The Kuwait Environment Protection Society celebrated World Oceans Day, calling on “universities, marine research institutes, and others to focus on creative inventions that would make the oceans a balanced environment teeming with life again, and we must not forget the role of creative individuals, even with a simple idea, to save the oceans.”.
On this global occasion, Dr. Munaf Behbehani, Chairman of the Wildlife Protection Committee of the Society, said, “The world celebrates the oceans on June 8th every year. The aim of the celebration is to highlight, firstly, the importance of the oceans to humans and life on Earth, and then to point out the environmental problems and wrong practices that threaten the health of the oceans in the present and future. The idea of the celebration came from a proposal by Canada, which it presented at the World Conference on the Environment held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992.“ He added, ”The United Nations approved the allocation of June 8th as Oceans Day in 2008, and since then, the United Nations and its members have been celebrating Oceans Day on June 8th of each year.”.
Dr. Munaf Behbahani pointed out that “every year a specific topic related to the oceans is chosen to highlight, and it was agreed that the topic for the year 2020 would be “Creativity for Sustainable Oceans” and United Nations officials hope that countries and scientific and research institutions will work on putting forward ideas and solutions and achieving outstanding inventions to make the oceans more sustainable and restore hope in people’s hearts.”.
Dr. Behbahani stated, “It is well-known that when God Almighty created the Earth, He covered 701 TP3T of its surface with water. This is the wisdom of the Creator, given the importance of water for the existence and continuation of life. God Almighty said in the Holy Quran, “And We made from water every living thing” (Al-Anbiya/30). It is difficult to list all the benefits of the oceans. They control the climate, forming clouds, rainfall, snowfall, and hurricanes. They are also waterways connecting all parts of the world. They are also a storehouse of salts and all kinds of minerals, including gold and precious stones, in addition to pearls and coral.” He added, “From a biological perspective, the oceans are teeming with far more biodiversity than all the continents combined. Giant whales are found only in the oceans, as are sharks and giant squid. The oceans” fish stocks are a food source for billions of humans, birds, and other animals such as bears and others.”.
The head of the Wildlife Protection Committee at the Kuwait Environment Protection Society explained, “Despite the importance of the oceans to humans, we see that the oceans are suffering greatly from two main factors: the depletion of living and non-living resources, and pollution. Living resources, especially fish, have declined so much that the oceans no longer meet human protein needs. This is due to harmful fishing practices, intensified fishing efforts, and the use of destructive fishing methods.“ He pointed out that ”pollution is another problem no less serious than the depletion of resources. The effects of pollution on the oceans are numerous, the most important of which are the death of living organisms and the disruption of the ecosystem and balance in the oceans. The most important pollutants that enter the oceans are oil and its products, especially plastic. Recent studies indicate that the amount of plastic in the oceans currently exceeds 150 million tons, with about 12 million tons added to it every year. It is known that plastic does not decompose easily and remains stuck in the ocean waters or deposited on its bottom for years, up to 600 years or more.”
Because of the worsening problems that lead to the collapse of ocean ecosystems, the United Nations decided that this year's slogan should be "Creativity for Ocean Sustainability.".
Dr. Munaf Behbahani called on “universities, marine research institutes, and others to focus on creative inventions that would make the oceans a balanced environment teeming with life again, and we should not forget the role of creative individuals, even with a simple idea, to save the oceans.”.
