols in Russian, Korean and Japanese languages.
The islands of Pribilof (St. Paul, St. George and others) have declared seal hunting an illegal offense. Conservation projects have been spruced up (under the Marine Mammal Protection Act) since the time the numbers of these seals, hit an all time low in 1988. But this act alone cannot contribute towards the well being of these animals, as the growing amounts of marine debris on their breeding grounds have severely affected the birth and survival rate of their pups. According to as estimate, the Pribilofs now have, only half of the seal population of what was being found during 40’s and 50’s. There is a 6% annual decline in the pup production, as calculated by marine wildlife scientists. This decline can be linked to the growing insecurity on the rookeries where, hundred’s of poor animals get stuck in the debris and are unable to free themselves. Active efforts are being made by the local islanders and conservation officials to help and release such animals but the whole procedure is so cumbersome that many animals die by the time they are rescued from the clutches of these vicious fishing nets.
However, there is an increasing awareness among the locals towards this issue now. Volunteers and officials every year engage in cleaning up the island’s shoreline. Bob King, the debris coordinator of the Marine Conservation Alliance Foundation says, “There is a culture that has abused the oceans for decades and decades and that has got to stop”. Unfortunately, these clean up efforts are a tedious and costly affair. But then, it is just one of the ways to combat this problem. The amount of debris removed last year from a small stretch of the vast shoreline was large enough to fill two 20-foot truck trailers!!! So, no matter how much the cleaning effort restores in an year’s worker, the situation gets worse by the next year, because the accumulation of waste on these shores never stops! Unless and until, people and travelers don’t realize their responsibility towards nature and stop dumping wastes, the future of these Northern fur seals remains in shade.
Via FoxNews