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<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Scientists
decry lack of data on ocean pollution<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>By:<span
class=apple-converted-space> </span><a
href="https://www.scidev.net/global/author.rodrigo-de-oliveira-andrade.html"><span
style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none'>Rodrigo de Oliveira Andrade</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>13/12/18<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>https://www.scidev.net/global/conservation/news/scientists-decry-lack-of-data-on-ocean-pollution.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=SciDevNewsletter&utm_campaign=international%20SciDev.Net%20update%3A%2017%20December%202018<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:19.3pt;background:white'><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:19.3pt;background:white'><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>[SÃO PAULO] Scientific
databases contain little information on pollution in marine<span
class=apple-converted-space> </span><a
href="https://www.scidev.net/global/environment/conservation/" target="_blank"><span
style='color:#E10000'>conservation</span><span class=apple-converted-space><span
style='color:#E10000;text-decoration:none'> </span></span></a>areas,
according to a broad review of research on chemical<span
class=apple-converted-space> </span><a
href="https://www.scidev.net/global/environment/pollution/" target="_blank"><span
style='color:#E10000'>pollution</span><span class=apple-converted-space><span
style='color:#E10000;text-decoration:none'> </span></span></a>and its
biological effects on the ocean.<br>
<br>
A team of researchers in Brazil found just 1,291 scientific papers on such
pollution, even though litter and toxic spillages in marine protected areas are
among the main threats to ocean wildlife conservation. When the researchers
undertook a proper content analysis of the articles, only 96 papers remained
that thoroughly studied the problem, covering just 0.6 per cent of all marine
protected areas around the world.<br>
<br>
The studies reported problems with the sites they analysed, but levels of
information on pollution were usually insufficient to correctly diagnose
threats and support further actions a review,<span class=apple-converted-space> </span><a
href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749118303488"><span
style='color:#E10000'>published in</span><span class=apple-converted-space><span
style='color:#E10000;text-decoration:none'> </span></span><em><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#E10000;text-decoration:none'>Environmental
Pollution</span></em></a>, pointed out.<br>
<br>
“On face of it, we cannot estimate long-term effects of pollution in
these sites, nor compare pollution to other known threats to marine protected
areas,” says Denis Moledo de Souza, an oceanographer at the State
University of Sao Paulo and lead author of a study.<br>
<br>
He explains that, in the complex oceanic ecosystem, contaminants are likely to
act in tandem with other stressors, making it hard to pin down a single cause
for wildlife deterioration. “We may only speculate that the outcome of
such interactions is the loss of species and the decline of ecosystems within
marine protected areas,” he points out.<br>
<br>
According to the paper, there are 13,674 marine protected areas spread out
across the globe. These sites are usually created to protect or restore marine
habitats, biodiversity, ecological processes and to help maintain fishery
productivity. This, in turn, may reduce biodiversity loss and improve economic
activity, as well as boosting sustainable development.<br>
<br>
Yet, the World Wildlife Fund estimates that only 4 per cent of the
world’s oceans are protected, and most of existing marine parks and
reserves are either poorly managed or not looked after at all.<br>
<br>
“Marine protected areas conservation would be effective only if it is
managed properly, if stressors are controlled and if data are available to
properly assess management policies,” Souza highlights. “This
includes information on pollution caused by chemical substances released into
the sea.”<br>
<br>
Alexander Turra, an oceanographer at the University of Sao Paulo’s
Oceanographic Institute, agrees that systematic studies on marine conservation
units are rare and that such monitoring is usually not part of their management
policies.<br>
<br>
“It tends to hamper researchers working on the evaluation of the quality
of marine conservation units and whether they are reaching the goals for which
they have been created”, he tells<span class=apple-converted-space> </span><em><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>SciDev.Net</span></em>.<br>
<br>
Turra adds that marine protected areas are not immune to contamination, even if
they are located far from a source of pollution. That is because pollutants are
able to travel long distances in the water and are carried along by tides and
ocean currents.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:19.3pt;background:white'><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:19.3pt;background:white'><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>The main pollution sources
that threaten ocean health include sewage, mining, urban drainage, sediment
dredging and disposal, oil exploitation and spills, marinas and factories using
sea water.<br>
<br>
Hudson Pinheiro, an ichthyologist at the California Academy of Sciences in the
United States, says that activities with high pollution potential are heavily
regulated in developed countries, as their ecological impacts have been known
for a long time. “However, in developing countries, even knowing the
potential polluter, environmental requirements are weaker and consequently the
environment and society end up paying the price,” he tells<span
class=apple-converted-space> </span><em><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>SciDev.Net</span></em>.<br>
<br>
To address the problem, Turra suggests that marine protected areas should work
closely with local universities and research centres. This would help them
“draw up proper management plans and systematic evaluations of their
conservation status”, he says.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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