Development of regional coastal water quality standards in the Mediterranean

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 17-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. J. Saliba

Under the terms of the 1976 Convention for the protection of the Mediterranean Sea against pollution, and the 1980 Protocol for the protection of the Mediterranean Sea against pollution from land-based sources, the coastal states of the region have to develop criteria and standards for various aspects of coastal water quality. These are being progressively developed within the framework of the Mediterranean Action Plan, specifically within the Long-term Programme of Pollution Monitoring and Research in the Mediterranean Sea (MED POL Phase II). The impact of specific Mediterranean ecological conditions on health and related risks arising from specific uses of the sea, in relation to those risks arising from the same types of water use in regions with different conditions, and the effects of such differences on quality requirements, are discussed. The current situation in the Mediterranean region regarding national and international legislation for ensuring coastal water quality is described, together with the normal procedures for regional assessments of the situation with regard to specific pollutants and the formulation of proposed measures. The legal and technical problems involved in (a) the actual preparation of criteria and standards combining ecological and health requirements with political acceptability and (b) their adoption by Mediterranean states are described. These problems essentially arise out of the heterogeneous character of the states bordering the Mediterranean Sea, especially regarding the state of existing infrastructures for pollution prevention and control, including the availability of trained manpower and technical facilities, the degreee of priority accorded to marine pollution within the overall framework of national requirements, the type of legal and administrative machinery for the enactment and enforcement of statutory provisions, and the implications of new or amended legislation vis-a-vis already-existing international obligations.

2019 ◽  
Vol 169 ◽  
pp. 201-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Norat-Ramírez ◽  
P. Méndez-Lázaro ◽  
E.A. Hernández-Delgado ◽  
H. Mattei-Torres ◽  
L. Cordero-Rivera

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 268-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith S. Evans ◽  
Caroline L. Noblet ◽  
Emma Fox ◽  
Kathleen P. Bell ◽  
Abigail Kaminski

We investigate allocation of funds by citizens across management options addressing impairments to coastal water quality. We study systematic variation in citizen allocation of funds to adaptive versus preventative strategies including the impact of referundum choices and test whether allocations will be impacted by cuing in the design of the referendum. Two key policy insights from our results: citizens who votenoon a water quality referendum have different preferences over allocating funds and providing cues to voters influenced allocation behavior. These results can assist decision makers in thinking about language used to communicate coastal water quality issues, particularly budget referenda.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Vijay Prakash ◽  
Ch. S. Geetha Vimala ◽  
T. Preethi Latha ◽  
Chiranjivi Jayaram ◽  
P. V. Nagamani ◽  
...  

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the entire world and has had a devastating impact on both lives and livelihoods in India. The only way to defeat the rapid spread of COVID-19, is to shut down socio-economic activities and to maintain minimal human interaction with the implementation of a lockdown. Such lockdowns have manifested in a pollution curtailment in almost all spheres of the planet, including in marine pollution. Quantifying this decrease in pollution levels enables the scientific community to assess the contribution of anthropogenic (especially non-essential) activities to global/regional pollution levels. This paper aims to study the impact of the stringent lockdown period (phase 1 and 2) on coastal water quality along the Chennai coast of India, by analyzing suspended matter concentration (SPM), a key element of water quality and diffuse attenuation coefficient, Kd(490), using LANDSAT-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) data. LANDSAT-8/OLI, L1TP scenes were subjected to radiometric calibration and atmospheric correction to derive surface reflectance values from raw digital numbers using ACOLITE software and a brief insight has been given for the Dark Spectrum Fitting algorithm used in ACOLITE. SPM concentration decreased by 15.48 and 37.50% in the Chennai and Ennore ports, respectively, due to minimal vessel movement and cargo handling. The stringent lockdown led to the operation of fewer thermal plant units, thus less fly ash was emanated, resulting in a 28.05% reduction in SPM levels over Ennore creek. As industrial and commercial activities subsided, the city’s water bodies became clearer than they were just a fortnight prior to the lockdown, with a reduction of 22.26% of SPM in Adyar and 33.97% in Cooum riverine estuaries. Decrease in Kd(490) showed a positive relationship with SPM and thus improved coastal water quality because of the reduction of SPM during this period. The variations in PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations were studied using National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP) data and reduced levels in particulate matter concentration (PM2.5 and PM10) for the Adyar residential area (24.38 and 28.43%) and for the Nungampakkam commercial area (36.09 and 67.18%) were observed. A significant reduction in PM2.5 concentration (45.63%) was observed in the Ennore-Manali Industrial region.


