sea of change: your role in marine conservation

YOUR ROLE IN MARINE CONSERVATION

SEA OF CHANGEChristine Paula Love R.

Bernasor

The Philippines

Has one of the longest coastlines in the world—estimated at 36,289 kilometers.

The coastline extends 2,000 kilometers from north to south, with 25 major cities lying on the coast.

The Philippines

Coral Triangle is a marine area located in the western Pacific Ocean.

Philippines Indonesia Malaysia Papua New Guinea Timor Leste Solomon Islands

The Philippines

75% of the world’s coral species are found here—nearly 600 different species.

Six of the world’s seven marine turtle species More than 2000 species of reef fish

CURRENT SITUATION

People of the World

Total water use increased almost 10 fold along the 20th Century

Estimates of the Earth’s carrying capacity for humans

HUMAN CHALLENGES

FOOD SECURITY

WATER SECURITY

ENERGY SECURITY

ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY

Should We Look Into Space?

No Habitable Planets Yet – Time to Travel

‘Earthening’ Planets – Too Slow

Population Control and Management

To Look From Space Rather Than Into Space

The 9 Billion Question

THREATS TO THE OCEAN

By the law of nature these things are common to mankind—the air, running water, the sea, and consequently the shores of the sea.

A consequence of the common nature of the oceans, where private property does not generally occur, is that no one takes responsibility for the problems plaguing the oceans and that its resources are overexploited even where regulations, but insufficient enforcement, exist.

TRAGEDY OF COMMONS

UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

Rising temperatures & Ocean Acidification

Twin threats to ocean life resulting from the increased levels of carbon dioxide we are pumping into the atmosphere as a result of our dependence on fossil fuels

Coral Reef Degradation The Philippines coral

reef area is the second largest in Southeast Asia

More than 400 scleractinian coral species, 12 of which are endemic.

Less than 1% of our coral reefs are in excellent condition

Loss of Sea Grass Beds and Mangroves

Of the more than 10,000 square kilometers of 98 sites surveyed, only 978 square kilometers of sea grass beds remain

We lost 30-40 percent of our sea grass beds

Only 140,000 hectares of mangroves remains out of 450,000 hectares.

Shark Finning Nearly 40 million sharks

are killed annually for their fins, which are considered a delicacy in Asia and prepared primarily in soups and cosmetics.

No legislation to ban the catching of all sharks and rays in Philippine waters

Pollution All sorts of human-generated

pollutants are degrading the marine environment, including those discharged from factories on land, pesticides and nutrients from agriculture, sewage, plastics, toxic chemicals and oil resulting from spills, and evenradioactive discharges from nuclear power stations situated near the coast.

Sea Levels Rising Philippines has seen

three times the global average in sea level rising making it more vulnerable to natural disasters

Philippines posted the highest average increase in sea levels, at 60 cms, against the global average of 19 cms since the year 1901.

Overfishing and Illegal Fishing 75% percent of fisheries

are overfished Philippines will run out

of fish in ten years if it fails to stop overfishing.

Compared to 1960’s only 10% of the fish population remain today

Today we allocate important resources to search for water and oceans in distant planets - so far with no success...But we largely ignore our ocean, the “inner space”

WHY PROTECT THE OCEAN?

At least 4,951 species of marine plants and animals are found in Philippine coastal and marine habitats.

The 381 coral species and 1,030 species of fish recorded in Philippine coral reefs ranks the country second to the great Barrier Reef in coral and coral reef fish diversity

3,967 species of coral reefs 481 species of sea grass beds There are 16 taxa of seagrasses recorded in the Philippines

making the country the second highest in terms of seagrass species richness in the world

370 species of mangroves 70 species soft bottom communities

Home to Millions

..

Scientists believe that phytoplankton contribute between 50 to 85 percent of the oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere

Seagrass meadows are strong natural carbon sinks even greater than the pristine Amazonian forest.

It is estimated that four and a half million of hectares of mangroves in Indonesia can scrub the carbon emissions of some five million cars.

Mangroves can sequester 1.5 tons of carbon per hectare per year

Oxygen and CO2 Regulation

At least 40 million Filipinos depend on the sea for food and livelihood

More than 1 million people (5 percent of the national labor force), with 68% employed in the municipal sector and 28% in the commercial and aquaculture sectors

6.2 million employed in tourism-related businesses At least $83 million per year annual direct benefits from

mangroves Philippines accounts for 43% of the marine aquarium fish and 36

percent of the invertebrates traded globally Coral reefs alone contribute at least $1,064 billion annually 1 square kilometer of healthy coral reef with some tourism

potential produces net revenues ranging from $29,000 to $113,000

Food and Livelihood

Coral reefs protect an estimated 200 million people from natural disasters and rising sea levels.

Coastal Protection

Trabectedin is an anti-tumor drug. It is sold under the brand name Yondelis in Europe, Russia and South Korea for the treatment of advanced soft tissue sarcoma, such as ovary cancer.

Green fluorescent proteins (GFP) are proteins that exhibit bright green fluorescence when excited by blue or UV radiation. First isolated from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria, GFP has been used to design biosensors for visualisation and diagnostic purposes.

Market Value: US$9B in 2009, increasing at a rapid 9.4% from the previous year.

1 amylase, from a hydrothermal vent organism, used to liquefy corn biofuel deliver US$150M every year on patent use rights

Apothecary

MYTHS ABOUT THE PLASTICS

Myth: There are floating islands of plastics in every ocean.

Fact: Only a small percentage of ocean plastics float at the sea surface.

Myth #1

Myth: Ocean plastic primarily comes from ocean dumping and industry, such as cruise ships or container ships.

Fact: Most of the plastics in the ocean come from items we use every day.

Myth #2

Myth: Ocean trash gyres, large areas of the ocean where currents concentrate trash, can simply be cleaned out of existence.

Fact: While some surface trash can be cleaned, many plastics break down and become dispersed.

Myth #3

Myth: Ocean plastics are just a trash problem.

Fact: Plastic particles are now found inside animals and throughout the ocean food chain

Myth #4

Myth: There is one, simple solution capable of solving our ocean plastics problem.

Fact: Bans, fees, recycling nor product redesign alone can fix this.

Myth #5

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Watch What You Are Eating!

Keep it Clean! Use Less Plastic

Reduce Your Energy Consumption

Keep Your Beach Clean!

Be A Responsible Traveler

Be An Active Ocean Defender