WIMAfrica canvasses for sustainable development to save the Ocean

Chinazor Megbolu

The President, African Women in Maritime (WIMAfrica), Mrs. Jean Chiazor Anishere has canvassed for the need for sustainable development towards saving the oceans.

She said this during her presentation at the ongoing Regional Consultative Workshop taking place in Kenya.

She explained the need for WIMAfrica to canvass for knowledge, right policies and sustainable action to save the oceans.

Anishere also stressed that it would be wise for wider community inclusiveness, open access to vital ocean information.

She further pointed out the call became necessary and in line with the United Nations declaration of the period between 2021- 2030 a Decade of the Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

“The need to equip the larger societies of people to be knowledgeable on appropriate actions to match the desired goal.

“The concerns are that the oceans, which help to regulate the climate and provide food and wealth resources for large populations of people have come under great degradation owing largely to industrialization and human activities causing pollution, “she said.

Anishere noted that WIMAfrica is supporting the need for an all-inclusive approach for awareness creation and get communities involved.

According to her; “it is increasingly important to gather as a scientific community to raise awareness of the truly global dimension of the ocean, address environmental challenges, and set forth on a path towards a resilient planet.”

She noted that the vast resources of the oceans were fast depleting due to the increased population of people living near the ocean and constantly polluting it as their activities cause them to generate waste on daily basis.

“Today, more than 40 per cent of the global population lives in areas within 200 km of the ocean and 12 out of 15 mega cities are coastal”.

“Doubling of the world population over the last 50 years, rapid industrial development, and growing human affluence are exerting increasing pressure on the ocean”.

“Climate change, non-sustainable resource extraction, land-based pollution, and habitat degradation are threatening the productivity and health of the ocean,” Anishere said.

She averred that the most challenging ocean pollutants are; atmospheric carbon dioxide, which causes climate change, ocean warming, ocean acidification, sea level rise; agricultural fertilizers, leading to increased primary production but result in ocean deoxygenation; untreated waste water; invasive species; micro and macro plastics.

The others include; an exponential increase of which has an environmental impact as yet only partially known.

Anishere, however, stated that focus would be for the scientists working with decision-makers and society to establish new knowledge from their assessment of the human and environmental risks of types of pollution to the ocean as well as share information on new ways to decrease pressure on the ocean.

“Such knowledge should help with the best way of promoting, recycling, improved waste management and incentive and governance regimes to encourage more sustainable production and consumption”.

“Capacity building and resources sharing will be vital to the success of the decade of ocean science, “she said.

Anishere also posited that such move demands wider engagement of communities of people to get the right awareness for action in sustainable use of the ocean and proper waste management.

“People should be able to access open online courses in the discipline, while young children in primary and secondary schools should be exposed to ocean literacy”.

“Training courses and exchange programs between south-south and north-south ocean actors, as well as courses for ocean professionals,” Anishere said.

She stated further that initiatives hold enormous potential to raise ocean awareness and promote better solutions.