Saving our Ocean- FAO calls for action

Ocean

From meals on our table and livelihood to healthy living, oceans provide much more benefits to the entire human race and without any doubt crucial to achieving food security.


Covering 71 per cent of Earth’s surface, the oceans play an essential role in maintaining the conditions for human existence on land.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, (FAO), “over 40 per cent of the world’s population live within 100 kilometers of the coast” hence better management of the ocean resources is thus crucial to ensuring global food security.

Highlighting the various benefits this water body provides for man, FAO in its report on Ocean safety notes that the Fisheries and aquaculture currently employs directly 56 million people across the world while many more are employed in follow-up activities, such as handling, processing and distribution.
Altogether, fishing and fish farming support the livelihoods and families of some 660 to 880 million people, which comprises about 12% of the world’s population. In many communities of the southern Nigeria for instance, fishing is one of the predominate occupations.

Playing host to 80% of the planet’s biodiversity one of which is the fish, it avails humans access to 20% of animal protein derived from fish. Also, oceans provide vital renewable energy. Devices are being developed to generate electricity from waves and tides, as well as offshore wind farms.
The report also said that oceans regulate the world’s climate, by absorbing a quarter of all the carbon dioxide that humans put into the atmosphere.

“Over 90% of the additional heat caused by global warming is stored in the Oceans. Without this service, and the heating and cooling effects of ocean currents, world temperatures would be too unstable to support life”, it stated.

However, different human activities are putting these oceans under threat.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Director General, Inger Andersen “Ocean warming is one of this generation’s greatest hidden challenges – and one for which we are completely unprepared,”. During the Abidjan Convention held some weeks back, Côte d’Ivoire Minister of Sanitation, Environment and Sustainable Development, Anne Ouloto, pointed that the marine and coastal environment in Africa is currently facing a number of challenges such as overfishing and pollution.

She explained that 80% of sea pollution is as a result of human activities, such as fishing, navigation and urban waste disposal.

While oil pollution on Nigerian waters remains a long standing threat to ocean safety, plastics are also tagging along as evidenced in the enormous floating rubbish patches forming in the oceans. In addition, Climate change and its related impacts, such as ocean acidification, are affecting the survival of some marine species.

Call to action
Though Andersen points out that the only way to preserve the rich diversity of marine life, and to safeguard the protection and resources the ocean provides us with, is to cut greenhouse gas emissions rapidly and substantially, FAO calls for every member of the society to be involved. Individuals, communities and nations can help protect an ecosystem or species by campaigning to have it protected by the government’s laws or international policies.

Narrowing down to the Nigerian situation, challenges call for a need to review the existing environmental laws.  While the nations boasts of various environmental legal backings, such as the  Territorial Waters Act 1967, Petroleum (Drilling and Production) Regulations Act 1969, Nigerian Atomic Energy Commission Act 1976, Natural Resources Conservation Act 1989, River Basin Development Authorities Act 1987, Sea Fisheries (Licensing) Regulations 1992, in terms of effective executions, much is left to be desired.