Marine Environment
The concept of “international waters” is to be abandoned, these are “Earth waters” prone to pollution. No one should be allowed to commit acts on international waters that would not be allowed within “territorial-coastal” waters;
No country has the right to abuse its “territorial” waters, especially to dump polluted river waters direct in the oceans. Discharge of polluted waters in the oceans is to be phased out by 2025.
The use by large or small, commercial, container or cruise ships of bunker fuel also known as heavy fuel oil that contains high Sulphur levels is to be phased out by 2025 on all oceans and seas;
Funding of initiatives to effectively cleaning up oceans starting with the know ocean gyres (North & South Pacific, Indian Ocean, North & South Atlantic) to be initialized asap.
Initiatives to clean up beaches, islands of waste worldwide should be institutionalized and heavily funded. This work should be done by an International Ocean Clean Up body with a staff of 25000 people creating local work in the “polluted” areas. Youth from rich countries will be actively encouraged and supported to participate with these initiatives during “holiday work”;
Massive investments in water treatment plants (creating jobs) are needed by local (relative to the budget size of the country affected) and International Funding;
Massive injection of funds in the research and development of a plastic eating bacteria or other life form that can assist us reducing the plastic waste dump;
Fishing methods are to be adapted in order maximum reduce damage ocean floor and damage to other creatures / fish populations not targeted by the fishing;
At present approximately 7% of oceans are marine protected areas.
By 2025 this should increase to 25% of all oceans including all known area’s with great marine diversity and biological value. As a start current existing marine shelters and ocean sanctuaries are to be doubled in size as of 2022;
By 2030 50% of all oceans should have the status of a marine protected area where no mining or fishing is allowed. Mining includes oil rigs, recovery of nodules from the ocean floor etc.
These marine protected areas should be distributed such that:
they overlap with the most important lateral migrating pathways of all types of migrants, be it birds, whales, sea turtles, sharks, tuna, seals, salmon,
include the vast areas know for home of zooplankton like krill and diatoms;
Yachts (excluding sailing yachts) longer then 20m are to be phased out;
Ships no longer “of use” should not be abandoned on the surf, beaches, the known ship graveyards of Nouadhibou, the Aral Sea, Alang in Gujarat, Gadanibreaking yard, Staten Island, Olenya Bay, Bikini atol. International funds to be sourced to clean up this mess.