By Steve Trent, co-founder and Executive Director, EJF
As economies began to lock down to slow COVID-19’s progress, some crimes fell, but one illicit sector was booming. In the coastal waters of Africa, Asia and Latin America and on the high seas, illegal fishing operators are using this tragedy – and the curtailment of enforcement measures – as their opportunity to profit.
Read MoreWatch a new video produced by the Oceano Azul Foundation and narrated by Sylvia Earle that highlights the emotional connection between humans and the ocean.
Read MoreBy Vivienne Solís Rivera and Kim Sander Wright, ICCA Consortium.
Indigenous peoples, local communities and small-scale artisanal fisherwomen and fishermen are the rights-holders and custodians of marine life within their coastal and marine territories. All around the world, these people have deep bonds with specific areas or bodies of natural resources and over generations have developed a huge variety of effective forms of governance in the form of customs and rules that ensure nature is conserved and livelihoods are sustained. These “territories of life” are fundamental for the conservation and thriving of life on our planet.
Read Moreby Dr. Monica Verbeek, Seas At Risk.
When lockdown measures first eased, I went for a walk along the beach near Lisbon, Portugal. The sea is usually comforting, yet this time, looking out at the waves, I was reminded of our collective destruction and exploitation of the environment – and of how this has contributed to the severity of the pandemic.
Read MoreBy Aya Mariyam Rahil Naseem, Maldives Coral Institute.
The ocean makes up 99% of my home, the Maldives. It supports our native biodiversity, ancient culture and daily lives. Our very thinking is from an oceanic perspective. We have names for all the parts of the sea – the different depths, the colours, the ripples, the waves, the shapes and sections of reefs and the patches of corals. They are all embedded in language and used in life.
Read MoreBy Rebecca Hubbard, Our Fish
I grew up with parents who surfed and farmed on Australia’s south east coast. I spent my childhood surrounded by clean, beautiful beaches, eucalypt forests and farmland, not realising how blessed I was by having a spectacular playground full of nature. This unique and inspiring place was my launchpad into environmental science and campaigning to protect our environment.
Read Moreby Karen Sack, President and CEO of Ocean Unite
It is a paradox that, even as millions of us remain isolated from our families, friends and colleagues, one of the clearest lessons of the global pandemic is that for better or worse we are all connected with each other. We are also connected with the millions of species sharing our planet, and by our dependence on Earth’s natural systems.
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