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LettersCoronavirus recovery efforts offer Asia-Pacific a chance to improve the health of its oceans
- Closer transboundary cooperation can spur transformative action to tackle overfishing and plastic waste, and enforce sustainable shipping policies
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For generations, the Asia-Pacific region has thrived on its seas. The ocean provides food, livelihoods and a sense of identity, especially for coastal communities in the Pacific island states.
Sadly, strains on the marine environment – including climate change, overfishing and pollution – are threatening to drown progress. Recovery efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic must build a new sustainable reality. It is time to take transformative action for the ocean, together.
Research shows that our picture of the ocean is shallow. Insights from “Changing Sails: Accelerating Regional Actions for Sustainable Oceans in Asia and the Pacific”, the theme study of this year’s Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), reveal that data is available for only two out of 10 targets for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life below Water. Limitations in methodology and national statistical systems have left persistent information gaps.
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We are also seeing less fish and more plastic. The Asia-Pacific produces nearly half of global plastic by volume. Plastics represent a double burden for the ocean as sources of both carbon dioxide and marine debris. While our region is the world’s largest producer of fish, overexploitation has caused the percentage of stocks fished at unsustainable levels to increase threefold from 1974 to 2015. Beating these challenges will hinge upon effective policies that rethink production cycles, generate complete data and conserve marine areas.
Economic activity from shipping must also be sustainable. Closing the maritime connectivity gap must be placed at the centre of regional transport cooperation efforts, particularly for the small island developing states of the Pacific. Enforcing sustainable shipping policies is essential to mitigate maritime pollution.
Transboundary ocean management and linking ocean data call for close cooperation among countries in the region. Harnessing ocean statistics through strong national statistical systems will support countries to monitor trends and devise informed responses. Through the Ocean Accounts Partnership, ESCAP is working with countries to harmonise ocean data and provide a space for regular dialogue. ESCAP is also supporting member states in implementing International Maritime Organisation requirements on emissions reduction and environmental standards.
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