SINDHUDURG, India - The fishermen were dubious when ocean experts suggested they could save their dwindling marine stocks just by switching to new nets. It took years for the United Nations Development Program to convince the fishing communities along India's tropical western coast that the diamond-mesh nets they were using were trapping baby fish, while a square-shaped mesh could allow small fish to escape to maintain a breeding population. But two years after the new nets were fully adopted, fishermen insist they're making a difference. "This square net is a blessing for us," said John Gabriel Naronha, who runs six trawlers in the area. "When the small fish grows up, the fishermen can really benefit ... we can get good prices for big fish. And the small fish gets a chance to grow." The project, launched in 2011, is one of many being showcased at a major conference on oceans beginning on Monday, where the UN will plead with nations to help halt a global assault on marine life and ecosystems that is threatening jobs, economies and even human lives. "The oceans of the planet are in dire need of urgent action," said Marina Walter, deputy director for UNDP in India. That action is even more urgent now that climate change is causing ocean temperatures to rise while waters also become more acidic, causing widespread destruction of coral reefs that sustain a quarter of all marine species. The struggles of India's fishermen are hardly unique. About one out of every 10 people in the world relies directly on the ocean to survive. Most of those are among the world's poorest, meaning they have few substitutes when marine life declines. Meanwhile, the UNDP has also helped set up a crab farming project in the Sindudurg area to encourage local preservation of the mangroves and resistance to land developers and those gathering firewood from chopping the saltwater-tolerant trees down. Local officials are delighted with the low-fuss process and positive results. "With very little manipulation of the environment, you can grow crabs wherever you have mangroves," said N. Vasudevan, who heads a special unit for the government of India's western state of Maharashtra. Associated Press custom silicone braceletscheap silicone wristbands ukmake your own wristbandmake rubber braceletsflash drive wristband24hr wristband202mm to inches
Logo of the app. A mobile app focusing on facilitating the development of small and medium enterprises (SEMs) was launched nationwide on Tuesday. The app HuiZhiNengTong literally means to bring highly intelligent people, particularly the businessmen, together while using the app to strengthen their connectivity, said Wei Yanna, executive director of Shenzhen Qianhai Huineng Technology Industry Co, Ltd, at the launch ceremony in Beijing. Our team spent almost 5 years in designing and developing the new software that has already been tested in some parts of China, such as Guangdong province, Wei added, in an interview with China Daily website. She said the product features an easy-to-make paperless business card and the creation of group chat with up to 3,000 members that is six times as large as a group with maximum number on WeChat, China's most popular messaging app. More importantly, the app is free, Wei added. Designing a business card is time-consuming and resource-wasting, which might not be even up-to-date, said Yang Tichun, the founder and CEO of the Shenzhen-based high-tech company. At the ceremony, the app also earned an award from the Ministry of Environmental Protection because the company actively participates in making the environment pollution free and manages to help the nation achieve an eco-society. Thanks to China's economic policy that encourages people to do business creatively and drive innovation, the app provides a platform that allows users to easily find their business partners both nearby and far away in an open economy, Yang added. Currently, the app has already created 1.2 million jobs. It is set to unveil plans to embrace more than 400 million users during the next three years, and develop an international edition before the upcoming Spring Festival holiday that falls on Feb 15, according to Yang. I have cooperated with the business community for so many years. And I do know what the business people want and their difficulties are, said Wei when asked why she was so engaged in developing the app for the tech world, a field traditionally dominated by males. Flying around the world, they try to make personal connections by being present at a variety of meetings. Frequent business trips make them look weary, which might earn them the tag of low-efficient partners, she thought. It is an era of mobile internet, and it creates a unique and unprecedented opportunity to ensure a successful launch of the mobile app, said Wei.
