The State of the Ocean 2024
Dr Anjani Ganase presents the high points of the recent report released by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO. The report collects the observations and data of some 150 member states for the benefit of a world linked by one ocean. (First published in Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, July 11, 2024) The years 2021 to 2030 have been designated the Ocean Decade by the UN. The up-to-date report on the state of the oceans released this week in Paris by UNESCO provides alarming evidence of a growing ocean crisis. However, there is hope in action as technologies and international collaborations allow developing countries to move closer to sustainable management and conservation of their ocean resources. Icebergs drift from Western Antarctica. Photo by Anjani Ganase A CLEAN OCEAN The report focused on worsening ocean pollution from two main sources: nutrient and plastics. Nutrient pollution - what runs off the land in...