2014 ◽  
Vol 86 (5) ◽  
pp. 445-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel E. Meeroff ◽  
Frederick Bloetscher ◽  
Sharon C. Long ◽  
Thais Bocca

1986 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 197-205
Author(s):  
Lj Jeftié ◽  
L. J. Saliba

Increasing concern over the deterioration of the Mediterranean sea as a result of increasing pollution by untreated sewage and industrial wastes, agricultural pesticides and fertilizers and oil discharges, led to a series of meetings between 1970 and 1974, and finally to the UNEP-sponsored Mediterranean Action Plan, adopted by governments of the region in 1975 and ongoing since that time. The legal component of the Plan includes a framework Convention and four protocols; the environmental assessment component (the MED POL programme) consists of national pollution monitoring programmes, and research projects conducted by Mediterranean institutions; the environmental management component consists of the Blue Plan (a prospective study combining socio-economic development with environmental preservation) and the Priority Actions Programme (a series of sub-region sectoral projects in defined areas). The Plan has been financed by Mediterranean States since 1979, and is managed by UNEP with the cooperation of other competent UN Agencies. During the last ten years, activities undertaken have improved knowledge of the state of pollution of the Mediterranean sea, and facilitated joint regional action in the form of preventive and control measures.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alba de la Vara ◽  
William Cabos ◽  
Dmitry V. Sein ◽  
Claas Teichmann ◽  
Daniela Jacob

AbstractIn this work we use a regional atmosphere–ocean coupled model (RAOCM) and its stand-alone atmospheric component to gain insight into the impact of atmosphere–ocean coupling on the climate change signal over the Iberian Peninsula (IP). The IP climate is influenced by both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean sea. Complex interactions with the orography take place there and high-resolution models are required to realistically reproduce its current and future climate. We find that under the RCP8.5 scenario, the generalized 2-m air temperature (T2M) increase by the end of the twenty-first century (2070–2099) in the atmospheric-only simulation is tempered by the coupling. The impact of coupling is specially seen in summer, when the warming is stronger. Precipitation shows regionally-dependent changes in winter, whilst a drier climate is found in summer. The coupling generally reduces the magnitude of the changes. Differences in T2M and precipitation between the coupled and uncoupled simulations are caused by changes in the Atlantic large-scale circulation and in the Mediterranean Sea. Additionally, the differences in projected changes of T2M and precipitation with the RAOCM under the RCP8.5 and RCP4.5 scenarios are tackled. Results show that in winter and summer T2M increases less and precipitation changes are of a smaller magnitude with the RCP4.5. Whilst in summer changes present a similar regional distribution in both runs, in winter there are some differences in the NW of the IP due to differences in the North Atlantic circulation. The differences in the climate change signal from the RAOCM and the driving Global Coupled Model show that regionalization has an effect in terms of higher resolution over the land and ocean.


Author(s):  
Hiroshi Yoshioka ◽  
Tomotsuka Takayama ◽  
Yoshitaka Tanabe ◽  
Nobuaki Shiraishi

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
MANOJ KUMAR SHUKLA

Present study points out the impact of Lockdown on the health of the Yamuna river at Delhi stretch by comparing prelockdown and Post-lockdown period by studying the reports of pollution monitoring agencies. Delhi segment of the Yamuna is highly polluted, where alongwith domestic sewage a huge quantity of industrial waste is being discharged continuously without proper treatment. Pre lockdown (March 2020) water quality parameters at three sampling stations named as Palla, Nizammuddin Bridge and Okhla barrage U/s in Delhi were, pH were 8.7, 7.3 and 7.2, DO were 17.1 mg/L, not detected in later two sites, BOD were 7.9 mg/L, 57 mg/L and 27 mg/L and COD were 28 mg/L, 90 mg/L and 95 mg/L respectively and postlockdown period (April 2020) the pH was 7.8, 7.2 and 7.1, DO was 8.3 mg/L, 2.4 mg/L and 1.2 mg/L BOD was 2 mg/L, 5.6 mg/ L and 6.1 mg/L and COD were 6 mg/L, 16 mg/L and 18 mg/L respectively. The study of these parameters at three sampling stations reveals that the lack of industrial pollutants discharging due to nationwide lockdown for COVID-19 pandemic had positive effect on water quality of this river. Water quality could be maintained by planned establishment of industries and setup of ETP with without gap between generation and treatment.


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