By Someshwar Singh*
This is the International Year of the Ocean and attention is focused as
never before on the marine environment. But promises and rhetoric must
be translated into action if some of the earth's most valuable resources
are to be protected.
Gland, Switzerland: At the dawn of the 21st century, the world's
oceans are becoming more important than they have ever been. Over the
next 20 years, the volume of international trade will nearly treble and
more than 90 per cent of this trade will move by sea. In addition, 16 of our
largest cities - those with more than 2.5 million inhabitants - are on or
close to the sea.
The implications of all this for the marine environment are profound, but
there are other reasons why we must learn to manage our oceans
sustainably. With discoveries of new drugs to maintain human health
beginning to dwindle, the chemical riches of the seas offer a new
frontier.
This year marks the International Year of the Ocean and Expo '98, which
opened in Portugal in May and runs until September, and is dedicated to
the oceans of the world. This helps to raise awareness of marine
conservation, but the fact is that although the oceans cover 70 per cent
of the earth's surface, most people's environmental concerns remain
terrestrial.
Yet the threats to the seas are perhaps as dangerous as anything found
on land. Dwindling fish stocks mean reduced food supplies and the loss
of a fundamental economic activity among fishing communities. Disputes
round the world over territorial fishing rights continue as competition for
fish increases, and catches decrease. Some fishermen's daily catch is
now reduced to almost nothing.
Coral reefs, seen by many scientists to be as valuable as rainforests, are
suffering irreversible damage. The World Resources Institute estimates
that human activity is threatening the future of nearly 60 per cent of the
world's coral reefs, the most endangered being Southeast Asia, where
an estimated 82 per cent are considered to be at medium or high risk.
Out in the deep oceans, away from the economic zones of nations, there
are worries about the future of majestic creatures such as the bluefin
tuna, the swordfish, and the great whales. There have been some
conservation victories, but more than 18,000 whales have been killed
since the international moratorium on whaling came into effect in
1985-1986.
There is growing evidence that, in addition to being hunted directly,
whales are facing an increasingly wide range of new threats, particularly
from dangerous chemicals.
WWF-World Wide Fund For Nature and the IUCN-World Conservation
Union, have just released their first global strategy for marine
conservation, entitled Creating a Sea Change: A Vision for Our Blue
Planet. This policy provides a blueprint to save our seas, laying down
actions that every section of society - governments, industry,
communities, and individuals - can take to reverse the current
degradation of the marine environment.
The Director of WWF's Endangered Seas Campaign, Michael Sutton,
says: "The global profile of ocean conservation has never been higher,
but action must follow rhetoric. WWF is calling on governments and
businesses to make new commitments to marine conservation during the
International Year of the Ocean."
The five priorities indentified by WWF/IUCN are:
- Establishment and effective management of marine protected areas
- Conservation and recovery of threatened marine species
- Sustainable management of fisheries
- Reduction and elimination of marine pollution
- Promotion of integrated coastal management.
Some progress has been made under the auspices of WWF's Living
Planet Campaign, which exhorts people to make conservation part of their
everyday lives.
For example, the government of Turkey, has made a marine Gift to the
Earth" by protecting habitats of the Mediterranean Monk Seal, the rarest
seal in the world, with total surviving numbers estimated to be less than
300. In Ecuador, the government has passed a Galapagos Conservation
Law to help reduce the threats of increasing human pressure and
over-fishing in the islands.
But more nations must change their policies and make wise decisions on
the management of marine resources so that we may view the future of
our oceans with hope.
Changing course is not so difficult. As US President Bill Clinton recently
observed at the National Ocean Conference in Monterey, California,
"Fortunately, we have learned that, along with the ability to harm, we also
have the ability to heal."
*Someshwar Singh is a Press Officer with WWF International