SUMITRA KC
World Oceans Day is an occasion to raise awareness of the challenges faced by the international community in connection with the oceans.The lungs of our planet, providing most of the oxygen we breathe, the oceans are also a major source of food and medicines and are a critical part of the biosphere.
“Celebrating World Oceans Day is not only to spread awareness about pollution but also celebrate our oceans and all they provide us from oxygen to livelihood of many,” says Nehara Pandey, a World Oceans Day Youth Advisory Council Alumni.In spite of voices being raised against plastic pollution, people continue to use and dispose plastic irresponsibly. This is one of the biggest social as well as environmental problems today, notes Nehara.
“Besides awareness it is important for the people to rally for change and elect officials who will make laws to protect our oceans. We need to use our collective voices to protest for change and for strict laws to be put into place, and infrastructure to be built to reduce pollution,” she adds.
The problems faced by marine life varies from region to region due to diverse ecosystems across various areas. However, some bigger general problems plaguing seas around the world are ocean acidification, dredging, overfishing, shark finning, encroachment of habitat, plastic pollution etc.
With regards to Goa, plastic pollution and encroachment of dolphin habitat are some of the major issues.
“To effectively combat plastic pollution, we need to encourage people to use alternatives and also enact more stringent laws against littering, which have to be effectively implemented,” says Nehara. She has organised an event titled ‘Youth For the Oceans’ to shed light on Goa’s marine biodiversity as well as to underline pollution problems it faces.The programme will be held on June 8 at Saraya and will include activities such as screening of short films made by students, pop quiz and interactive sessions.
Similarly, Puja Mitra is the founder of Terra Conscious. She works towards conservation of Dolphins in North Goa.Terra Conscious strives to create responsible travel experiences and make boat owners aware about the environmental issues tourism could cause. The organisation has also collaborated with Drishti Marine, a lifeguard service that operates along 103 km long coast of Goa. Many marine mammals come offshore, and Drishti lifeguards were trained to rescue the marine mammals that are washed up on the shores very often. “Plastic pollution while significant is only one amongst a range of anthropogenic threats affecting our oceans and coasts globally,” says Puja. “These threats, including overfishing, unregulated tourism, increase in shipping, military activity, offshore drilling and climate change, are interconnected with lack of awareness amongst the public about the importance of marine wildlife and ecosystem,” she adds. On a concluding note Puja said that these issues need to be addressed using a holistic approach towards education, policy, on ground community led participatory conservation action, and individuals making sustainable and eco conscious choices.
