SDG #14 – Life Below Water
The ocean covers approximately 71% of Earth’s surface and provides 97% of its water. With the majority of our seas still unexplored, we need to be aware of what is happening underneath the water. In a world so focused on climate change and carbon emissions it is important to appreciate the impact big water animals, such as dolphins and whales, have when it comes to keeping the ocean alive, by absorbing carbon dioxide. Every year, the ocean absorbs four times more carbon dioxide than the amazon rainforest and generates up to 85% of all the oxygen we breath. Fundamentally, protecting these animals, means protecting the entire planet.
Over 3 million people rely on the oceans to be able to continue with their lives and only 1.2% of national research budgets are allocated for ocean science. Some of the main concerns in the oceans today, also disrupting marine ecosystems and the communities they support, are plastic and marine pollution, ocean warming, eutrophication (excessive richness of nutrients), acidification and fishery collapse. Additionally, over half of the marine key biodiversity areas are not protected and dead zones – areas of water that lack sufficient oxygen to support marine life – have risen about 57% from 2008 to 2019.
Plastic is invading every corner of the world’s seas and appearing as huge floating garbage patches, increasingly accumulating in the middle of the ocean, causing death on animals which then are washed up on our coasts with their stomachs filled with plastics. The equivalent to around a loading truck full of plastic is dumped in the sea, every minute, adding on to the 150 million tonnes of plastics, already in the oceans. As an example, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, is an area in the ocean which subsists of a collection of plastic and floating trash, its size is estimated to range from 700,000 sq km, roughly the size of Texas, and 15,000,000 sq km, about the size of Russia. The fishing industry is causing major impacts on the world and at the insane rate it is occurring, scientists estimate that by 2048, the oceans will be clear of fish.
For the Earth to keep operating, it is imperative to preserve our marine resources and the creatures that live inside. Sustainable Development Goal #14 aims to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. For the keen achievement of SDG 14, the UN advanced the Ocean Conference, developed by a multidisciplinary expert team, and has been held since 2017. The conference discusses plans to conserve and sustainably use of the oceans, seas and marine recourses. With these plans in order, it is hoped that the targets of SDG 14 are achieved in line with the Agenda 2030.
SDG 14’s targets include:
· Prevent and reduce marine pollution;
· Sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts;
· Minimize the impacts of ocean acidification;
· Effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices;
On another note, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that one third of the global fish stocks are currently over-fished. These are a major threat to the food security of low-income coastal communities. As part of the SDGs, with an effort to reduce over-fishing, the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed that a fisheries subsidies agreement was required and was to be developed by 2020, as many of these subsidies enable vessels to stay at sea and continue fishing in situations that would not be economically viable otherwise. However, it is indispensable for these to consider the overall objectives of the SDGs, along with recognising flexibility in the least developed countries. During a ministerial meeting on the 15th of July 2021 regarding such agreement, the WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said she felt “new hope” and mentioned that “this is the closest we have ever come towards reaching an outcome”.
Moreover, efforts to reduce nutrient inputs into coastal zones are showing success in some regions but eutrophication continues to be a challenge, and ocean acidification, caused by the absorption of atmospheric carbon dioxide by the ocean, has seen a decline in pH over the past 20 to 30 years. Protected areas for marine biodiversity have increased 16% in the last 20 years and regulation, monitoring and measures have shown, however slowly, improvement when it comes to restoring previously overfished stocks to sustainable levels. Additionally, substantial progress is seen between 2018 and 2020 in terms of implementing regulatory and institutional frameworks that recognize and protect access rights for small-scale fisheries, with the global score rising.
In efforts to reduce marine pollution, in 2018, the UK government signed a global commitment to eliminate plastics. The ambition is to work towards all the plastics in the market being recyclable, by 2025, and eliminate avoidable plastic waste by end of 2050. Additionally, alongside 250 organisations, including the UK government and many of the world’s largest packaging producers, retailers and NGO’s, including Danone, H&M, The Coca-Cola Company and Unilever, have signed the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Global Commitment. This aims to eliminate problematic and/ or unnecessary plastic packaging and replacing single-use for reusable materials, improve circulation of plastics and ensure that all plastic packaging is recyclable.
Consequently, the UK has seen improvements in keeping plastics away from the streets, rivers and oceans. By introducing a “plastic bag charge” the consumption of plastic bags has decreased immensely – 13 billion plastic bags were taken out of circulation in the last two years. Also, when considering banning all types of single-use plastics, such as cotton buds and plastics straws, the government received immense support from the public as almost 90% of retailers supported the decision. Supermarkets are being urged to set up plastic-free aisles and have been considering introducing a deposit return scheme for plastic bottles. Additionally, governments should invest in education, especially for younger generations, regarding good habits and teaching them the importance of looking after the planet. With these measures and more, the UK is hoping to see improvements when it comes to reducing, reusing and recycling products, thus, protecting the oceans.
All in all, the world wouldn’t be able to function without the oceans, seas and its marine life, so taking care of these, is taking care of the Earth. Reducing plastics and pollutants which impact marine life directly is indispensable, but as is ceasing over-fishing and eliminating dead zones. Governments globally are taking action to protect marine life, but there are significant improvements to be made in the future.
