Volunteers have been collecting and sorting washed-up rubbish on the beach for years. Thanks to their efforts, we have data on whether container deposit schemes help the issue.
Fish in a kelp forest off San Benito Island, Mexico.
Photo by Reinhard Dirscherl/ullstein bild via Getty Images
Pam Longobardi collects and documents ocean plastic waste and transforms it into public art and photography. Her work makes statements about consumption, globalism and conservation.
The mismanagement of plastic waste is one of the main causes of plastic pollution in nature.
Larina Marina/Shutterstock
Many countries export their plastic waste abroad – but the mismanagement of this plastic waste is one of the leading causes of plastic pollution in nature.
The Koli community depend on fishing, but fish stocks off Mumbai’s coast have been declining.
Akella Srinivas Ramalingaswami/Shutterstock
Lyla Mehta, Institute of Development Studies; D Parthasarathy, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, and Shibaji Bose, National Institute of Technology Durgapur
Facing human threats, Mumbai’s Koli community are taking risk reduction into their own hands – other vulnerable coastal settlements should take note.
Plastic bottles and other waste are some of the contaminants destroying the oceans.
Issouf Sanogo/AFP via Getty Images
Priority should be given to improving municipal solid waste management in First Nation communities because they currently lack financial resources, infrastructure and solid waste diversion programs.
Indigenous marine governance is experiencing a revival throughout Oceania, building on traditional worldviews that acknowledge connections between people and all parts of ocean ecosystems.
Today the ocean is home to valuable biodiversity, but it is threatened by pollution and human activities.
Chun Yu Chen/Flickr
The ocean moderates climate change by absorbing CO₂ emissions, hosts valuable biodiversity and provides food to millions, but all of these services are threatened by pollution and human activities.
Plastic waste is the most visible component of ocean pollution.
Maxim Blinkov/Shutterstock
Empatheatre’s latest production is more than a play about three characters who live near the sea. It’s a model for collective consultation on how to save the ocean.
Urbanisation is the main reason for rising temperatures and water pollution, but receives little attention in discussions about the health of water streams, reefs and oceans.
A necessary sea change.
Larina Marina/Shutterstock
While the world gathers to negotiate on climate change, governments must recognise the public desire for action on plastic pollution and work together to solve it.
Plastic floats on and near the surface of the ocean.
NOAA
Cleaning up plastic pollution in the ocean is good – and long overdue. But where will the waste go? Recycling isn’t always an option. Bacteria and enzymes could process it, raising new questions.