14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier this month, US Secretary of State John Kerry stated that global warming and climate change were “weapons of mass destruction.”
Fast forward a few days, and John Kerry is once again making headlines. This time, it's because of his views on global marine reserves and how large such areas must be.
Business Green tells us that, in a recent video address aired during a meeting hosted by The Economist and National Geographic, the US Secretary of States said that some 10% of the world's coastal and marine areas needed to be granted legal protection.
This is because, as shown by several studies, making sure that the planet's seas and oceans are safe from pollution is key to ensuring food security, John Kerry believes.
“Keeping our oceans healthy is a food security issue and therefore a global security issue,” the US Secretary of State reportedly explained in his video address.
According to recent estimates, under 3% of all coastal and marine areas across the world are currently listed as reserves and therefore protected by law.
Otherwise put, John Kerry's proposal to grant legal protection to 10% of global such regions is bound to be welcomed by environmentalists.
Studies have shown that, since the 1060s until present day, the world has lost about 90% of its population of large fish species.
What's more, specialists estimate that two thirds of coral reefs across the world have suffered damage as a result of carbon pollution and ocean acidification.
“Given the fact that marine reserves have been documented to help replenish fish stocks and also conserve coral reefs, expanding them should be a no-brainer,” John Kerry thinks.
“Today, less than three per cent of the world's oceans are part of a marine protected area or a marine reserve,” the Secretary said in his video address.
Furthermore, “Think about the progress we could make if just 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas were protected. I think that's a goal that we could accomplish and it's one we ought to set for ourselves.”
Secretary John Kerry says that, in order to keep seas and oceans healthy, there are several things other than expanding marine reserves than need be done.
Specifically, agricultural run-off, known to cause so-called dead zones, must be limited.
Besides, greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced, and efforts must be made to put an end to illegal fishing and other environmental crimes of this kind.
More so given the fact that, according to recent estimates, the illegal fishing industry has an annual worth of about $10 – 20 billion (€7.28 – 14.57 million), and two thirds of the fish currently caught in the high seas come from heavily depleted stocks.