Together let’s protect our oceans: Leading scientists have warned that we must protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030 in order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Together we can protect our oceans for the future.
Why the Antarctic ocean is worth being protected: The importance of protecting our oceans. Here are some facts that show how important healthy oceans are:
◦ Oceans are home to an incredible diversity of life with an estimate of 90% still unknown to science.
◦ Oceans provide between 50-85% of all oxygen in our atmosphere and they absorb 30% of our carbon dioxide emissions.
◦ Half of all people live near coasts, with this figure expected to reach 75% by 2025. The future of civilisation is tied to the health of our ocean.
◦ Around 1 billion people today rely on fish for protein.
◦ Around 3 billion people use the oceans for transportation, fishing, trade and tourism.
Oceans cover 72% of the Earths surface and play a critical role in maintaining the global environmental systems that we all depend on. Are our oceans threatened? Sadly, yes. Industrial fishing, plastic pollution, climate change and deep sea oil drilling have threatened our oceans.
◦ The fishing industry exploits even the most remote and deepest seas, leaving sea-life no safe haven.
◦ 8 million of tonnes of plastic enters our oceans every year clogging up the sea and entering the food web.
◦ Carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is acidifying the water to above its otherwise natural limits.
Because of these threats, marine ecosystems are breaking down. Creating safe havens in the form of an ocean sanctuary would give sea-life the ability to sustain numbers necessary to survive.
What is an ocean sanctuary?
An ocean sanctuary is similar to a national park, just in the ocean. They are designed to protect ecosystems from human exploitation, which means forbidding fishing, mining, and waste disposal. To sum up, no extraction or degradation can be done to it. Greenpeace is currently fighting to create a network of marine reserves that would cover at least 30% of the ocean. So far, only 1% of the ocean is protected. These reserves would include large deep sea areas and smaller parts near coasts. The sites we are focusing on first are breeding zones, vulnerable habitats such as reefs as well as areas where rare and threatened species live.
We are fighting for the largest wildlife sanctuary on Earth
Greenpeace is currently fighting to create a network of marine reserves that would cover at least 30% of the ocean. So far, only 1% of the ocean is protected. These reserves would include large deep sea areas and smaller parts near coasts. The sites we are focusing on first are breeding zones, vulnerable habitats such as reefs as well as areas where rare and threatened species live.