UN report sounds alarm to clean up oceans

In a giant tent not too far from the sandy beaches and beautiful coastline of Rio de Janeiro, ocean experts were sounding sirens over the condition of the ecosystem covering three-fourths of the Earth's surface.

Saturday was The Oceans Day at Rio+20, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development. Daylong events had experts talking about the challenges of forming a Rio+20 Oceans Declaration and Rio+20 Ocean Commitments, which will be submitted to around 130 world leaders attending the summit from Wednesday to Friday.

"This is not the situation we would find ourselves to be in 20 years ago, so we bear collective responsibility for the fact that the oceans are as polluted as they are," said Rachel Kyle, vice-president and head of Network Sustainable Development at World Bank.

The major challenges facing the oceans include unsustainable fishing, climate change, ocean acidification, pollution and waste and the loss of habitats and biodiversity, according to a blueprint for ocean and coastal sustainability prepared by several UN agencies.

Jacqueline Alder, a marine and coastal ecosystem expert at the UN Environmental Programme, believes that human activities on land, such as wastewater disposal, should be held responsible for the amount of pollution in the oceans.

On Saturday, Oceans Inc, an ocean channel, began its weeklong Rio+20 broadcast, with updates on the progress of the UN interagency report, how measures to preserve the ocean are faring and how the summit is looking after the planet's circulatory system.

While the UN interagency report demands a number of actions for sustainable oceans, Kyle announced that more than 80 nations, private companies and international organizations have declared support for an alliance known as the Global Partnership for Oceans. That idea was first announced in February by World Bank President Robert Zoellick.

Although only 13 nations have joined the GPO, Kyle believes support for the alliance will increase in the runup to the formal Rio+20 conference.

"While we may disagree on something, this should not stop us from doing what we can do. And we simply have to move forward," she said.

It is unclear whether China will join the GPO, but the State Ocean Administration was a co-sponsor of The Oceans Day on Saturday.

The challenges for sustainable growth along China's 18,000 kilometers of coastline have been huge. Excessive and disorderly fishing, artificial farming, the rampant discharge of waste into the ocean and repeated oil spills over the years have seriously damaged the ecosystem.

China has paid a high price for its booming marine industry, which has grown from less than $159 billion in 2001 to $725 billion in 2010. In Shandong province, some beaches that were once as clean as the Ipanema and Leblon in Rio are seriously polluted.

Oceans generate half of the oxygen on Earth, absorb 25 to 30 percent of carbon emissions and regulate the global climate and temperature. Nearly half of the global population lives in coastal areas, including in 21 of the world's 33 megacities. Fisheries and aquaculture provide almost 1 billion people with more than 50 percent of their animal protein intake and are also vital sources of livelihood for about 200 million people, according to an Oceans Day brochure.

Contact the writer at chenweihua@chinadaily.com.cn