SDG 14

 Over 3 billion people depend on marine ecosystems to make their

living. It’s estimated that the goods and services the ocean provides are worth
at least US$2.5 trillion per year, making it the world’s seventh-largest
economy. 

 The Philippines is rich in marine biodiversity, located within the “Coral Triangle”, a
global center of marine diversity, with diverse coral reefs, sea grass beds, mangroves,
fisheries, and marine mammals. The Verde Island Passage has been identified as the
“center of centers” of marine shorefish biodiversity due to its higher concentration of
species per unit area than anywhere in Indonesia and Wallacea. According to an initial 2008
study, there are 123 marine key biodiversity areas in the country, which are host to 221
globally threatened species of fish, corals, mollusks, sea turtles, and marine mammals.

 PLASTIC PROBLEM - One of the advantages of plastic is that it is

designed to last. Which is a blessing and a curse. Nearly all the plastic ever
created still exists in some form today. Not only does it end up in our oceans,
but it can also take hundreds of years to break down - if at all. Current
estimates report that there are over 150 million tonnes of plastics in the ocean
today and an estimated eight million metric tons of plastic waste entering our
oceans every year. This equates to one garbage truck’s worth of plastic being
dumped into our oceans every minute, the total weighing an equivalent of 90
aircraft carriers. On top of that, models project that by 2050, there will be
more plastic by weight than fish in the oceans. 

 Oceans are giant sponges

They absorb about 30% of the carbon dioxide that humans produce, helping
to reduce the impact of climate change. Unfortunately, the increase in CO2
has caused ocean acidity to rise by approximately 30% since pre-industrial
times. And this acidification is causing big problems for marine species like
 coral. In fact, about 50% of the world’s shallow water coral reefs have
already been destroyed – with no prospects for recovery.

 The SDGs aim to sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal
ecosystems from pollution, as well as address the impacts of ocean
acidification. Enhancing conservation and the sustainable use of ocean-
based resources through international law will also help mitigate some of
the challenges facing our oceans.

  Mass marine extinction may be inevitable. If humans go on burning fossil fuels under
the notorious “business as usual” scenario, then by 2100 they will have added so much
carbon to the world’s oceans that a sixth mass extinction of marine species will follow,
inexorably.