Lifebelowwater14

Goal 14: Life Below Water. <a id="mobile-version-link" class="mobile-version-link" href=" the mobile version of globalgoals.org</a> Targets. Adopt an Endangered Animal - WWF. China: GEF Grant to Reduce Marine Pollution in the Huai River Basin. WASHINGTON, DC February 23, 2012 - Today the World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved a grant of US$5 million from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to the People’s Republic of China to help improve water environment and reduce pollution in the Bohai Sea through a pilot project in the Huai River Basin. The Huai River Basin, which covers Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui and Henan provinces, is faced with the challenge to maintain the balance between socio-economic development and environmental protection. With rapid economic growth in the region, many river systems in the Huai River Basin have become increasingly polluted, rendering it one of the most polluted rivers in China.

Consequently more and more nutrients and pollutants are discharged into the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea, contaminating these international waters. Coastal cities such as Dongying City in Shandong Province are both significant contributors to and direct victims of such pollution. How to Clean Up the Pacific Ocean. No trash. California, 2008 (José Antonio Galloso/Flickr) A recent study from the University of California, San Diego, found that tens of thousands of tons of debris are ingested annually by fish in the Pacific Ocean. In this week's Sustainability Roundtable, we asked our experts how Asia and the United States can cooperate to tackle the problem of pollution in the Pacific Ocean. Is there a chance for collaboration on cleaning and waste management efforts? Christine E.

Spoiling the world’s oceans with garbage, toxins and other pollutants is a case of a tragedy of the commons to be sure, where many nations contribute to the problem, and yet there is little incentive for any country to actively pursue a solution. Based on the notion that those most likely to participate in a clean-up effort are those most likely to benefit from a cleaner Pacific, I would instead propose working within existing maritime and fisheries organizations to create a dual strategy approach to clean up our oceans. Great Barrier Reef. Outstanding Universal Value Brief synthesis As the world’s most extensive coral reef ecosystem, the Great Barrier Reef is a globally outstanding and significant entity. Practically the entire ecosystem was inscribed as World Heritage in 1981, covering an area of 348,000 square kilometres and extending across a contiguous latitudinal range of 14o (10oS to 24oS).

The Great Barrier Reef (hereafter referred to as GBR) includes extensive cross-shelf diversity, stretching from the low water mark along the mainland coast up to 250 kilometres offshore. Within the GBR there are some 2,500 individual reefs of varying sizes and shapes, and over 900 islands, ranging from small sandy cays and larger vegetated cays, to large rugged continental islands rising, in one instance, over 1,100 metres above sea level. The latitudinal and cross-shelf diversity, combined with diversity through the depths of the water column, encompasses a globally unique array of ecological communities, habitats and species. Overfishing WWF. Fishing is one of the most significant drivers of declines in ocean wildlife populations. Catching fish is not inherently bad for the ocean, except for when vessels catch fish faster than stocks can replenish, something called overfishing. The number of overfished stocks globally has tripled in half a century and today fully one-third of the world's assessed fisheries are currently pushed beyond their biological limits, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Overfishing is closely tied to bycatch—the capture of unwanted sea life while fishing for a different species. This, too, is a serious marine threat that causes the needless loss of billions of fish, along with hundreds of thousands of sea turtles and cetaceans. The damage done by overfishing goes beyond the marine environment. Many people who make a living catching, selling, and buying fish are working to improve how the world manages and conserves ocean resources. 14 Why it Matters Goal 14 Life Below Water 3p. Overfishing. Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Global Compact China Summit Promotes Business Cooperation to Achieve SDGs | Sustainable Development Policy & Practice | IISD Reporting Services.

22 August 2016: In partnership with its China network, the UN Global Compact convened a one-day 'China Summit' in Beijing to promote awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and encourage companies to cooperate in addressing common challenges. The Summit brought together around 500 participants from the East Asia region, including representatives of business, government, youth, academia and civil society. According to UN Global Compact, around 300 businesses have joined the Global Compact China Network since its inception in 2011. Addressing the Summit, UN Global Compact Executive Director Lise Kingo commended Chinese firms for their role in promoting sustainable growth and encouraged them to play a bigger role in helping other countries achieve the SDGs.

She stressed that, as a country with over one billion people, China's sustainable development will contribute to the fulfillment of the SDGs. Coral bleaching. History of the Ocean. When the Earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago... The ocean is not just where the land happens to be covered by water. The sea floor is geologically distinct from the continents. It is locked in a perpetual cycle of birth and destruction that shapes the ocean and controls much of the geology and geological history of the continents. Geological processes that occur beneath the waters of the sea affect not only marine life, but dry land as well. The processes that mold ocean basins occur slowly, over tens and hundreds of millions of years. On this timescale, where a human lifetime is but the blink of an eye, solid rocks flow like liquid, entire continents move across the face of the earth and mountains grow from flat plains.

To understand the sea floor, we must learn to adopt the unfamiliar point of view of geological time . The presence of large amounts of liquid water makes our planet unique. Our ocean covers 72% of the earth's surface. Km thick. Seawater References Feedback & Citation. Coral Bleaching on the Reef · Great Barrier Reef · Australian Marine Conservation Society. In the first few months of this year, the Great Barrier Reef experienced the worst coral bleaching event in recorded history. As a result, almost a quarter of our precious Reef is now dead, tragically in the far northern section which was the most pristine. The world has suffered three major bleaching events that were unheard of before now. The first major event was in 1998, then 2010, and now 2016. This year’s event has already become the longest on record and is predicted to last until the end of 2016. Coral bleaching is caused directly by climate change. Our oceans are growing warmer because they’re absorbing excess heat from the atmosphere, caused by our continued burning of fossil fuels.

