Kategorie: News
Dramatic rise in plastic waste concentrations in the world's oceans
From the coasts of the North and Baltic Seas, the Mediterranean Sea and remote tropical islands to Arctic regions, plastic waste is polluting our oceans and endangering the lives and health of all marine life. This affects not only whales and dolphins, but also fish, sea turtles and seabirds. Danger from plastic waste comes in three different forms: as supposed prey that clogs the stomach, as a lost ghost net that becomes a devastating trap, or in the form of millimeter-sized microplastics that break down into their toxic components.
The environmental protection organization WWF warns of a dramatically increasing concentration of plastic waste in the world's oceans and calls for vigorous global action. The pollution of the oceans with plastics is growing almost "exponentially" in view of ever-increasing global plastic production.
By 2050, plastic concentrations threaten to quadruple, according to the study by Germany's Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) commissioned by WWF. "We are experiencing a 'plasticization' of the oceans. We can already see the fatal consequences for marine ecosystems and many animal species and fear dire things," said Axel Hein, marine expert at WWF Austria.
The new AWI evaluation summarizes the results of a total of more than 2,500 individual scientific studies from the last 60 years on various aspects of the problem, and is thus intended to provide an unprecedented overview of the state of knowledge.
Forecast: chain reaction
The new findings provide a prediction of a chain reaction: "Plastic production is expected to more than double by 2040. As a result, larger macroplastics in the ocean quadruple over the next 30 years. This decomposes into smaller and smaller pieces down to micro- and nanoplastics. By the end of the century, the amount of marine microplastic threatens to increase 50-fold," says marine expert Hain.
Impacts on a large proportion of species
Impacts have already been found in nearly 90 percent of the marine species studied, said marine biologist and co-author of the study, Melanie Bergmann of the Alfred Wegener Institute. However, she said, there is still little research on these relationships. But, "The documented effects are extremely worrying," Bergmann said.
Animals such as seals or sea turtles could become entangled in plastic waste and suffocate. The same fate could befall birds that build their nests out of plastic waste, he added. When trash covers the ocean floor, corals and sponges lack light and oxygen.
Turtles and predatory fish, as well as dolphins and whales, mistake plastic parts for prey. After eating them, they would have a false sense of satiety, suffer from constipation and internal injuries. With the plastic waste, the animals also ingest chemicals that could impair their reproduction.
More and more regions affected
The Mediterranean Sea, the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea are particularly affected. Coral reefs and mangrove forests are in danger. Off the Indonesian island of Java, half of the seabed is covered with plastic waste in some places. More and more plastic waste is also accumulating in the deep sea, which accounts for 70 percent of the earth's surface. The waste is often dumped directly into the sea or washed away from landfills during high tides.
By the end of the century, marine areas about 60 times the size of Austria could exceed ecologically risky thresholds for microplastic concentrations, according to the study. Ahead of the UN Environment Summit on February 28 in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, WWF therefore called for the adoption of a global legally binding agreement against plastic waste entering the oceans.
"Global show of strength" called for
WWF called for the causes of plastic pollution to be tackled in the bud, saying this would be much more effective than dealing with the consequences after the fact: "Governments, industry and society must act in unison now to stop the plastic crisis. It needs a global show of force at the UN Assembly in February," Hein demanded.
"Research acts like a flashlight with which we cast beams of light into the darkness of the oceans. Only a fraction of the consequences have been recorded and researched. The documented damage is disturbing and must be understood as a warning signal for a much larger scale. Especially with the current and projected growth in plastic production," says marine biologist Bergmann.
Bali: Vincent Kneefel, WWF
Jellyfish with plastic: Matko Pojatina / WWF Adria
Sea urchin with plastic cup: Philipp Kanstinger / WWF
Plastic bottles: Yunaidi Joepeot / WWF-International