If they were a country, they would be the seventh world economy, although “excessively deregulated”: The oceans concentrate a GDP of 2.5 trillion dollars and are subjected to mineral extraction, indiscriminate fishing and waste disposal, among others, warns Francesca Santoro , head of ocean education at the UN.
The function of the immense mass of water that occupies 71% of the Earth it is essential for the climate and human well-being, but it is also an increasingly important part of productive activity.
“It is an economy without regulation or, at least, regulated only at the sectoral level”adds Santoro, a member of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, in an interview from the offices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in Venice, Italy.
The “blue economy” generates millions of jobs, among which the food sector alone employs 237 million people. However, many of the economic activities that take place in the water are invisible.
“The ocean is primarily everything that goes below the surface, and since human beings do not see it, it is as if it did not exist“, indicates Santoro with motif of World Oceans Day, which UNESCO commemorates on June 8 to raise awareness about the importance of the seas, but also about the threats they face.
The underwater mininga novel mineral extraction process, is one of the most pressing and, at the same time, unknown risks, which perfectly illustrates the growing importance of the seas in world production.
“Minerals such as cobalt, nickel and manganese are very necessary in the technology industry and have begun to be extracted from the sea, where there are large quantities, but we know very little about their effects,” says the UNESCO expert.
The technique is not yet regulated, although it is highly valued among large industries, which can escape the sovereignty of countries in international waters, a kind of “far west” on the ocean floor that humans do not reach.
With a GDP of 2.5 trillion dollars, the oceans would be the seventh largest economy in the world and would be part of the G7 if they were a country. EFE/Unesco
Danger and (de)regulation
For Santoro, the fact that countries such as France, Spain, Canada and Chile have called for a moratorium on deep-sea mining – which requires a halt to all exploitation until the investigation progresses – shows that the oceans are also receiving more and more attention from regulators.
Interest was aroused by the campaign against plastic waste and, according to the specialist, this caused the care of the seas to occupy more space in the public conversation.
“Seeing how plastics affect such popular animals as turtles, whales or seabirds… were images that really hit the conscience of citizens and changed the perception from below”analyze.
In the wake of that move, the European Union (EU) passed a directive against single-use plastics, a groundbreaking guideline that served as a precursor to the most ambitious movement to date: the Global Ocean Treatyapproved at the United Nations this year after almost two decades of debate.
This document proposes making 30% of the seas a protected area to safeguard marine nature and, above all, keep them away from mining.
It is an important first step, but not a definitive one, to regulate marine areas that lie outside national jurisdictions and that represent 60% of the oceans worldwide, Santoro explained.
“The treaty is approved, but then at least 60 countries need to ratify it to enter into force, so there is still a long way to go,” recalled the UNESCO expert. And here the limitations of multilateral organizations emerge.
The underwater wealth, in addition to being the seventh largest in the world, is in danger due to the lack of regulation. SPECIAL/Unsplash
disparate care
The EU has one of the most restrictive regulations that obliges its states to create plans for the management and sustainability of the marine space, but other countries do not have standards like the European ones.
For example, China unreasonably exploits the resources of transnational zones and suffocates fleets from Latin America and South Asia through indiscriminate fishing.
The illegal fishing on the high seas It is another of the opaque businesses that occur in the oceans, estimated at billions of dollars and whose lack of jurisdiction prevents monitoring the conditions of clandestine workers.
The “sectoral” management, which does not integrate the regulation of fishing, tourism and energy, and the absence of an organization that can fine those responsible for certain activities, are the major obstacles encountered by experts in ocean conservation.
Although as the economic investment increases, so does the awareness.
“It seems that things are changing. It has been an important year for the ocean, many decisions are being made internationally and I see more attention,” Santoro concluded and celebrated.
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