The use of coal, oil and gas is the biggest threat to the continued existence of our Great Barrier Reef. Experts say that corals can recover, if we give them a chance, but we are fast running out of time. What is coral bleaching? What causes coral bleaching? What can we do? China Fishing Industry. Oceans Are for Everyone - United Nations University. Mary Frances Davidson This article is part of UNU’s “17 Days, 17 Goals” series, featuring research and commentary in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit, 25-27 September 2015 in New York City. Goal #14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development Whether you live on the coast, or on a landlocked mountaintop, the world’s oceans and seas impact your life. Oceans play a vital role in regulating the earth’s temperature and climate patterns, acting like a giant solar panel that soaks up heat from the sun and distributes it across the earth through a complex system of currents.

The next time you take a deep breath of fresh air, thank an ocean. Oceans cover roughly 70% of the Earth’s surface, and contain an estimated 50%–80% of life on our planet. Despite the vital importance of oceans’ health for life on earth, the sad truth is that they are in trouble. Managing our natural wealth Measuring our success. Endangered Sea Turtles Burned In BP Spill Clean-up. A recent Los Angeles Times article confirmed that sea turtles are being burned in the efforts to clean up the British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But according to a shrimp boat captain hired by BP and the Coast Guard to rescue sea turtles, workers are being actively blocked from their rescue efforts by the oil company and it’s 21,000 contractors. Shrimp boater Mike Ellis says that BP has shut down the sea turtle operation by preventing boats from getting to the turtles. As detailed in the LA Times story, controlled burns are part of the efforts to contain the oil spill.

Sea tutles and other marine life are caught in the booms and the burn area and are burned along with the oil. “Once the turtles get in there they can’t get out,” Ellis said. As Daniel Tencer at Raw Story points out, the majority of the sea turtles affected by the oil spill are the endangered Kemp’s Ridleys. Watch the Mike Ellis interview by the Sea Turtle Restoration Project. Sea Shepherd Australia - More Pilot Whales Slaughtered in the Faroe Islands. Details Pilot whale slaughtered at the Hvannasund grind. Photo: Axe ZaalFor the third time this year, pilot whales have been slaughtered in the Danish Faroe Islands. The ordeal began at 7am today when a pod of 40 pilot whales was reported to local authorities off Skálatoftir, on the island of Borðoy. The pod was then driven by 12 Faroese boats to Hvannasund for slaughter. Although most of the pod was able to escape, Faroese media has confirmed nine whales were killed.

“Though the hunters claim the kill is ‘quick’, the drive hunt can take hours to complete. A total of 28 Sea Shepherd volunteers were arrested during the 2014 and 2015 Pilot Whale Defense Campaigns in the Faroe Islands. During the same period, Faroese and Danish authorities confiscated a total of four Sea Shepherd small boats used to defend pilot whales, and arrested Sea Shepherd Captain Jessie Treverton on charges of ‘harassing’ dolphins by guiding them away from a killing beach.

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Oceans, Whales & Seafood. Help protect marine life | Greenpeace. Half the oxygen we breathe comes from our oceans. One of our world’s most stunning features, they cover more than 70 percent of the planet, comprise 99 percent of its habitable space, and house the greatest diversity of major plant, animal, and microbial species, from the simplest to the mightiest on earth. Their importance to all life cannot be underestimated. Oceans regulate the climate, produce half of the earth’s breathable oxygen, and are a huge source of food.

For the one billion coastal humans who depend directly upon them, the oceans are life itself. And because of some pretty careless industrial human activity, our oceans are in a lot of trouble right now. We’ve made significant progress to turn the tide towards ocean conservation, but a lot more needs to be done in a short time. Ensuring Sustainable Seafood The problems taxing the ocean are caused directly by what's available at the seafood counter. Spotlight on Tuna Tuna is one of the world's favorite fish. Saving Whales. Fishing Disputes Could Spark a South China Sea Crisis. The simmering maritime disputes and land grabs in the South China Sea have long been seen as a battle over its potentially vast undersea deposits of oil and natural gas. That’s not quite true: There is a sometimes violent scramble for resources in the region, but it’s more a fight for fish than for oil.

The latest evidence came Tuesday, when Indonesia blew up 23 fishing boats from Vietnam and Malaysia that it said were poaching in Indonesian waters. It wasn’t the first time Indonesia’s flamboyant, chain-smoking fisheries minister, Susi Pudjiastuti, has literally dynamited her way to international headlines: The country demolished 27 fishing boats in February and has scuttled more than 170 in the last two years. The maritime disputes between China and its neighbors over who controls what part of the South China Sea are increasingly coming to a head — not with bristling gunboats but with trawlers. In a clear signal to China, the U.S. “They are being escorted by Chinese coast guards. Water Bottle Pollution. China to spend $330 billion to fight water pollution -paper. Corals Are Dying on the Great Barrier Reef. Ocean Acidification and Pollution. What happens when crude oil spills into the sea?

National Geographic Freshwater 101: Pollution. New Study Shows Plastic in Oceans Is on the Rise. 60% of China’s underground water 'not fit for human contact' - Beijing. China’s Other Pollution Problem: Water. GRID-Arendal - Large Graphic. Image 3. Image 2. Uk.businessinsider. New ‘Water Ten Plan’ to Safeguard China’s Waters | China Water Risk. What happens when crude oil spills into the sea? Image. Save The Oceans, Save the World: Why We Should Really Care About Life Under Water | Xpatnation. Pacific Environment : Species under Threat. The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. Overpopulation, overconsumption – in pictures | Global Development Professionals Network. SDG 14: Life below water. China's new weapon against water pollution: its people. Sustainable Development Goals.