Marine Program and Project Areas:
"The International Global Waters Assessment will be based on assessments of 66 international waters, of the ecological status of these water areas and the causes of environmental problems of the regions — international waters comprising marine, coastal and freshwater areas, and surface waters as well as groundwaters — in nine major regions. Focus will be on the key issues and problems facing the aquatic environment in these international waters." [From the GIWA website]
The map below, from the GIWA website, is provided only as rough key to the regions involved. Users should go to the GIWA website for complete documentation. [Areas listed with a * are also Large Marine Ecosystems (see below).]
Arctic
1. Arctic
North Atlantic
2. Gulf of Mexico*
3. Caribbean Sea*
4. Caribbean Islands
5. Southeast Shelf*
6. Northeast Shelf*
7. Scotian Shelf*
8. Gulf of St. Lawrence
9. Newfoundland Shelf*
10. Baffin Bay, Labrador Sea, Canadian Arch.
11. Barents Sea*
12. Norwegian Sea*
13. Faroe plateau
14. Iceland Shelf *
15. East Greenland Shelf*
16. West Greenland Shelf*
17. Baltic Sea*
18. North Sea*
19. Celtic-Biscay Shelf*
20. Iberian Coastal*
21. Mediterranean Sea*
22. Black Sea*
23. Caspian Sea
24. Aral Sea
North Pacific
25. Gulf of Alaska*
26. California Current*
27. Gulf of California*
28. East Bering Sea*
29. West Bering Sea*
30. Sea of Okhotsk*
31. Oyashio Current*
32. Kuroshio Current*
33. Sea of Japan*
34. Yellow Sea*
35. Bohai Sea
36. East-China Sea*
37. Hawaiian Archipelago*
Eastern South America
38. Patagonian Shelf*
39. Brazil Current*
40. Northeast Brazil Shelf*
40a. Brazilian Northeast
40b. Amazon
Sub-Saharan Africa
41. Canary Current*
42. Guinea Current*
43. Lake Chad
44. Benguela Current*
45a. Agulhas Current*
45b. Indian Ocean Islands
46. Somali Coastal Current*
47. East African Rift Valley Lakes
Indian Ocean
48. Gulf of Aden
49. Red Sea*
50. The Gulf
51. Jordan (land-locked river system)
52. Arabian Sea*
53. Bay of Bengal
Southeast Asia and the South Pacific
54. South China Sea*
55. Mekong River
56. Sulu-Celebes Sea*
57. Indonesian Seas*
58. North Australian Shelf*
59. Coral Sea Basin
60. Great Barrier Reef*
61. Great Australian Bight
62. Small Island States
63. Tasman Sea
Southeast Pacific
64. Humboldt Current*
65. Eastern Equatorial Pacific
Antarctic
66. Antarctic*
"Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) are relatively large areas of ocean space of approximately 200,000 km² or greater, adjacent to the continents in coastal waters where primary productivity is generally higher than in open ocean areas....In summer 2005 it was agreed that UNEP, in partnership with the GEFsupported Global International Waters Assessment (GIWA) project, and NOAA’s Large Marine Ecosystem Program, would provide synopses of ecological conditions for each of the worlds’ Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs). In accordance with the outcome of a series of consultations among the three parties, it was concluded that the five-module LME assessment framework of productivity, fish and fisheries, pollution and ecosystem health, socioeconomics, and governance, would provide a useful basis for describing ecological conditions within the world’s LMEs." [From the LME website]
The map below is provided only as rough key to the regions involved. Users should go to the LME website to inspect the LME Poster.
1. East Bering Sea
2. Gulf of Alaska
3. California Current
4. Gulf of California
5. Gulf of Mexico
6. Southeast U.S. Continental Shelf
7. Northeast U.S. Continental Shelf
8. Scotian Shelf
9. Newfoundland-Labrador Shelf
10. Insular Pacific-Hawaiian
11. Pacific Central-American Coastal
12. Caribbean Sea
13. Humboldt Current
14. Patagonian Shelf
15. South Brazil Shelf
16. East Brazil Shelf
17. North Brazil Shelf
18. West Greenland Shelf
19. East Greenland Shelf
20. Barents Sea
21. Norwegian Sea
22. North Sea
23. Baltic Sea
24. Celtic-Biscay Shelf
25. Iberian Coastal
26. Mediterranean Sea
27. Canary Current
28. Guinea Current
29. Benguela Current
30. Agulhas Current
31. Somali Coastal Current
32. Arabian Sea
33. Red Sea
34. Bay of Bengal
35. Gulf of Thailand
36. South China Sea
37. Sulu-Celebes Sea
38. Indonesian Sea
39. North Australian Shelf
40. Northeast Australian Shelf-Great Barrier Reef
41. East-Central Australian Shelf
42. Southeast Australian Shelf
43. Southwestn australian Shelf
44. West-Central Australian Shelf
45. Northwest Australian Shelf
46. New Zealand Shelf
47. East China Sea
48. Yellow Sea
49. Kurushio Current
50. Sea of Japan
51. Oyashio Current
52. Okhotsk Sea
53. West Bering Sea
54. Chukchi Sea
55. Beaufort Sea
56. East Siberian Sea
57. Laptev Sea
58. Kara Sea
59. Iceland Shelf
60. Faroe Plateau
61. Antarctic
62. Black Sea
63. Hudson Bay
64. Arctic Ocean
The GMDSS includes a global scheme of "metareas" where specifically identified national meteorological agencies are responsible for forecasting marine weather. This map indicates their geographic responsibilities.
