Save our oceans

THE Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) joins the global community in celebrating World Oceans Day and welcomes the opportunity the day offers to raise awareness about the responsibilities that communities have to conserve oceans as invaluable and sustainable resources, especially preventing and reducing plastic pollution.

The importance of world oceans as invaluable resources has been succinctly summarised by Unesco in their message for World Oceans Day 2018: “The oceans are not only the lungs of our planet, providing most of the oxygen we breathe, but are also a major source of food and medicines and a critical part of the biosphere.

“The concept of a ‘World Oceans Day’ was first proposed in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro as a way of celebrating our world’s shared oceans and our personal connection to the sea, as well as raise awareness about the crucial role the ocean plays in our lives and the important ways people can help protect it,” says Unesco.

“The UN General Assembly recognised the important contribution of sustainable development and management of resources and uses of oceans and seas to the achievement of international development goals, including those contained in the UN Millennium Declaration, and designated June 8 as World Oceans Day.”

Fedusa also embraces World Oceans Day 2018 Action Focus, which revolves around mounting community awareness campaigns aimed at preventing and reducing plastic pollution of our oceans and seas which has caused untold harm to marine life as research has established that 80% of all pollution in the ocean comes from people on land. Eight million tons of plastic a year ends up in the ocean, wreaking havoc on wildlife, fisheries and tourism. Plastic pollution also costs the lives of 1 million seabirds and 100 000 marine mammals per year. Fish eat plastic and human beings eat fish, and finally that plastics cause $8 billion (R108bn) in damage to marine eco-systems each year.