Ocean dumping and environmental hazards

OCEAN DUMPING: ISSUES & INITIATIVES

It is a known fact that two-thirds of the surface of the earth is covered by water bodies, with the majority of them being oceans. Yet, the seemingly limitless bodies that give our planet it’s distinctive nickname as the blue planet, are at risk because of humankind. Our water resources are exploited through activities such as pollution, waste dumping, overfishing, resource extraction et cetera. Such negative interference caused by human activities pose a serious threat not only to the marine ecosystem but also our health and economies.

Throughout history, the Ocean was considered to be a convenient dumping place for industries. The industrial revolution, the economic boom, and the period of globalization saw nations single mindedly chasing economic and industrial growth, completely neglecting the impact of such disposal of chemical and industrial wastes, radioactive wastes, contaminated dredged material, trash, munitions and sewage sludge. 

Opportunities to recycle or reuse such materials were often ignored for the cheaper alternative of disposing them. Wastes were frequently dumped in coastal and ocean waters based on the assumption that marine waters had an unlimited capacity to mix and disperse wastes. The uncontrolled ocean dumping caused severe depletion of oxygen levels, and irreversible damage to natural ecosystems in some ocean waters. 

TYPES OF DUMPING MATERIAL: 

1. Runoff and Pollution: Pesticides, fertilizers, and other such substances used on farms contaminate nearby rivers that flow into the ocean. They often contain toxic chemicals that can lead to extensive loss of marine life in bays and estuaries leading to the creation of dead zones. 
2. Industrial & Nuclear waste:Up until the early 1970’s, the dumping of industrial, nuclear and other waste into oceans was legal and permitted. Now, despite attempts at regulation, illegal dumping is a rampant practice all around the world. An estimated 25 million tonnes of waste were dumped into the oceans in the 70’s and 80’s. These include acids, alkaline waste,fish processing wastes, scrap metals, flue desulphurization, sludge, and coal ash. Radioactive waste is also dumped in the oceans and usually comes from the nuclear power process, medical use of radioisotopes, research use of radioisotopes and industrial uses. These substances can remain radioactive for decades, slowly poisoning the waters and marine life therein. Another significant contributor to ocean pollution is dumping ofSewage Sludge, with nearly 18 million tonnes being dumped in the 1980’s .
3. Dredging: Rivers, canals, and harbors are dredged to remove silt and sand buildup or to establish new waterways. About 10% of all dredged material is polluted with heavy metals such as cadmium, mercury, and chromium, hydrocarbons such as heavy oils, nutrients including phosphorus and nitrogen, and organochlorines from pesticides, of which 20-22% is dumped into the ocean. Dredging contributes about 80% of all waste dumped into the ocean.
4. Oil Spills: Spilling of oil from tankers and offshore rigs in the oceanic area cause acute damage to marine ecosystems and are a major source of pollution. Several of such oil spills from tanker ships after accidents, including Deepwater Horizon, Gulf War oil spill and Atlantic Empress, have shown us the extent of the damages the spills can do to the ecosystems. 
5. Plastic waste & debris: The results of a study in 2015, published in the journal Science estimated that nearly eight million tonnes of plastic waste made its way into the ocean in 2010. Most of the plastic waste that enters the ocean is on account of plastic litter and mismanaged plastic waste systems. The total amount of detritus that ended up in the ocean would have been much higher as the study did not take into account the contribution from other sources like fishing activities or at-sea vessels. 83 percent of mismanaged plastic waste in the ocean was the contribution by only twenty states.India, with 0.60 million tonnes per year of mismanaged plastic waste, is ranked 12th and China ranks no. 1 with 8.82 million tonnes per year.  According to the study, by 2020 the cumulative amount of plastic debris that would enter the ocean will be more than double the 2010 figure in the absence of any improvement to waste management systems in the 192 coastal countries. In another report titled ‘The New Plastics Economy,’ published by the World Economic Forum in 2016, it was estimated that 150 million tonnes of plastic debris is in the ocean.

A chilling indicator of the amount of marine pollution is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP). GPGP is a trash island in the ocean which was discovered in 1997 and is composed of an estimated 3.6 trillion pieces of plastic, covering a surface area of 1.6 million sq km. This expanding island is but one of several such garbage islands in the ocean. 

EFFECTS OF OCEAN POLLUTION

The adverse effects of marine pollution are two-fold. Studies have revealed that annually nearly 1,00,000 marine animals and plants die due to such waste dumping.  The junk that are dumped into the oceans tends to have toxic substances, which absorb all the oceanic oxygen killing marine mammals and other fishes in their natural habitat. Every year, according to reports, more than one million seabirds are being killed by ocean pollution. In addition, thousands of dolphins and porpoises are dying every year due to the increased human intervention.

