World Oceans Day 2021: Why our oceans need urgent saving from the peril of plastics

Image for representational purpose only. Photo: istock

The oceans play an invigorating role in our ecosystem - providing food and livelihood to people, and accounting for 50 per cent of the planet's oxygen, as per the United Nations. It is known that 71 per cent of the Earth's surface is covered with water, of which the oceans make up as much as 96.5 per cent. Now, more than ever before, the health of these life-giving deep waters is under threat. At least 8 million tonnes of plastic is said to end up in the oceans every year, making up about 80 per cent of all marine debris, according to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The possibility of having a specific day to talk about oceans was first proposed in 1992 but the UN general assembly officially observed June 8 as ‘World Ocean Day' only in 2008. It was celebrated for the first time in 2009. While the first theme focused on ‘Our Ocean, Our Responsibility', the conversation has shifted in the last 12 years.

The theme this year
With ‘The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods' as its subject for 2021, the UN is drawing attention to eating local, sustainably-sourced fish and stopping plastic pollution. This comes ahead of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, which will extend from 2021 to 2030 and intends to promote scientific research and innovative technologies to connect ocean science with the needs of society today.

While eliminating plastic pollution is an important aspect of protecting oceans, there is an equal need to protect coastal communities, as the theme suggests, because they depend on the oceans a lot more than others. This is also highlighted in the UN's programme for the next decade, which aims to use science and technology to help all those connected to the ocean.

Waste woes in India's waters
As a part of India's involvement in the 2021 celebrations, Deepika Tadi, an eco-warrior from Andhra Pradesh is representing the country in the online meeting organised by the UN on June 8. Tadi is part of a waste-management NGO called Green Worms, headquartered in Kozhikode, Kerala. Being one among 45 speakers, she will discuss the issue of plastic pollution and how it is harming marine species in the Bay of Bengal. Tadi is from the Antarvedi village, which has been collectively working towards reducing waste through the ‘Antarvedi Zero-Waste Initiative'.

At the government level, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Twitter that India has launched a two-month-long awareness campaign on the topic of plastic waste management and the elimination of identified Single Use Plastics (SUPs) items.

Indian Ocean and climate change
The need for active involvement of scientific research is necessary in India, where the Indian Ocean has been changing, according to Dr Sridhar Balasubramanian in an earlier interview with mid-day.com. In view of the recent Cyclone Tauktae, which caused a lot of destruction to life and property, the Mumbai-based climate scientist had said that cyclones in the North Indian Ocean are gaining intensity rapidly and this is a cause of concern.

While cyclones are typically expected on the east coast in the Bay of Bengal, scientists have noted the Arabian Sea warming up and behaving differently. Since cyclones cannot be prevented, they say the only way to way to deal with these events is to reduce their impact, take steps to preserve the ecosystem, and create a robust climate-resilience framework.

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