Silvia's World

"You are not just the drop in the ocean. You are the mighty ocean in the drop." - Rumi

It is difficult to associate the mighty oceans with the word 'vulnerable'. 

After all there are few things as humbling as standing on a beach, facing an immense expanse of blue, watching the waves come crashing down, the sting of the salty spray in your eyes, and your body getting tossed around like around like a twig in the surf.

My own introduction to the world of oceans started with a visit to Kanyakumari where, on a clear day, it is possible to see the three different hues of blue that make the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean. The expanse was however too vast to be covered in small fishing boats so we always saw this world through the eyes of great explorers - the books written by David Attenborough, the tele-series by Jacques-Yues Cousteau, and the paintings of Katsushika Hokusai.

So when one of the most respected marine biologists of the world, Silvia Earle, tells us that the oceans are dying, it  does sound a bit incredulous, almost unbelievable. Silvia is however familiar with this sort of reaction - she has been observing the oceans for over 80 years now. Her dissertation in 1954 was on brown algae; in 1964 she was part of a pioneering International Indian Ocean Expedition, and has seen first had the transformation being brought about by human interventions by way of commercial fishing, oil-spills, nuclear tests, and global warming.

Perhaps this is the ultimate Tragedy of the Commons where the stakeholders are not just communities that share a resource but entire countries and continents. With support from TED, Silvia launched Mission Blue, for setting up marine protected "hope spots" across the globe. In 2014, less than 3 percent of the oceans were protected, and Mission Blue aimed to bring this to 20 percent by 2020. 

Has it worked?

I have not been able to find data on this from the one institution that is supposed to be tracking this issue - the United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (conserve and sustainably use the oceans). Under "Deliverables" it simply states - 'Designation of 30 new Hope Spots by 2020'. The Mission-Blue website however claims that over 44 percent  (40 million sq.km) of the Global Ocean is under Hope Spot designation.

It is not clear if the designation of a zone as a Hot Spot leads to its protection under international covenants. There is also no sign of reduction in the quantum of marine products consumed, which stood at 174.6 million tonnes in 2020.

Silvia has spent a lifetime trying to convince the world about the importance of conserving the oceans. If the UN reports are anything to go by, it seems much work remains to be done.

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LINKS & REFERENCES

https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/products/story-maps/sharing-collaboration/mission-blue-stories-inspire-action-to-explore-and-protect-the-ocean/

https://www.iucn.org/theme/marine-and-polar/our-work/marine-protected-area

https://www.iucn.org/news/secretariat/201609/new-ocean-hope-spots-vetted-iucn-and-mission-blue-ignite-global-support-ocean-protection

https://www.greenfacts.org/en/fisheries/l-2/06-fish-consumption.htm#0

Mission Blue - https://mission-blue.org/

TED Video - My Wish - Protect Our Oceans - https://www.ted.com/talks/sylvia_earle_my_wish_protect_our_oceans?language=en 

4 Ways to Get People to Care - https://ideas.ted.com/4-ways-to-get-people-to-care-about-the-ocean/ 

Across the Waters

 The Suez was in the news last month. A single, massive ship passing through the canal got blown by the winds and ended up getting wedged across the canal, blocking traffic for a week. During this period it effectively blocked the passage of about 400 ships and prevented an estimated USD 9.6 billion worth of trade!

How did we end up getting so completely dependent on the Suez and Panama canals? What is it that drives us to make bigger and bigger ships that need wider, deeper shipping docks and canals that cut across continents? The simple and obvious answer is global trade, and the economy of scales that drive it. If simple answers do not satisfy you, the book you need to read is David Abulafia's "The Boundless Sea".

This book is a serious piece of work - over 800 pages of which nearly half is references and citations! And yet, it is eminently readable, especially in the e-book format where the act of picking up a book of this size does not remind you of visits to the gym :)

The book covers a wide canvas. Starting from the oldest records of those who ventured out to explore the seas and oceans, all the way to the obsessive search for trading opportunities and power-play between countries that marks our relations with the not-so-boundless seas today.

I particularly enjoyed reading the sections on Polynesian navigators and explorers, trade during the Harappan period; the spread of Buddhism by sea; the Cholas, and the spread of Omanis deep into southern coasts of Africa. Towards the end, details of the arrival of the Europeans on the scene, and their depredations in Africa, the Americas and Asia makes for depressing reading. 

At the end one has to admit that if it were not for the bloody competition between the European powers that completely transformed the world through slave-trading and migrations, the world would have been a completely different place. 

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LINKS & REFERENCES

* 2021 Suez Obstruction - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Suez_Canal_obstruction

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