MARINE DEBRIS
Explained by NATASHA SIMMA
Simma Africa focuses on the active involvement of Refugee and Native, LBTIQ+ refugees and Adolescent Girls and Young Womxn (AGYW) in the planning of strategies and activities that affect their lives. At SIMMA Africa, the motto “Nothing about Us without Us” relies on the principle of participation. This is why the fight against the climate crisis starts within communities getting involved and aware of the impact their actions have on the environment. Encouraging communities to embrace the 3R’s. The principle of reducing waste, reusing and recycling resources and products is often called the "3Rs." Reducing means choosing to use things with care to reduce the amount of waste generated. Other communities also aim to Rot waste and Repair resources.
Plastic Bottles on the shores of Lake Nalubaale, picture by Natasha Simma
Marine debris, also known as marine litter, any persistent solid material that is manufactured or processed is human-created waste that has deliberately or accidentally been released in lakes, seas or oceans. Floating oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the center of gyres and on coastlines, frequently washing aground, when it is known as beach litter. Some of the most common and harmful types of marine debris include plastic, such as cigarette butts, plastic bags, and food wrappers, and derelict fishing gear. Marine debris can impact our economy. Dirty beaches can affect tourism and recreation, the largest employer in the ocean and Great Lakes economy. This sector relies heavily on healthy coastal and ocean resources as well as the aesthetic quality of the environment. Marine debris is harmful to marine life including to protected species of birds, sharks, turtles and marine mammals.
Marine debris can injure or kill marine and coastal wildlife; damage and degrade habitats; interfere with navigational safety; cause economic loss to fishing and maritime industries; degrade the quality of life in coastal communities; and threaten human health and safety. We can reduce, reuse, and recycle to keep debris out of the ocean in the first place. You can bring your own shopping bag, drink out of a reusable bottle, and participate in things like a shoreline cleanup. It takes the ocean 450 years to break down the plastic. A frightening 4,000 years is how long it takes a glass bottle to decompose in the environment. Most ocean pollution begins on land, Much of this runoff flows to the sea, carrying with it agricultural fertilizers and pesticides. Eighty percent of pollution to the marine environment comes from the land.
This is why the fight against the climate crisis starts within communities getting involved and aware of the impact their actions have on the environment. Encouraging communities to embrace the 3R’s. The principle of reducing waste, reusing and recycling resources and products is often called the "3Rs." Reducing means choosing to use things with care to reduce the amount of waste generated. Other communities also aim to Rot waste and Repair resources.
By Natasha Simma