Doha: The United Nations (UN) has sounded an alarm over the intensifying pressures on the world's oceans due to human activities, leading to significant environmental challenges such as accelerated sea-level rise, substantial biodiversity loss, and increased strain on marine ecosystems from pollution and large-scale industrial fishing.
According to Qatar News Agency, the third United Nations World Ocean Assessment report, released on World Oceans Day, reflects the collaborative work of nearly 600 scientists from 86 countries. The report assesses the condition of the oceans from 2021 to 2025, emphasizing that the protection of the oceans is crucial for the future of humanity.
The report highlights that the next decade will be critical, warning that without immediate and collective global efforts, the degradation of ocean health will persist, endangering climate stability, biodiversity resilience, food security, livelihoods, and the welfare of billions worldwide.
Key findings indicate the worsening state of the oceans, with a notable rise in sea levels from 2 millimeters per year pre-2015 to 4.3 millimeters per year in 2023. The report stresses the oceans' vital role in climate stability, as they absorb most of Earth's excess heat and mitigate harmful greenhouse-gas emissions, preventing more frequent extreme weather events that could disrupt food systems and supply chains.
Progress has been made in ocean protection, marked by the enactment of the High Seas Treaty, which came into force this year, setting international regulations for protecting two-thirds of global oceans outside national jurisdictions. This treaty, along with 56 other ocean-protection agreements, has bolstered efforts to conserve biodiversity.
Despite these pressures, the report notes that solutions are feasible. It advocates for nature-based approaches, emissions reductions, and the expansion of marine protected areas. However, it cautions that even restoring marine ecosystems entirely would contribute only about 2 percent toward global climate-change mitigation targets, emphasizing the necessity for a fundamental change.
The UN report further illustrates the impact of human activity on marine ecosystems, noting that by 2024, the world's population had reached 8.2 billion, with 37 percent residing within 100 kilometers of coastlines. This has intensified human and economic activities in vulnerable coastal regions, leading to increased resource extraction, infrastructure development, waste discharges, and habitat degradation.
Additionally, offshore projects are progressing, with wind farms, deep-water oil structures, and seabed cables and pipelines expanding, reshaping habitats far from the shore. (MORE)