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Ocean Conservation (How has human activity impacted negatively on the…

- - - - Climate warming & Ocean Warming are extremely closely related and in my opinion you can't talk about climate warming without discussing ocean warming as it is our oceans that are sequestering the majority of our fossil fuelled heated earth.
      - Now if you couple these warming effects with Ocean Acidification for example, which is often referred to as 'Global Warming's evil twin', where increasing atmospheric CO2 is dissolving into our oceans forming carbonic acid which makes it harder for corals and other calcifying organisms to produce the skeletons or shells that keep them safe you begin to understand the severity of the climate issue.
      - Coral Reefs
        
        Because of Anthropogenic influences, many of these climate driven stressors are increasing in frequency and severity and Nowhere is this more prevalent and well documented than in our coral reefs, an ecosystem that is very close to my heart and one that i have had the great fortune to study and dive over the last 10 years.
        
        Coral Reefs are the rainforests of our oceans and support a vibrant community of fish, reptiles, marine mammals, invertebrates and plants to but its the building blocks of this environment, CORAL, that is in grave danger of becoming a figment of our imagination, something you can only see in aquariums if we continue to treat our planet the way we do and ocean temperatures continue to rise.
        
        One quite obvious environmental proxy, or marker of climate/ocean change has been Coral Bleaching, corals way of expressing its distaste for our changing oceans. Coral bleaching is a naturally occurring phenomenon however our rapidly changing climate and oceans are increasing the prevalence of these bleaching episodes.
        
        Between 2014 and 2016, the longest global bleaching events ever were recorded. According to (UNEP) the United Nations Environment Programme, these bleaching events killed coral on an unprecedented scale.
        
        In 2016, bleaching hit 90% of coral on the Great Barrier Reef and killed between 29% and 50% of the reef's coral.
        
        In 2017, the bleaching further expanded to areas of the reef that were previously spared, such as deep water reefs and those located towards the southern end of the GBR.
      - During my Masters i completed an ocean climate model assessing the vulnerability of the GBR to further bleaching episodes for 2030 and 2050. My model and like other models produced by the IPCC and GBRMPA did not expect consecutive bleaching events on this scale until 2050. It appears myself and the scientists were wrong and these events have reared their head 30 years earlier than predicted.
- - - - Ocean Festival Excel
        'No away with plastic'
        
        Every piece of plastic you have ever used in your lifetime is still around. Whether it still exists in its original form is up for debate but one thing is certain is that it definitely still exists on this planet.
        
        The Coca Cola Bottle you bought is now a belt
        
        yoghurt pot is now a recycled bag
        
        Straw is now a million pieces in the ocean
      - Geologists Debate
        'The Plastic Age'
        Over the last few years Geologists have debated and discussed whether to officially designate a new geological epoch to reflect the changes that homo sapiens have made to our planet, this is known as the Anthropocene.
        It is crazy to think that we have changed the face of our planet to such an extent that we are considering to create a new epoch of geological time based on our effects of the last 10,000 or so years.
        Some of the major scars on our planet that geologists refer to as the driving force of this change in epoch include;
        
        habitat destruction and invasive species introduction = extinction
        
        Ocean acidification which is changing the chemical make up of our oceans
        
        urbanisation which is vastly increasing the rates of sedimentation and erosion
        All of these anthropogenic scars in millions of years time we would be able to see in the rock strata of our planet.
        
        Now, if our need and thirst for the production of plastic continues and our inability to recycle and reuse the current volume of plastic which litters our environment stays as poor, i fear we will lay down another marker for our ancestors to remember us by. They may start referring to this period of time as the plastic age. A sad and scary thought.
    - - 1 source of inland runoff i would like to discuss is agricultural run off which consists of both Abiotic (physical rather than biological, not derived from living organisms) and Biotic sources (derived from organisms)
        Abiotic - Pesticides, fertilisers & Heavy Metals
        Biotic - manure, GHG caused by manure & bio-pesticides to name a few.
        All of these contaminants individually can have negative affects on our oceans but putting them together they form a lethal cocktail of pollution which can have irreversible affects on our oceans, in particular our coastal ocean waters and neighbouring habitats.
      - One effect of this toxic cocktail and an effect that is becoming more & more prevalent and widespread are 'ocean dead zones', These ODZ are areas where excessive nutrient pollution has accumulated from human activities, often coupled with other factors, causing a depletion in the oxygen required to support most marine life in bottom and near-bottom waters.
        
        In a 2008 study published in Science, 405 ocean dead zones had been counted worldwide and over the last 9-10 years i can only imagine that this number has increased or rather the areas that these zones covered have increased in size.
        
        Now the Gulf of Mexico is a well researched and studied example of an ODZ and Is the largest recurring hypoxic zone in the US.
        
