SDG 14: Life Below Water- Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources
About 70% of the Earth is covered by water. These various water bodies house 97% of life on the planet. There is an extensive amount of marine fauna and flora situated within our oceans, seas, rivers and other water bodies.
It is quite unfortunate however, that these organisms are adversely affected by the activities of humans. Things like agriculture, industrial and domestic processes are sources of pollutants to this bodies of water.
Another shocking fact is that humans make up only 0.01% of all life on the planet yet, we have been directly and indirectly responsible for the extinction of many species including those below water.
In this text, I explain the effects of human activity on marine life and how we can mitigate such effects.
What is Life Below Water?
These includes all organisms; flora or fauna, micro or macro that exist within the waters of the world. These include the fishes; bony, jawless or cartilaginous and the numerous invertebrates existing all over the various marine habitats be it estuarine, fresh water or salt water habitats.
These organisms do not only provide food for humans but also play an integral part in regulating our ecosystems.
Why Should We Care?
We live on land, so you might wonder why we are so concerned about the creatures in the water. Well, let me show you.
1 FOOD: Many people around the world depend on aquatic protein for sustenance. In many developing countries, fishing is a major source of food.
If the activities of harvesting aquatic life for food is not regulated, a lot of these animals will go extinct eventually. This will cut off of food supplies to a lot of people and create food crisis in such places.
2. HEALTH: Do you know that a lot of pharmaceutical medicines are extracted from organisms below water? Many cures and drugs are formulated from substance extracted from marine life.
If we continue to poison our waters, we will kill off these beneficial organisms.
3. THE ECOSYSTEM: Marine organisms play a major role in cleaning up the atmosphere. A lot of the CO 2 emitted by human activities; about 50% of it, is absorbed by these creatures. Organisms like algae and plankton actively absorb carbon dioxide from the environment.
As I explained in my previous post, https://oguchegabriel007.medium.com/sdg-13-climate-action-take-urgent-action-to-combat-climate-change-and-its-impacts-042a2e919cf3
accumulation of greenhouse gases leads to the greenhouse effect, which leads to global warming, which in turn leads to Climate Change.
If we do not act fast to protect the organisms in our waters, we risk a global climate crisis worse than the one we are already experiencing.
What Can We Do?
Having seen the adverse effects of human activity on marine life, what can we do to remedy the situation.
1. REDUCE PLASTIC POLLUTION: A major pollutant of our water bodies is plastics. These materials are non-biodegradable and hence constitutes a big nuisance.
These plastics become micro plastics and are eaten up by fishes. When such fishes are eaten by humans, it can constitute host of health problems.
The micro plastics can also cause death of the animal. This then leads to another problem called Eutrophication due to algae boom.
As the animals die, saprophytic action begins leading to decay. These processes emit CO 2 in large quantities causing a boom in algae growth.
The growing algae covers the surface of the water preventing sunlight and oxygen from reaching other organisms.
Eutrophication ruins the ecosystem of such water bodies.
By reducing our dependency on plastics however, we can prevent such issues.
2. SENSITIZATION: Many people especially those in rural communities, are not aware of the dangers their activities pose to marine life.
It is expedient that we educate such people about the importance of these things. We can do this by organizing campaigns, using schools or just by word of mouth. This way, we take another step towards the goal.
Humans are conspicuously the most advanced life form on earth. It is hence our duty to cater for our biological neighbours. We owe them that responsibility. By doing so, we preserve the earth and the diversity of life within.
