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08 June 2010 World Oceans Day: Oceans of Life
Yet, as described by Andrew
Hudson, head of UNDP’s International Waters
program, oceans are under
assault. Pollution, overfishing, acidification, warming, and the introduction
of non-native species are causing ecological damage, habitat
loss and species extinction and throwing new obstacles across the path out of
poverty for millions of people throughout the developing world. Oceans cover three-fourths of the earth’s
surface. They contain 97% of the earth’s water, and represent 99% of the living
space on the planet by volume. They are home to nearly 200,000 identified
species, though actual numbers may lie in the millions. Oceans
are the world’s largest source of
protein and the primary source of protein for over 2.6 billion people. In some
parts of the world, such as West Africa, fisheries represent thirty percent or
more of export earnings and provide local livelihoods for hundreds of thousands
of coastal fishermen. Worldwide, marine fisheries employ over 200 million
people, directly and indirectly. Oceans directly provide over $500 billion in
annual economic goods and services plus an estimated $20.9 trillion per year in
non-market ecosystem services, about 63 percent of the value of all such
services. Ninety percent of all internationally traded goods are transported on
the oceans. Unfortunately,
our oceans remain under assault from a variety of pressures, including
pollution (mostly land-based), overfishing, introduced species, habitat loss
and species extinction, and poorly planned and managed coastal development.
Around half of global fish stocks are fully exploited, and a quarter are
depleted, over-exploited or recovering from depletion. Less than 0.5 percent of
marine habitats are protected, compared with 11.5 per cent of global land area.
The number of dead zones, caused by excess nutrient pollution to coastal zones,
has been expanding at a geometric pace in recent years, with associated losses
to ecosystems and the livelihoods that depend upon them. Invasive marine
species, especially those carried in ship ballast water, cause an estimated
$100 billion each year in economic damage to infrastructure, ecosystems and
livelihoods. Anthropogenic
climate change from greenhouse gas emissions only complicates an already
challenging ocean management situation. Climate change is already affecting ocean
temperatures and both horizontal and vertical ocean circulation, driving fish
stocks to migrate to more favorable waters. The oceans are estimated to have
absorbed about 25 percent of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. While this
has served to mitigate atmospheric warming to some extent, it has had the
negative effect of increasing the acidity of the oceans by 30 percent, with
significant threats to calcium carbonate fixing organisms that serve as the
foundation for many ocean food chains upon which hundreds of millions depend
upon for protein and livelihoods. Sea level rise, due to both the thermal
expansion of seawater and glacial melt, threaten millions living in the coastal
zone and island states, mostly in the world’s least developed countries. Protecting
and restoring our precious oceans requires a range of strategies including
ecosystem-based approaches, integrated coastal zone management and expanding
protected areas to include high seas areas. A range of effective tools have
been piloted and are ready for up-scaling, such as tradable fisheries quotas, new
ballast water management and treatment technologies, and improved nutrient
management in river basins feeding coastal zones. Given the significant
impacts, both present and future, of climate change on the ocean resources upon
which most of humanity depend, rapid progress on a strategic approach to
mitigate greenhouse gas emissions represents a critical commitment if we are to
meet the ocean challenge UNDP
is working in cooperation with many other UN agencies, the Global Environment Facility,
international financial institutions, and others to improve oceans management
and sustain livelihoods at the local, national, regional and global scales.
UNDP is supporting ecosystem-based approaches to fisheries management in over
ten of the world’s “Large Marine Ecosystems”, where 85 percent of the world’s
fish catch derives. UNDP, through its PEMSEA programme, has pioneered best
practices in integrated coastal management and is supporting 12 East Asian
countries in the rapid up-scaling of these efforts. UNDP is partnering with the
International Maritime Organization in a long-term effort to reduce dramatically
the risk of transfer of invasive species through ship ballast water through
governance reform and technology development and transfer. World
Oceans Day provides the opportunity for each of us to reflect on what the
oceans mean to us, and what we need to do to help protect and sustain our vital
oceans resources for future generations. For
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While the health of
the oceans is vital to all of humanity, it is the world’s poorest people, the
majority of the world’s coastal inhabitants, who are most vulnerable to ocean
degradation. Oceans are their primary source of food, crucial to their
livelihoods, and a major force in shaping their cultures. Oceans are their
life.