        The Mississippi River which is the drainage area for around 41% of the continental US dumps around 1.7 million tons of Phosphours and nitrogen into the GOM every year.
        
        The size of this ODZ does vary every year and surprise surprise 2017 has been recorded as the largest on record covering nearly 23,000km2
        
        These ODZ can have catastrophic effects on fish stocks, the proliferation of invasive species as well as localised extinctions of important Keystone species
      - No i have only discussed the effects of Plastics and agricultural runoff on the oceans where in reality there are many other types of negative effects that humans are having;
        
        Mining Run off
        
        Household pollutants
        
        Over fishing
        
        Destructive fishing techniques (blast, cyanide fishing)
        
        Oil Spills
        
        Pollutants and the outbreak of disease from fish farming
        
        So like the threats we are dealing with for climate change ocean warming and other associated symptoms we must tackle all of these issues head on if we are going to give the oceans a sufficeint chance to recover
- - - - School Education
        Now if this seismic shift in lifestyle choice is to occur we are going to need to be better educated about the negative and the positive effects we are having on our oceans.
        When i was at school in the early 00 i don't ever recall being taught about conservation until i was at least doing my A levels, and that was only because i studied Geography and Biology. Those students who chose not to take these subjects would be none the wiser about ocean conservation unless they actively sort out the answers themselves.
        The seeds of conservation need to be planted in our younger generations years and years before A level so they are fully aware of their actions and choices as they grow up.
        
        Autonomy of schools - Its not necessarily the case that ocean conservation needs to be taught ubiquitously around the country at the earlier years of education but perhaps more conservation in general.
        
        If your school is located by the coast then its understandable that you may be taught about ocean conservation and the threats to coastal environments.
        
        If your school is located in the middle of the country near a wood or a forest it makes sense that the teachers should focus on the conservation of those environments.
        Schools need to be provided with more autonomy when it comes to the subject matters they teach and conservation is the perfect example of how this autonomy could be implemented.
      - Home Education
        Education doesn't just start and stop at school. As parents, older siblings & friends we need to make sure we are advising and helping each other out when it comes to environmental awareness. Whether this means recommending someone a cool book you recently read, pointing someone in the direction of an insightful article or encouraging them to watch an eye opening documentary, all of these actions go someway to improving an individuals knowledge of conservation and even more importantly appreciation of their environment.
        
        'What Has Nature Done For Us?
        
        A few years ago when i was working in Madagascar i read a book titled 'What has Nature ever done for us?' by Tony Juniper. Now if your interested in some of the points i have raised regarding ecosystem goods and services and would like to gain a greater understanding of our connection with the environment as well as **understand the
        economic costs** of replacing these services then i would throughly recommend this book.
        
        Vultures in India. During the 1990's Populations of 3 species of vulture were decimated due to an anti inflammatory drug used to treat farm animals.
        
        Vultures were consuming around 12million tonnes of rubbish a year and now they were gone this became food for the dogs. As dog populations increased so did the incidence of dog bites and prevalence of rabies.
        
        This in turn led to 50,000 more deaths than would have otherwise been the case with a cost to the Indian government over a decade or so of $34 billion. A job that the vultures were doing completely for free.
        
        This book is full of other really interesting ecosystem services that the majority of us take for granted and its this book that was actually recommended by a friend that has resonated more strongly with me than anything i learnt at school.
    - - Incentives
        Now i don't agree that fining should be the only tool for encouraging more environmentally conscious behaviour, Individuals and companies should be incentivised for going above and beyond the recommended requirements. The UK government has already adopted a few incentive schemes for business and individuals such as;
        
        providing companies with tax reliefs for adopting clean energy sources
        
        Or allowing households to sell their energy back to the grid if they have a surplus. But we need to make sure these technologies are affordable for everyone if this is to be a an effective policy that stretches across the country.
        
        Some ideas i had whilst brainstorming yesterday were;
        
        to pay people for engaging in environmentally friendly behaviours such as beach or park cleans.
        
        supermarkets could give money off or provide vouchers to shoppers if they do a certain number of shops without purchasing a plastic bag.
        
        These ideas aren't particularly radical but if we can think of enough of them and apply pressure to the government through our own actions, pushing them to adopt more environmentally friendly policy and legislation, than we will be well on our way to safeguarding the future of our environments.
      - Fines
        Fines can be an effective way of getting people to adopt more environmentally friendly behaviour. From fining companies and individuals for the inappropriate disposal and flytipping of their waste to the more recent 5p bag charge, all of these have been effective ways of encouraging people to adopt more environmentally conscious behaviour.
        
        5p Bag charge for example which was introduced in Oct 2015 has resulted in an 80% reduction in single use plastic bags.
        
        Over the next 10yrs this charge is expected to raise over £780 million for the UK economy
        
        £730 million of which will be put to good causes
        
        £60million saving in litter clear ups
        
        Carbon saving of £13million