- SDG 14 is ‘Life Below Water :Plastic pollution. Increasing levels of debris in the world’s oceans are having a major environmental and economic impact. Marine debris impacts biodiversity through entanglement or ingestion
- SDG 14 is ‘Life Below Water :Coastal waters are deteriorating due to pollution and eutrophication. Without concerted efforts, coastal eutrophication is expected to increase in 20 percent of large marine ecosystems by 2050.
- SDG 14 is Life Below Water :Ocean acidification has increased significantly in recent decades. Open Ocean sites show current levels of acidity have increased by 26 per cent since the start of the Industrial Revolution.
- SDG 14 is Life Below Water :Oceans absorb about 30 per cent of carbon dioxide produced by humans, buffering the impacts of global warming.
- SDG 14 is Life Below Water :Oceans provide key natural resources including food, medicines, biofuels and other products. They help with the breakdown and removal of waste and pollution, and their coastal ecosystems act as buf
Ocean Plastic Could Treble In A Decade!
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The amount of plastic in the ocean is set to treble in another 10 years unless litter is curbed, a major report has warned. Plastics is just one issue facing the world's seas, along with rising sea levels, warming oceans, and pollution, the report says.
But, the Foresight Future of the Sea Report for the United Kingdom (UK) government said there are also opportunities to cash in on the "ocean economy".
They say this is predicted to double to $3 trillion by 2030.
The report says much more knowledge is needed about the ocean.
The authors of the report say the world needs a mission like "Planet Ocean" on lines of the excitement of voyages to moon and Mars.
The report is written by experts to brief top officials on medium and long-term issues of significance.
This one has been signed off by ministers from four different departments as the authors emphasise the need for an ocean policy.
The report highlights huge concerns, including the current worry about plastic litter, which it forecasts will treble between 2015 and 2025. But, it stresses that the ocean is being assailed from many different types of pollution - including run-off pesticides and fertilizers from agriculture farms, industrial toxins and pharmaceuticals.
The authors say if governments can identify ways of protecting biodiversity in the seas, there is a lot which can be harvested, including remains of metals and possibly even cures for cancer.
They predict that the biggest industrial growth in the seas will come from offshore wind, followed by marine aquaculture and fish processing.
The report projects an increase in industrial capture of wild fish.
Madakasira Rajesh