Sargassum seaweed has blighted many of the beaches on Barbados for several years. Joshua Forte, a local entrepreneur, is convinced that it can be turned into a valuable commodity, and turned into highly effective, organic compost.
In a four-part mini-series, released in the run-up to the UN Oceans Conference, we explore some of the ocean-related issues facing the eastern Caribbean island nation of Barbados.
This episode concentrated on the worrying spread of sargassum seaweed, which arrived unannounced in 2011, and has been a regular fixture on much of the coastline ever since.
There’s no single answer to why the seaweed is clogging up the beaches and waters, but many scientists believe that the climate crisis is at least partly to blame.
World Oceans Day marked on 8 June, reminds us of the significant role oceans have in everyday life. Moreover, the 2022 theme – Revitalization: collective action for the ocean – underlines the importance of acting together to save our ocean.
There’s no doubt that food loss and waste, has been undermining the sustainability of our food systems. In an effort to counter this, some small businesses around the world are putting the focus on new sustainable waste management practices.
Ocean and global climate are intrinsically linked – and if the “right decisions are made at the UN Ocean Conference, the Ocean will be a big part of Portugal’s future”.
That’s the view of Samuel Collins, a project manager at the Oceano Azul Foundation in Lisbon.
The organization plays a big role in ocean literacy, aiming to educate a “blue generation”, works on ocean conservation, and also supports the development of startups creating products and services with positive environmental impact.
Addressing the Our Ocean Conference in Palau on Thursday, the President of the UN General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid, urged the international community to expand protective areas of the ocean, support the scientific community and tackle plastic pollution.
In recent months, some 260 different clean-up operations have been undertaken across, aimed at protecting life under the sea, with the UN and European Union’s #EUBeachCleanUp campaign, managing to remove some 50 tons of trash from some of the EU’s finest shorelines.
The world must harness “clear, transformative and actionable solutions” to address the ocean crisis, the President of the UN General Assembly said on Tuesday, opening a meeting to generate momentum towards the 2022 UN Ocean Conference, when public health safety measures allow.
The new Oceans Advocate, globally-acclaimed Australian singer-songwriter Cody Simpson, learned how to swim before he could walk.
Cody took on his new role to help raise awareness of the ocean’s importance in the health of the planet and people.
He was appointed on 8 June, World Oceans Day, during the United Nations’ first Ocean conference in New York.
Conserving marine resources takes centre stage this week at the first-ever Ocean Conference being held at UN Headquarters in New York.
Dianne Penn recently travelled to Trinidad and Tobago and learned how a group called Nature Seekers, which has received UN funding, is protecting leatherback turtles which previously were butchered for their meat or even just for fun.
Leatherback turtles get their name from their soft shell and are the biggest turtle species on Earth, weighing up to 2,000 pounds.