A school of fish in an underwater kelp forestCanva
A network of 68 pan-European organisations are constantly working together to find ways to reinvigorate our continent’s marine life.
One composite is
the BioRestore project, a French program conceived in 2012 that restocks wild coastal fish populations using elaborate scientific techniques. They have successfully managed to reintroduce 85 different fish species into three sites across the French Mediterranean - the next step is to lobby for their work to come under legal protection.
Last month the UK launched its largest
seagrass restoration project which will see eight hectares of seagrass planted across England’s south coast over four years.
Error-ridden deep sea mining licenses may be unlawful, ministers warned
greenpeace.org.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from greenpeace.org.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Apr 27 2021
In 2019, British supermarket chain Waitrose & Partners launched its ‘Plan Plastic – The Million Pound Challenge’ scheme. In essence, the initiative was intended to use the money from the sale of 5p single-use plastic bags to fund projects aimed at tackling the problem of plastic pollution.
This issue is an increasingly serious one, with an estimated eight million tonnes of plastic ending up in our oceans every year. More still find their way into the atmosphere in the form of airborne plastics, the long-term health ramifications of which are still not fully understood.
As a result, Waitrose picked five innovative start-ups and schemes from across the UK which targeted reducing the amount of plastic waste present in our environment. The winning schemes, which received grants of between £150,000 and £300,000, are as follows:
Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images
1
GDP contracted by 1.5% in Q1 - but grew 2.1% in March
The UK’s locked-down economy shrank by 1.5% in the first quarter of the year, according to figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 1.5% in Q1, following a 1.3% growth in Q4 2020.
The quarter did end on a positive note, however, with schools reopening across England and Wales and retail trade sales continuing to show strength. Real GDP is estimated to have grown by 2.1% in March - the fastest monthly growth since August 2020. The construction (5.8%), services (1.9%) and manufacturing (2.1%) sectors all recorded growth in March.
Last modified on Wed 12 May 2021 07.09 EDT
Deep-sea mining exploration licences granted by the British government are âriddled with inaccuraciesâ, and could even be unlawful, according to Greenpeace and Blue Marine Foundation, a conservation charity.
The licences, granted a decade ago to UK Seabed Resources, a subsidiary of the US arms multinational Lockheed Martin, have only recently been disclosed by the company.
In March lawyers for Greenpeace wrote to Kwasi Kwarteng, secretary of state for business and energy, warning of potential legal flaws in the licences. They have not received a response, they say.
The licences, which detail the UKâs responsibilities as a sponsoring state of UK Seabed Resources (UKSR) in its exploration of polymetallic nodules on the Pacific Ocean seabed, appear to have been granted for 15 years, but UK law only permits a maximum initial period of 10 years. This suggests they may be unlawful, the campaigners say.
vimarsana © 2020. All Rights Reserved.