Marine ecosystem is the largest aquatic ecosystem, including oceans, lagoons, coral reefs, deep sea, and the ocean floor. This ecosystem, which covers 2/3 of the Earth, houses Earth's richest source of biodiversity of marine life.
There are a lot of human benefits that the marine ecosystem offers. Tourism is one of them. Millions of tourists travel to coastal area and island states for sight seeing, to dive into nature itself. One of the world fastest growing industries, tourism offers great revenues especially for coastal areas.
The ecosystem also provides a global connection from countries to countries. The shipping industry has grown significantly since 1995. By 2020, it is expected that 90% of the international trade would be conducted by sea.
The ocean also offers a rich source of natural resources such as oil and natural gases. Furthermore, a wide range of food could be obtained from shrimps, lobster to crabs and octopuses.
A recent study estimated that ocean services have amounted to $23 trillion a year.
Humans however, take advantage of the things the ecosystem offers. Overfishing is one of the main problem. people exploit the diversity of marine species. Not enough time period is given for the populations of fish to regain their usual amount. The amount of CO2 that we are producing is being absorb constantly by the ocean. The pH level of the ocean is being tipped over, turning more acidic. This is called acidification, causing many species which could not adopt to the constantly changing living environment to succumb to disease and death.
Moreover, as tourism grows, more trash is being dumped into the ocean . Water bottles, paper bags, these tourists seem to care about beauty only, not to preserve it.
If the marine ecosystem has offered us so much, why are we treating it so badly? it is our duty to protect the environment, terrestrial or marine. We must reduce our use of fossil fuels by switching to healthier energy sources such as sunlight energy and wind energy. By doing this, we would significantly reduce the amount of CO2. We should help repopulate the marine species that we overexploited. We should have stricter regulations and laws on the littering of tourism. All of these are for the bettering of our beloved marine ecosystem.
Moreover, as tourism grows, more trash is being dumped into the ocean . Water bottles, paper bags, these tourists seem to care about beauty only, not to preserve it.If the marine ecosystem has offered us so much, why are we treating it so badly? it is our duty to protect the environment, terrestrial or marine. We must reduce our use of fossil fuels by switching to healthier energy sources such as sunlight energy and wind energy. By doing this, we would significantly reduce the amount of CO2. We should help repopulate the marine species that we overexploited. We should have stricter regulations and laws on the littering of tourism. All of these are for the bettering of our beloved marine ecosystem.
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