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GPAC promotes projects designed to address pollution in Gulf

South Portland, Maine ---- To protect the Gulf's coastal and marine environment from land-based activities causing pollution and habitat disturbance, the Global Programme of Action Coalition for the Gulf of Maine (GPAC) plans to launch several projects this year.

GPAC ----- which includes participants representing US and Canadian private industry, environmental and community groups, indigenous peoples, science, and government ----- formed in response to the United Nations Environment Programme's efforts to reduce degradation of marine and coastal environments in recognition of the fact that about 80 percent of marine pollution is caused by human activities on land.

The project ideas resulted from a November GPAC workshop in South Portland attended by about 140 participants. At the workshop, a finance panel that included representatives from the banking industry, a nonprofit foundation, government agencies, and an international organization, provided information on funding sources for the projects. GPAC will oversee the work of project teams and will convene another meeting next fall to assess their progress.

At an earlier workshop in Saint John, New Brunswick, GPAC had identified 15 priority issues requiring urgent action, including reduction in emissions of specific pollutants, and protection of marine and coastal habitats through improvements in land development practices. GPAC recommends the following activities to address those issues:

• A workshop to explore new institutional arrangements between the US and Canada to address issues of regional concern, including the management of sewage-borne contaminants and other toxic chemicals. Contact: David Coon, Conservation Council of New Brunswick, (506) 466-4033 or David VanderZwaag, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia (902) 494-1045.

• A conference to develop a research program and make policy recommendations for managing the harvesting of low trophic-level species such as rockweed and krill. Contact: Phil Holmes, St. Croix Estuary Project, New Brunswick (506) 529-4868.

• "Communities United for the Gulf of Maine," an activity intended to expand community-based efforts to monitor environmental quality through networked resources, training, and use of common protocols. It will be coordinated through the Coastal Network, a binational network that is monitoring water quality and other environmental indicators. Contact: Alison Evans, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia (902) 494-3967.

• Educational materials on land-based sources of marine pollution to be developed for a general audience and school children about the impacts of their activities on the marine environment and what to do about them. Contact David Keeley, Maine State Planning Office, (207) 287-1491 or Judith Swan, Foundation for the World's Oceans, Nova Scotia (902) 860-1758.

• A regional database of salt marsh restoration opportunities and standardized, regionally applicable criteria and protocols for evaluating the success of restoration projects in reconstructing the structure and functions of natural systems. Building on existing work, this initiative will establish a regional network of sites, consolidate and update existing coastal databases, and begin a demonstration project. Contact Kim Hughes, New Brunswick Department of the Environment (506) 453-4409 or Hilary Neckles, US Geological Survey, Maine (207) 622-8205.

Organizers say the GPAC's work builds on the work of groups and individuals committed to the protection of the Gulf including the Gulf of Maine Council, the Regional Association for Research in the Gulf of Maine (RARGOM), and the United Nations Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC).

For more information, contact US GPAC Co-Chair Katie Ries via E-mail at: kries@ocean.nos.noaa.gov or call (301) 713-3078, ext. 171; or Canadian Co-Chair Joe Arbour via E-mail at Joe.Arbour@ec.gc.ca or call (902) 426-1701; or visit the GPAC working web site, www.cec.org/statepage/ and type in user name: gulf and password: trends, all in lower case.