Speaking on the International World Biodiversity Day, UN chief Ban Ki-Moon on Tuesday warned that over-consumption and rampant pollution was threatening the world's ocean and marine biodiverity. "Despite its importance, marine biodiversity has not fared well at human hands," he said in a prepared statement.
"Commercial over-exploitation of the world’s fish stocks is severe," he continued. "Many species have been hunted to fractions of their original populations. More than half of global fisheries are exhausted, and a further third are depleted. Between 30 and 35 per cent of critical marine environments — such as sea grasses, mangroves and coral reefs — are estimated to have been destroyed. Plastic debris continues to kill marine life, and pollution from land is creating areas of coastal waters that are almost devoid of oxygen. Added to all of this, increased burning of fossil fuels is affecting the global climate, making the sea surface warmer, causing sea level to rise and increasing ocean acidity, with consequences we are only beginning to comprehend."
Echoing Moon's message, Braulio Ferreira de Souza Diaz, the UN's Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, said that "human society has yet to learn about the value of the biodiversity of the oceans. Only four per cent of the marine ecosystem has been protected while the rest is facing severe threat,” and warned that oceans all over the world are fast turning acidic which could lead to destruction of the entire marine wealth.
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