Sri Lanka is currently facing possibly one of the worst incidents of beach pollution in our history, as a burning container ship, Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl, that caught fire several days ago while waiting to enter the Colombo Harbour continues to spill plastic debris into the sea along the Negombo-Seeduwa coastline.
Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) Head Dharshani Lahandapura has stated that the microplastic pollution could cause years of ecological damage to Sri Lanka’s coastline, as tonnes of hazardous waste continues to wash up onto the shore.
In light of this event and the growing concern around the pollution of our oceans, the G17 University Ambassadors Consortium – an undergraduate platform dedicated towards actualising the United nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – held an online event titled “Be a voice against ocean pollution”, where they discussed the importance of healthy oceans and seas for humanity’s continued existence. Drawing attention to the fact that while oceans cover 70% of our planet, and are relied heavily upon by living organisms for food, energy, and water, we have managed to do tremendous damage to this precious resource.
The resource person for the event, Parley for the Oceans Country Director Irushinie Wedage, went on to conduct the event, sharing with the audience, particularly in light of the current disaster Sri Lanka’s coastline is experiencing, what we, the general public, should do in order to protect our oceans.
Parley for the Oceans is a relatively new organisation to Sri Lanka, officially introduced only in 2019; however, they have been active in over 30 countries. The organisation addresses major threats towards our oceans, and believes that to succeed, we need to find ways to synchronise the economic system of humankind with the ecosystem of nature and make environmental protection fiscally lucrative for pacesetting major companies.
Wedage kicked things off with an incredible opener. She said: “Every second breath we take is created by the oceans.” While we do talk about forests and other ecosystems which are, of course, very important to us, if you are to consider the oceans, over 50-70% of the oxygen we breathe is generated by the oceans. However, despite life originating from the oceans, and despite the fact that we are all connected to the oceans, they are currently at risk.
She pointed out a number of issues the oceans are currently dealing with, including overfishing and ocean warmth, which is affected by global warming due to the greenhouse effect. Wedage stated that most of the heat that is generated is absorbed by the ocean, which then warms it; she gave a rough estimation as to how much heat is absorbed, stating that it is like “absorbing the heat generated by five small nuclear bombs every second”. Because of this heat, it cannot support the lives within it, and lends itself to the rise in seal levels as well.
Wedage then went on to discuss another pressing concern – plastic pollution, which is a very visible issue. She pointed out that plastic pollution in the ocean is a global issue, because if you take, for example, beaches in Indonesia, these are directly affected by plastic pollutants coming from the US; she stated that the plastic need not be your own for it to affect you. The ocean is a fluid medium and it takes the problem from one place to the other. If you are to truly grasp the urgency of this situation, you need only look at how we all ingest plastic due to this growing pollution, be it through our food, the water we drink, and even the air we breathe, she explained.
She stated, however, that despite the gravity of the current situation, we have a 10-year window to reverse these effects, commenting that the time from 2021 to 2030 is the most crucial time for us all to escape the adverse effects that we are bound to have to deal with. She said people can do their part, and to help, their organisation has introduced a strategy they term “Avoid, Intercept, Redesign”. Endorsed by the World Bank (WB), the strategy requires that we avoid plastic whenever possible, as recycling is not the solution – simply do not use it if you can avoid it. While intercept here refers to stopping plastic from entering the oceans, and finally redesign means creating plastic alternatives, it could be upcycling or even designing our lifestyles to be less dependent on plastics.