Editorial | Leading the charge to safeguard the oceans

It is a truism that the seas are critical to Jamaica’s and the Caribbean’s economic survival. But the data paints the picture starkly.

According to the World Bank, the blue economy contributes an estimated US$407 billion annually to the wider Caribbean. Coral reefs alone contribute an estimated US$4 billion each year, through fisheries, tourism and coastal protection.

Globally, the Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that fish supplies nearly 20 per cent of animal protein consumption. In this region, the figure is estimated to be 10 per cent to 35 per cent of total per capita animal protein intake. Indeed, Caribbean coastal communities remain heavily dependent on fisheries, not only for nutrition but also employment. 

Additionally, the region’s vital tourism industry is heavily sea-based. Hotels are mostly on beachfronts and regional countries largely promote themselves as a sun, sand and sea destination.

Yet, as António Guterres, the UN secretary general, warned in a recent message to mark World Oceans Day on June 8, “... The ocean is in deep trouble – and we are pushing it past its limits.” 

Indeed, it is past time to take stock. Or, as Mr Guterres put it, the need is for a “new relationship with the ocean … (that is) grounded in science and framed by international law”.

The Third World Ocean Assessment, which was launched on June 8, documents a deepening crisis driven by climate change, overfishing, biodiversity loss and marine pollution.  

Mr Guterres cautioned that humans cannot keep treating the ocean as limitless. and the relationship with the oceans must be "built on shared responsibility – across nations, sectors, and generations – to advance the Sustainable Development Goals," adding that "The success of the Third Ocean Conference last year and the entry into force of the Agreement on Marine Biodiversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction this year show that multilateral action is possible – and necessary."

This newspaper, of course, agrees with Mr Guterres. Caribbean governments have good cause to back these initiatives.  

Already rising sea levels caused by global warming and climate pose an existential threat to mostly small island states of the Caribbean. Coastlines are being eaten into and, should the phenomenon continue, many coastal communities are in danger of disappearing. Billions of dollars of tourism infrastructure could be lost and hundreds of thousands of people thrown out of work, with debilitating effects on regional economies. Melissa, the Category 5 hurricane that devastated western Jamaica last October, provided a foretaste of what this could be like.

But, even without a storm of the magnitude of fury, which cost Jamaica over 57 per cent of annual GDP (according to IDB’s Assessment of the Effects and Impacts of Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica the fisheries sector was estimated to have taken a J$5.9 billion hit and tourism $601 billion), the island’s marine environment was already under pressure.  In many cases, fish stocks are deemed to be fully or over-exploited and reefs, which are the feeding grounds for several species, dead or under threat.

Across the region, threats exist to the Caribbean Sea ecosystem that need urgent attention. 

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), on an average, approximately 75 to 85 per cent of domestic wastewater enters the Caribbean Sea partially treated or untreated. More than 320,000 tonnes of plastic waste remain uncollected each year. Coral cover has declined by approximately 48 per cent over recent decades, with negative consequences for fisheries, tourism revenues, and the coastal protection. 

“Healthy oceans regulate climate, sustain biodiversity, support fisheries, and reduce the impacts of storms and sea-level rise,” UNEP communiqué on World Ocean’s Day said. “Marine Protected Areas can deliver these benefits, but only when they are effectively managed, properly financed, and support by strong institutional, policy and legal frameworks.”

While the region’s ocean economy is valued at approximately US$407 billion, with tourism contributing to around US$85 billion annually.  The degradation of marine ecosystems will have an adverse effect on livelihoods, food security, and long-term development goals. 

These are important assets being lost.

Jamaica therefore has an obligation to be a critical voice in the debate over the management and protection of the world’s oceans, and especially of the sea in the part of the world where it exists.