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The problem of rising ocean plastic pollution such as plastic bags, discarded fishing nets and microplastics has received increased attention in recent years. But other pollutants such as oil and gas, pesticides, antibiotics, heavy metals and industrial chemicals are also severely impacting the world’s oceans, says a new report from the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (Ocean Panel).
“Even though plastic is a hot topic, it is unfortunately just the latest major pollutant to enter the ocean,” says Ellie Moss, an ocean plastic expert and co-author of the report. “I think one of the things that differentiates it from most of the other pollutants is that you can see it. In the other cases, it’s sort of these invisible pollutants that we don’t even recognise as being there. That’s a huge problem.”
The new report, commissioned by the Ocean Panel which is convened by 14 heads of state, outlines a range of ways to reduce these different ocean pollutants. Part of the solution is exploring how materials can be recaptured and recycled, the report says, preventing them from seeping into the ocean as pollutants and instead keeping them circulating in the economy. Developing more eco-friendly materials and chemicals is another important part of the picture. In many cases, strategies can tackle more than one type of ocean pollutant at once, the report says. “You really do have to look for opportunities to address as many of these pollutants at once as you can,” says Moss.
But there is also a need to simply use resources more efficiently in the first place, the report adds, such as through zero-packaging supermarkets, eliminating single-use plastics and exploring new business models which incentivise more efficient use of pesticides.
“A lot of people think about ‘how do we clean up the ocean’ and that’s the wrong question,” says Moss. “The question is not how do we clean it up, it’s how do we stop befouling it in the first place.”
(Jocelyn Timperley. www.sciencefocus.com, 30.05.2020. Adaptado.)
According to the report, one of the strategies to fight ocean pollution is to
