Article By Joseph Rizzo
Every month Kush will highlight a different SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) as per the United Nations. This month’s SDG is number fourteen, Life Below Water.
According to the United Nations this SDG aims to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.”
The oceans, seas, and coastal areas form an essential component of the earth’s ecosystem. They cover more than two-thirds of the earth’s surface and contain 97% of the planet’s water. More than three billion people depend on marine and coastal resources for their livelihoods (this can be addressed if we all adopt a vegan diet, but that’s for another article). Oceans are the primary regulator of global climate, act as a sink for greenhouse gases, as well as provide us with water and oxygen.
The current policies in place for protecting the world’s marine biodiversity from over fishing, acidification due to climate change, and eutrophication (when a body of water becomes overly enriched with minerals and nutrients which induce excessive growth of algae) are insufficient and unacceptable at this point in human evolution. In order to combat these problems, brought upon ourselves by not honoring the earth, we will need increased efforts on all levels. Here are just a few main objectives of SDG 14 for the end of 2020 and beyond:
- Prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution
- Sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans
- Conserve at least 10 percent of coastal and marine areas, consistent with national and international law and based on the best available scientific information
- By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution
- By 2030, increase the economic benefits to Small Island developing States and least developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism
Personally, I think these goals are light-work and we need to make it a priority to significantly increase all of them. This is not something where we take it “slow and steady to win the race,” this is the life of our planet we’re talking about!
Over the past 30 years there has been a 26% increase in ocean acidity. According to the UN, “ocean acidification is caused by the uptake of atmospheric CO2 by the ocean, which changes the chemical composition of the seawater.” An example of how this has affected marine life is shown with the huge decrease of our fish stocks that are within biologically sustainable levels. From 1974 to 2015 this number has plummeted from 90% to 66.9%.
Human well-being will not be achieved without the protection and conservation of the earth’s ecosystem. It’s safe to say that if we continue to walk along this path of wasteful inefficiency, we will end up killing ourselves off. As far as the health of water and how we treat it I ask: WE ALL NEED WATER TO LIVE, shouldn’t it be at the very top of the priority list?
Sources:
– https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/oceanandseas
– https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg14