De-oxygenation of ocean waters is also caused by the increased presence of plastic on the ocean surface, which often remains floating for decades. Similarly, the presence of harmful wastes in the waters make impacts on the food habits and health of human beings because it spoils the food chain and fails the reproductive system of fish and other aquatic beings. Also, humans are indirectly affected by such toxic waste dumping, as these toxins are consumed by fished which gets deposited and accumulated in their fat tissues, then the humans consume these affected fishes. Careless human intervention has badly affected the oceanic ecosystem, threatening the existence of several species on planet earth, including, of course, our very selves.

ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS RELATED TO OCEAN DUMPING

• United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm Conference 1972): This was the UN's first major conference on international environmental issues, and marked a turning point in the development of international environmental politics. Countries across the world were urged by the 1972 Stockholm Conference to regulate the dumping of waste in “their oceans” by implementing new laws. 
• Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter 1972:The "London Convention" is one of the first global conventions to protect the marine environment from human activities and has been in force since 1975.  Its aim is to promote the effective control of all sources of marine pollution and to take all practicable steps to prevent pollution of the sea by dumping of wastes and other matter. This convention has membership of 87 states. 
• In 1996, the "London Protocol" was agreed to further modernize the Convention, eventually replacing it. Under the Protocol all marine dumping is prohibited. The only exceptions were certain ‘acceptable wastes’, features on its ‘reverse list’. The Protocol entered into force on 24 March 2006 with 53 countries party to it. The International Maritime Organization(IMO) was given responsibility for this convention and a Protocol, a considerable step in the regulation of ocean dumping.
• International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships 1973: Known universally as MARPOL Convention, which has been amended by the Protocols of 1978 and 1997 and kept updated with relevant amendments, addresses pollution from ships. This could be in the form of by oil; by noxious liquid substances carried in bulk; harmful substances carried in packaged form; sewage, garbage; and the prevention of air pollution from ships. MARPOL which applies to nearly ninety nine percent of the global merchant tonnage, has greatly contributed to a significant decrease in pollution from international shipping.
• Other treaties adopted by IMO address anti-fouling systems used on ships, the transfer of alien species by ships’ ballast water and the environmentally sound recycling of ships. 

INITIATIVES: 

Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML)

GPML was launched at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in June 2012 in response to a request set out in the Manila Declaration on furthering the Implementation of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities. It aims to prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, especially from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution, by 2025. It is a multi-stakeholder initiative that combines all actors working to prevent marine litter and microplastics. By providing a unique global platform, partners are able to work together, share information and collaborate, to create and advance solutions to the pressing global issue.

G20 Marine Litter Action Plan

In the G20 summit of 2017, the twenty collaborating nations including India, pledged to tackle the problem of marine litter, a dire threat to both the environment, and marine ecology through the Marine Litter Action Plan. A string of new initiatives to be implemented to meet the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development were outlined, which would also tackle marine litter. The G20 Operational Framework highlighted issues to be addressed to tackle marine litter. The fact that there was no one-shot solution to everything was recognized, and a multi-faceted approach was adopted. The framework stressed on addressing both land and sea based sources of pollution, addressing the cost required to tackle marine litter on a global scale, especially developing new sources of funding to effective waste management. The framework also encouraged funding and research to study the problem of marine litter better.

Clean Seas Campaign

UN Environment launched #CleanSeas in February 2017, with the aim of engaging governments, the general public, civil society and the private sector in the fight against marine plastic litter. Over five years, this campaign aims to address the root-cause of marine litter by targeting the production and consumption of single-use plastic.In the course of recent years, the Clean Seas campaign has become one of the biggest worldwide battles for tackling marine plastic contamination with national responsibilities from sixty nations covering in excess of 60 percent of the world's coastlines. It has become an impetus for change, moving governments to pass plastic reduction approaches, urging industry to limit plastic bundling and upgrade items, and inspiring purchasers to change their propensities and request more activity from both the general population and private divisions. 

