UN for first time places day’s focus on threats to undersea ecosystem

THE UNITED NATIONS has identified over-fishing and islands of plastic pollution as the major threats not only to ocean biodiversity but also to the livelihoods of billions of people who rely on bountiful seas.

The importance of marine biodiversity to the global economy and food security was highlighted on World Wildlife Day yesterday, which had as its theme “Life below water: For people and planet”. 

The UN expressed grave concern over the unsustainable exploitation of fish stocks and plastic pollution.

The World Wildlife Day website noted that this was the first time the theme focused on life underwater. The objective was to persuade people to recognise the significance of marine biodiversity and its crucial importance to humanity, it said.

 People were encouraged to keep the marine ecosystem healthy so that future generations can also benefit from the rich sea life.

The oceans are home to at least 200,000 identified species and scientists estimate that millions more marine species have yet to be discovered.

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 People were encouraged to keep the marine ecosystem healthy so that future generations can also benefit from the rich sea life.

  The oceans are home to at least 200,000 identified species and scientists estimate that millions more marine species have yet to be discovered.

Thanks to this abundance, United Nations Development Programme administrator Achim Steiner pointed out, humanity has been able to rely on marine and coastal resources for millennia. The rich biodiversity continues to sustain the lives of some three billion people, providing them with food and nourishment.

Steiner said the value of marine ecosystem services and resources in the global market is estimated at US$3 trillion per year – about 5 per cent of global GDP

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However, the bounty of the seas is in decline, he stressed, as human activities such as unsustainable exploitation of marine resources and pollution threaten the survival of many species.

Thon Thamrongnawasawat, a marine biologist at Kasetsart University, said marine wildlife in Thai waters is suffering too due to over-fishing and plastic pollution.

Thon believes the Thai fishing fleet is too large given the limited stocks remaining. He calculated that, if every fishing net in use were tied end to end, the chain would be 10 times longer than the entire coastline. He recommended stricter fishing restrictions in ecologically vulnerable areas and scaling down the fishing fleet to prevent over-exploitation of marine resources.

Thon said discarded plastic floating in the sea was a silent killer of marine biodiversity. Last year alone, he said, at least 128 endangered marine animals died along Thai shores after ingesting plastic waste. Meanwhile scientists verified that “micro-plastics” now contaminate the entire marine food chain, ending up in our seafood dishes.

“I think Thailand is coping well,” he said. “The government recently clamped down on illegal, unreported and unregulated [IUU] fishing and the Pollution Control Department is working hard to ban single-use plastic to try and stop the flow of plastic waste into the sea.

“Nevertheless, the most important thing to effectively help us overcome these threats to the sea is raising public awareness, because we’re all part of the problem and we need to work together to solve it.”
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Source - TheNation

 

How climate change threatens #Indonesia's marine #Tourism

While the Earth has only warmed around 0.74 degrees Celsius over the last 100 years, this small temperature increase is affecting ocean ecosystems and could impact upon the global marine tourism industry.

Coral reef tourism has a global value of US$36 billion per year, according to a scientific study mapping the global value and distribution of coral reef tourism. This study, published in the Marine Policy journal in August 2017, concluded that 30 percent of the world’s reefs are valuable to tourism.

Indonesia has a thriving coral reef tourism industry and also has the second largest manta ray tourism industry in the world, with an annual value of over $15 million.

While coral bleaching events and ocean acidification are well-documented effects of climate change, there are other stressors upon coral reefs that could undermine these valuable tourism industries.

Sea level rises, leading to coastal erosion, plus stronger and more frequent storms typical of the current climate, smother and destroy coral reef structures. Heavy rainfall cause land-based pollutants and nutrients to wash into the ocean, resulting in algal blooms and a reduction in available light at reefs. Changing ocean currents also affect reefs, by altering the connectivity of geographically distant reefs and water temperature profiles. These changes can lead to a lack of food sources and interrupt reef species’ ability to breed.

If left unchecked, these complex effects could reduce the value of marine tourism significantly as the quality of world-class Indonesian dive sites and idyllic tourism destinations deteriorate.

Thankfully a new global partnership to conserve the ocean, announced at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland on Jan. 25, should help address this. This new partnership, Friends of Ocean Action, will consist of leaders in science, technology, business and non-governmental groups aiming to deliver the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14: to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.

Individuals can also do their part to minimize the effects of climate change by reducing their carbon footprint. Measures such as driving less, reducing waste and purchasing energy efficient appliances or light bulbs are easy ways to help. Indonesia’s coral reefs can be protected with simple measures such as using fewer garden chemicals that may run-off into the ocean, choosing sustainable seafood and practicing good reef etiquette.

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Journey to clean #Thailand’s oceans takes another step forward

   Help save our seas and save on your diving trips

Building on the success of the ‘Upcycling the Oceans, Thailand’ project, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has officially kicked off the ‘SAVE the Ocean & SAVE for Your Next Dive’ campaign, offering divers the chance to earn discounts on dive trips, in return for helping to protect Thailand’s marine ecosystem.

Interested divers are encouraged to take part by following just three easy steps: first, they need to inform a participating dive operator that they would like to join the project. The dive operator will then give them a special rubbish collection bag. Second, divers collect rubbish while enjoying their dive, and return the bag to receive a stamp on their ‘Diving Passport’. 

Third, they can use the stamp to redeem special discounts on their next dive trip with a participating dive operator.

Participating operators and dive sites are located in easy reach of Bangkok, on Thailand’s picturesque Eastern Seaboard – from the conveniently located Ao Sattahip and Ao Samae San in Chon Buri to the magical island of Ko Samet and the hidden gem of Hin Phloeng in Rayong province.

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The campaign is part of ‘Upcycling the Oceans, Thailand’ – a collaborative project among TAT, PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) and the Ecoalf Foundation – which aims to not only transform plastic debris found in the ocean into thread to make fabrics, but also to preserve the sea and coastal areas.

During their dive, participating divers are encouraged to practice good buoyancy control while also being careful to maintain the fragile ecosystem they are helping to protect – for example, when removing fishing nets from coral, it is best to use scissors to carefully trim the net and not pull it in such a way that will cause the coral to break.

Source - TheNation