NDTV.com
NDTV-Dettol Banega Swasth Swachh India NDTV-Dettol Banega Swasth Swachh India
  • Home/
  • News/
  • World Ocean Day 2020: Twitterati Give A Reminder That Oceans Need Our Attention

News

World Ocean Day 2020: Twitterati Give A Reminder That Oceans Need Our Attention

Our oceans are choking. The need of the hour is to know how we are creating havoc and how each one us can come together and stop polluting the oceans. On World Oceans Day 2020, environmentalists, actors, politicians all come together to spread awareness
World Ocean Day 2020: Twitterati Give A Reminder That Oceans Need Our Attention

New Delhi: Did you know, oceans cover more than 71 per cent of the planet, host up to 80 per cent of life on earth and account for 96 per cent of all water? Moreover, according to the United Nations, oceans serve as the world’s largest source of protein, with more than 3 billion people depending on the oceans as their primary source of protein. Over three billion people depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods. Apart from this, oceans absorb about 30 per cent of carbon dioxide produced by humans, buffering the impacts of global warming.

Yet, this lifeblood of the planet is today chocking. United Nations states that 8 million tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean, every year, wreaking havoc on wildlife. To be precise, plastic pollution ends up taking lives of 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals every year.

Also Read: When A Whale Dies From Eating Plastic Bags

In a bid to raise public awareness and encourage citizen action to protect oceans, the United Nations observes World Oceans Day. The concept was first proposed in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro to raise awareness about the crucial role the ocean plays in our lives and the important ways people can help protect it. The global community led by the United Nations started observing World Oceans Day every June 8 since 2008.

Also Read: World Oceans Day Special: A Photo Feature On The Impact Of Plastic Pollution On Life On The Planet

World Oceans Day 2020 is growing a global movement to call on world leaders to protect 30 per cent of the blue planet by 2030. This critical need is called 30×30. By safeguarding at least 30 per cent of our ocean through a network of highly protected areas we can help ensure a healthy home for all. This year the theme for World Ocean Day is “Innovation for a Sustainable Ocean.” Innovation—relating to the introduction of new methods, ideas, or products that can help save this lifeblood.

To spread awareness about the day, some of the environment-conscious people took to Twitter and shared the insights of how important the role of oceans is and why we all should come together and protect it.

Actor and United Nations Environment Goodwill Ambassador for India, Dia Mirza sharing a series of photos on her social media said,

Take me to the Ocean and remind me, how inescapable and intimate our connection is to all that is alive and breathing… Oceans feed us, regulate our climate, and generate most of the oxygen we breathe. This #WorldOceansDay2020 take a pledge to refuse all #singleuseplastics.

Also Read: A Reminder That Oceans Need Our Attention

Beach Warrior Afroz Shah, who is also known for the world’s biggest clean-up at Versova took to Twitter and shared his contribution towards saving this lifeline of the planet. He added,

Scenario 1: Clean Ocean – healthy humans – Safe marine species. Scenario 2: Polluted Ocean – unhealthy humans – dead marine species. Our choice- Scenario 1. 40 million kgs of plastic removed. 1,00,000 people trained for #circulareconomy. This is our bit. #WorldOceansDay2020

Internationally-acclaimed sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik shared one of his sand arts that showcased the unfortunate plight of the marine animals who die every year due to plastic pollution. He said,

#WorldOceansDay2020, let’s join our hands & make coordinated efforts to protect & preserve our #oceans and keep them clean and #BeatPlasticPolution. Plastic pollution is causing tremendous harm to our marine life. I am sharing one of my SandArt to showcase this.

British-South African swimmer Lewis Pugh, who is also the UN patron of the Oceans also shared a series of images and said,

A day to celebrate the magnificence of life in our oceans and our responsibility to protect it.

Sharing a beautiful video of humpback whales in the ocean, Former UN Environment Chief, Erik Solheim said,

Today is #WorldOceansDay! This is known as ‘bubble net feeding’ – humpback whales work together in a group, swimming in a shrinking circle and blowing bubbles to force krill towards the surface.

Apart from the actors and environmentalists, even political leaders join in to spread awareness about World Ocean Day. Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik shared a message which stressed on the importance of oceans as being the lungs of the planet and how it regulates climate. He also urged people to take a pledge, “to prevent ocean plastic pollution.” He added,

#Oceans are lungs of our planet as they generate most of the oxygen and play a critical role in regulating climate. They are a major source of water-vital to our survival, a major source of food & medicine. On #WorldOceansDay, let us take a pledge to prevent ocean plastic pollution.

Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan shared a short poem in Hindi to make people know the importance of protecting the oceans. He said

Today the pollution on the shores is like a fire, today is the time for man to live in dignity, to maintain the existence of the ocean on Earth, to keep them safe for the next generation. Our oceans, our future!

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla tweeted,

Oceans are the harbinger of life. Being a rich source of marine life, minerals & fossil fuels, oceans meet requirements of our day to day life. Let us, on World Oceans Day, reiterate our commitment to protecting our oceans. #WorldOceansDay.

Related Topics:
Environment World Ocean Day
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *