UN decides on the future of our oceans
The UN is currently working on the greatest Environmental Protection Agreement of all times. The aim is to protect the oceans from waste and chemicals and put a stop to overfishing.
At the current moment in time, the oceans of our world are in a state of crisis: pollution from plastic, oil and chemicals has already reached a life-threatening scale. According to Greenpeace, almost 90 percent of all marine life is directly or indirectly impacted. To this we can add „covert“ dangers such as underwater noise which makes it difficult for whales to get their bearings. These massive invasions of the marine ecosystem also have effects on humans.
The UN plans focus on the expansion of the protected areas where no fishing is allowed and no resources, such as oil or natural gas, may be extracted. The pollution is to be curbed by means of dumping prohibitions, which for example relate to the dumping of industrial waste or the burning of waste on the oceans, and large-scale waste collection activities on the ocean surface. „Protected areas are the most effective method to preserve our oceans“, Lukas Meus, the marine spokesman for Greenpeace, explains.
Powerful industrial and agricultural lobbies around the world are mobilizing forces against this, with the international oil and gas industry taking the lead. To counteract this, environmental organizations, with Greenpeace at the head, are calling worldwide for a petition, in which everyone can take part, for the expansion of the protected areas in our oceans to 30 percent of the marine surface. „The protected areas do not only protect millions of marine organisms but also millions of people“, Lukas Meus explains these activities. It is important to convey the message that it is not only institutions like the UN who can make a difference. Each and every person can do their bit to protect the oceans.
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