INDONESIA
By Yudhistira Rizky Abdillah*
The Jakarta Post -Feb 22
Marine debris is defined by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as “any persistent, manufactured, or processed solid material discarded, disposed of, or abandoned in the marine and coastal environment”.
From this definition, we can elaborate that marine debris is not only waste that disposed directly in the ocean, but also garbage from land-based activities which enter the ocean. For instance, improper handling of waste in landfills, suboptimal factories’ waste management plant, people’s litter and tourism activities that produce debris on the beaches.
It is estimated that the vast majority of marine debris (80 percent) are disposed from land, whereas marine-based activities, i.e., shipping and fishing activities, contribute to about a fifth of total debris. Therefore, improving waste management system on the land could be the key to reduce marine debris significantly.
The efforts to reduce marine debris, however, cannot be successfully implemented without cooperation among stakeholders including central and regional governments, educational institutions, NGOs, private sectors, and communities. This article discusses important facts about marine debris and proposes possible solutions to address this environmental issue.
To easily understand about marine debris, some relevant statistics and facts of marine debris are presented. Data from the Ocean Conservancy show the most common items found in the ocean are cigarette butts, food wrappers, plastic bottles, bottle caps, straws and plastic bags. Most of them are plastic waste which lasts for tens and even hundreds of years in oceans. Statistics from Plastics Europe Market Research Group represent that global plastics production rose dramatically from 1.5 million tons in 1950 to 322 million tons in 2015, and nearly half of them were produced in Asia. It is estimated that between 1.8 and 4.6 percent of global plastic waste entered into oceans.
What about the condition of marine debris in Indonesia? Unfortunately, research conducted in 2014 ranks Indonesia as the global second highest marine debris contributor, with the estimation of plastic debris disposed into the ocean was about 0.48 to 1.29 million metric tons per year. Most of the countries on the top 20 highest marine debris contributors were Asian countries, which have the dense population and relatively inadequate waste management system. These data suggest that Indonesia should improve its waste management system.
Marine debris can seriously threaten marine wildlife in four ways i.e. ingestion, entanglement, habitat damage and transporting non-native species. The most common threats affecting marine species are ingestion and entanglement. According to UNEP, marine debris, mostly plastic debris, were ingested by 131 seabirds species, 46 marine mammals species, six marine reptiles species and 62 fish species.
Plastic wastes which were consumed by marine animals can be harmful and cause the death. Similarly, marine animals can be entangled in marine debris. Derelict fishing gears (fishing nets and fishing lines) are the deadliest marine debris and the major cause of entanglement. These abandoned fishing gears can injure and even kill marine animals. Moreover, broken fishing nets in shallow waters can cover coral reef and block sunlight that is needed by corals to survive. If the coral reef is damaged, the fish population will be depleted.
Marine debris can severely threaten humans. UNEP noted that fishing, shipping, and tourism could adversely be impacted by marine debris. Research also estimates that global loss revenue caused by marine debris reaches $13 billion. This loss includes the reparation of vessels, clean-up costs and the decrease in tourism earnings. Furthermore, marine debris also risks humans’ health. It can injure and entangle people, and it also creates navigation hazard
For long-term, according to Debris Free Oceans, plastic debris, which are swallowed by marine animals, might threat people who consume seafood as that debris can absorb hazardous contaminants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dichloro diphenyl trichloroethane (DDT), that can accumulate through the food chain.
The government can initiate a policy to reduce marine debris. Both central government and regional governments should improve the waste management system by applying recycling process on the landfills and separating domestic waste (recycled and non-recycled) from every household, although it needs substantial funding to implement. Minimizing plastic packaging, banning or at least limiting the use of plastic bags and innovating biodegradable materials can also be options in decreasing marine debris.
Educational institutions should help the government by changing attitudes of schoolchildren. Environmental issues can be included in the curriculum or at least be discussed by the teachers to raise students’ awareness. Research in Britain reveals that after the British schoolchildren joined the designed activities, which raised awareness on marine debris, they are more aware with this issue, they realized that marine debris has destructive impacts on the environment, and they also encourage to help to solve this problem. This result suggests that raising awareness through early education can effectively change the attitudes of children, which will significantly impact in the future.
Private sectors can also contribute to reducing the marine debris. Factories should improve their waste management system to minimize the waste disposed into the rivers or oceans. They can also spend their CSR funds to initiate campaigns and to conduct the clean-up programs, to raise people’s awareness of marine debris. NGO and youths can also actively participate in both coastal clean-up and underwater clean-up programs to help reduce marine debris.
Finally, all of the efforts above cannot be successfully implemented if people do not participate. Simple actions can be taken, such as reducing the use of plastic bags, choosing reusable materials and not littering waste.
*The writer is a student of Master of Fisheries Policy Program at the University of Wollongong, Australia. The opinions expressed in this article is his own.
(First published in The Jakarta Post – http://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2018/02/22/reducing-marine-debris-with-collaborative-actions.html)