COUNTRY LEVEL INITIATIVES

Following international treaties & protocols, different countries have adopted proactive laws aimed at reducing ocean pollution & dumping. For example, the USA have implemented the following laws:

• The Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) which implements the provisions of MARPOL. In 1987, APPS was amended by the Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act. The MPPRCA requires EPA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to study the effects of improper disposal of plastics on the environment and methods to reduce or eliminate such adverse effects. 
• Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act (MDRPRA)which built up programs inside the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the United States Coast Guard (USCG) distinguish, identify sources of, evaluate, decrease, and forestall marine garbage.
• Shore Protection Act (SPA), which is applicable to transportation of municipal and commercial wastes in coastal waters. The SPA aims to minimize debris from being deposited into coastal waters from inadequate waste handling procedures by waste transporting vessels. 
• Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA), also called the Ocean Dumping Act, generally prohibits transportation of material from the United States for the purpose of ocean dumping; transportation of material from anywhere for the purpose of ocean dumping by U.S. agencies or U.S.-flagged vessels; and dumping of material transported from outside the United States into the U.S. territorial sea.

INITIATIVES TAKEN BY INDIA

National Marine Litter Policy: On World Environment Day in 2018, the Government of India kick started their commitment to Beat Plastic Pollution, with an aim to eradicate all single-use plastic in the country by 2022. To tackle the marine pollution across India’s 7,500 km coastline, the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences shall initiate work on a comprehensive study to identify the source of litter, especially the plastic waste that flows into India’s coastal waters. The activity is the initial move towards surrounding a National Marine Litter Policy with the target to tidy up the seas, which is in accordance with UN Environment's worldwide 'Clean Seas Campaign' that India joined on World Environment Day 2018. 

New Partnerships to combat Marine Pollution: In 2019, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change announced two significant coordinated efforts with developed nations like Norway and Germany to help battle marine pollution. Under the India-Norway Marine Pollution Initiative, a joint team on 'Blue Economy', an idea identifying with the misuse and safeguarding of the marine condition, has been constituted. This team incorporates government authorities, analysts and specialists as well as the private sector. The two-sided participation between India and Germany will concentrate on marine litter, SDG and National Development Council execution, environmental change adjustment, and forestry.

CASE STUDIES

Fishermen in Kerala, India: paving roads with marine plastic 

• The rise in plastic contaminants in the oceans were noted by the fishermen of Kerala, who decided to initiate an effort to clean it up.
• One idea was to collect the plastic waste they caught, rather than dump it back into the ocean, and use the refined plastic in bitumen for road construction. 
• The Clean Sea (Suchitwa Sagaram) initiative was launched in June 2017 to amplify effective government coordination among a number of entities for an ocean initiative. 
• The project creates jobs for local fishermen and their families and generates revenue through the sale of refined plastic to road construction companies. Roads constructed with plastic mixed with bitumen are cheaper to construct and are more resilient, according to Mr Vasudevan, a chemistry professor referred to as “India’s Plastic Man”.
• There are plans to replicate the Clean Sea project in other fishing centers in Kerala.

Garbage Clinical Insurance: one man’s trash is another man’s treasure

• Indonesia ranked second in the world in terms of mismanaged plastic waste and plastic marine debris with 4 of the top 20 polluting rivers in the world are in Indonesia.
• In an effort to alleviate the alarmingly high levels of pollution, while improving the lives of people, MrAlbinsaid, CEO of Indonesia Medika, founded the Garbage Clinical Insurance (GCI), a scheme that accepts garbage as payment for healthcare services and insurance.
• Each of its 500–700 members deliver 3kg of garbage per month in the form of plastic bottles, used cardboard boxes and organic waste.
•  In true open-source fashion, MrAlbinsaid has put together a 70-page start-up manual, to assist those interested in adopting the model. So far, it has been implemented in 50 towns and villages in Indonesia, and is a truly unique way of tackling the pollution problem.

CONCLUSION:

The issue of Ocean Dumping is in fact a very serious issue that has to be addressed with more seriousness. Such activities as mentioned such activities not only disrupt marine life, but eventually, the human race will have to fact the brunt of their actions.

Even though there exists to be a number or initiative and conventions in existence with regard to the same, through an indept analysis of the statistical data with regard to Ocean Dumping and Pollution, it is extremely evident that such initiatives and guidelines in implementation has not brought about a significant change. One of the most challenging aspects with respect to tackling Ocean Dumping is the implementation and facilities for the same at rural and small industries as well as lack of sanctions to cause deterrence.

An analysis of the various initiatives taken by various countries and individuals, especially to curb marine pollution due to plastic waste, one can understand that the world is working in the right direction to protect the seas. Global public awareness is extremely necessary for the safety of oceans. Therefore, it can be understood that proper guidelines to prevent Ocean Dumping and Cleaning as well as effective implementation of the same are the need of the hour.