The Future of the Pacific Hangs in the Balance

[G_j]

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/06/09


Published on Sunday, June 9, 2013 by Inter Press Service

The Future of the Pacific Hangs in the Balance
by Catherine Wilson

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In a message to the global community on Saturday, designated by the United Nations as World Ocean Day, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged nation states to “reverse the degradation of the marine environment due to pollution, overexploitation and acidification.” Nowhere is this triple threat more evident than in the waters of the Pacific.

The largest ocean in the world, it covers one third of the earth’s surface and an area more expansive than the total of all its landmasses, while its natural processes determine the global climate.

The ocean’s health is crucial to the food security of the region’s population of 10 million, whose annual fish consumption is three to four times the world average. For the rural majority, 60 to 90 percent of sea harvests are used for sustenance, while 47 percent of households depend on fishing as a main source of income.

At the regional level, the commercial fisheries sector – dominated by the tuna industry – contributes to approximately 10 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and 80 percent of all exports in one quarter of Pacific Island states.

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[Gregorian]

1. We had better begin addressing population.

We have to. There is no avoiding it. This is the real uncomfortable truth most do not want to face. It's time to be responsible.