Developing a monitoring plan for the Thachin River, Thailand
In affiliation with a US-AID project lead by Dave Nemazie at Center Administration, Bill Dennison and Tim Carruthers from the Integration and Application Network (IAN) and Ben Longstaff from Ecocheck (NOAA-UMCES Partnership), and PhD student Monika Shaffner from the University of Berne (Switzerland) attended a series of meetings on the Thachin River, Thailand. These meetings culminated in a one day workshop with 80 local Thai participants, where all IAN staff gave presentations. The project was working with local management and volunteer agencies to come up with recommendations for further development of a monitoring plan for this seriously degraded river. There is a decade of dispersed monitoring data and the issues and concerns in the catchments are well established, so conceptual diagrams were employed to help synthesize the current state of knowledge and key management goals. The main recommendation was that better communication of the current state of knowledge can assist to engage the general public and politicians in implementing required actions such as building and utilizing sewage treatment plants.
Science communication workshop in Bangkok, Thailand
On September 12-14, Bill Dennison and Jane Thomas from the LOICZ (Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone). The 34 participants were coastal scientists and resource managers from 12 countries throughout south Asia and southeast Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines). The stimulating and successful workshop focused on conceptual diagrams, oral presentations, and posters.
Drôme River Valley wins International Thiess Riverprize
The Drôme River Valley in southern France has won the prestigious 2005 International Thiess Riverprize for its restoration and management efforts. The AUD$150,000 International Thiess Riverprize, the richest river prize in the world, was awarded during the 8th International Riversymposium in Brisbane, Australia, involving more than 450 delegates from 30 countries. The Drôme River, once too polluted for swimming and sucked dry by agricultural irrigation, has seen significant improvement in its water quality, wetland biology, and flood risks. The key to the Drôme River Valley success was a collaborative partnership of local governments working with community groups and local stakeholders to produce a model for European river management. Monitoring river flows and upgrading sewage treatment plants over the last twenty years have ensured sustainable development of the Drôme River Valley. UMCES Vice President for Science Applications, Bill Dennison, was one of the international judging panel selecting the Drôme River as this year's winner.
Summer 2005 ecological forecast has mixed accuracy
The Summer 2005 ecological forecast for Chesapeake Bay, conducted in collaboration between Ecocheck (NOAA-UMCES Partnership) and the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP), recently concluded. This first attempt has shown how challenging it is to provide an accurate ecological forecast, with good, fair and poor accuracy this year. Based on spring nutrient loads delivered to the Bay, mainstem anoxic volume was predicted to be the fourth largest on record. However, the anoxic volume was larger than predicted, with the largest ever summer average anoxic volume occurring. Fortunately, the Potomac River harmful algal bloom forecast was incorrect, with only relatively minor concentrations of Microcystis being reported. As predicted, the low salinity aquatic grass beds expanded this summer, mostly on the Susquehanna flats. Detailed explanations of the summer conditions in relation to the forecasts will be released by the CBP in November. With the conclusion of this year’s forecast, Ecocheck is now working with the Chesapeake Bay Program to produce an annual assessment of restoration activities and ecological health. These reports will be released by the CBP in January and March of next year.