(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM))
ABU DHABI, 5th August, 2017 (WAM) -- Humans bank on oceans for very many things, it is impossible to imagine the world without them. The future of the planet's oceans is, however, challenged by serious threats such as climate change, pollution and destructive fishing practices, said The Gulf Today in an editorial on Saturday.
"Human activities have a major impact on the ocean, affecting everything from the viability of marine habitats and the quality and temperature of the water to the health of marine life and the continued availability of seafood, as experts point out.
"In fact, the UN Environment Programme earlier cautioned that there would be more plastic than fish in the world's oceans by 2050 unless people stop using single-use plastic items such as plastic bags and plastic bottles," the paper added.
It explained that at the rate people are dumping items such as plastic bottles, bags and cups after a single use, by 2050 an estimated 99 per cent of seabirds will have ingested plastic. It is in this background that the Ocean Conference, the first-ever such summit convened by the UN in June, assumed immense significance.
President of the UN General Assembly, Peter Thomson, highlighted the fact that every second breath we take comes from the ocean-produced oxygen, adding, "Without a healthy ocean, we are in deep trouble. Whether it is food or our climate, we have to have integrity for the ocean, the source of life."
"What is hugely worrisome, as Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Cristiana Pasca Palmer, highlights, is the fact that populations of fish, corals and other living creatures have suffered a great deal. Ocean acidification, marine pollution, and damaging fisheries practices are all the result of human activities. Globally, the sea level is said to have risen by 20 centimetres since the start of the 20th century, due mostly to melting of glaciers and ice caps. Also alarming, both the Arctic and Antarctica are warming twice as fast as the rest of the world," the English language daily continued.
"In 2013, scientists were surprised to find the seas east of Greenland and north of Scandinavia are a dead-end for plastics. Some seas in that region are heavily polluted with plastic because of an Atlantic ocean current which dumps debris there.
"The reckless dumping of plastic in the oceans should stop as it wreaks havoc on marine wildlife, fisheries and tourism. A joint global action to ensure that oceans are clean, peaceful and bountiful is a necessity that cannot be ignored anymore," the paper concluded.
WAM/Nour Salman
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