Life in the water is as important as the life on the land. There is no denying that sea play a major role for the sustenance of life. Life below the sea water is immensely important for all the sea carrying nations of the world. Since the earth is on the verge of disaster due to increase in temperature within the oceans as the level of oxygen is decreasing day by day due to climate change. The profound impact of climate change on the life below sea water is becoming a major point of concern for all sea carrying nations of the world including Pakistan.
Pakistan is one of the prominent countries of South Asia carrying a long coastline of about 990 kilometers stretching on its coastal provinces of Baluchistan and Sindh. It has been observed that in a current timeframe, all the sea carrying nations are the sea blind nations due to the increasing pollution and negligence towards the naturally blessed warm waters. Pakistan is listed among those countries of the world who have adopted the Sustainable Developments Goals (SDGs) as their national agenda for the purpose of ensuring the healthy and sustainable future for the people of Pakistan. The country has proved to be committed to all the global efforts with achieving the goal 13 Climate Action a decade before its deadline. With reference to goal 14 which is life below sea water aims for Pakistan’s commitment for ensuring the sustainable oceans along with marine life which is being impacted because of the coastal pollution. Our country is facing various issues from marine pollution to the degradation of quality of sea water in the country making it quiet challenging for achieving goal number 14. The major sources of marine pollution include coastal population residing near the seashore. They are exploiting the seashore by dumping their sewage and domestic waste in the sea. Other main source of marine population in Pakistan is the dumping of industrial waste in the sea. After agriculture sector, our country is dependent on industrial sector for the growth of its economy. And it is very unfortunate that we don’t have any proper system for the disposal of industrial waste. It ultimately ends in the sea. The industrial waste typically from the ship breaking industry, the steel mills complex, various oil refineries and different coastal power plants significantly contributes to the marine pollution. Industrial water carries various metals such as Chromium, arsenic and lead which end up in the sea ultimately contaminating the sea water along with the fishes. For this reason, many countries of the world have stopped exporting fishes from Pakistan because of increasing marine pollution.
The industrial ports and the transportation activities at the coastal sides of Pakistan is one of the major source of marine pollution in the waters of the country. The discharge of the shipping process on the ports of Pakistan increases the water borne pollution and puts a profound impact on the marine environment.
Gone are those days when sea water used to be clear enough that the marine life inside was visible to everyone. The destruction which is putting the long lasting impact on the sea water through thermal pollution, oil pollution and plastic pollution is mainly because of lack of study on damage to marine life. Though Pakistan is signatory to SDGs and various other agreements but still there is no practical implication for protecting the life below the sea.
The need to act on achieving the goal 14 is urgent and crucial for Pakistan because the improved marine life would definitely boost tourism and economic status of the country in many different dimensions.
by: Abeer Arshad
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