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ENVIRONMENT

said, “We are now seeing increasingly he major drivers of ocean oxygen rous mammals like Sumatran Rhino.
low levels of dissolved oxygen across loss are climate change and nutri- They were once found in the Eastern
large areas of the open ocean. This is T ent pollution, with the latter affect- Himalayas in Bhutan and eastern India,
perhaps the ultimate wake-up call from ing coastal areas. As the ocean warms, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and China.
the uncontrolled experiment human- its waters hold less oxygen and become In 1986, an estimated 800 Sumatran
ity is unleashing on the world’s ocean as more buoyant, resulting in reduced mix- Rhinos lived in the wild, according to
carbon emissions continue to increase. ing of the oxygen-rich water near the save the Rhino. The number came down
Ocean oxygen depletion is menacing surface with the ocean depths, which to 275 in 2008 and now their number
marine ecosystems already under stress naturally contain less oxygen. Nutrient could be less than 100. Several fish spe-
from ocean warming and acidification. pollution causes oxygen loss in coastal cies have already become extinct.
To stop the worrying expansion of ox- waters as fertiliser, sewage, animal
ygen-poor areas, we need to decisively and aquaculture waste cause excessive Indian efforts
curb greenhouse gas emissions as well as growth of algae, which in turn deplete In India, the Union Government has
nutrient pollution from agriculture and oxygen as they decompose. taken some steps to protect the endan-
other sources.” The report suggests that urgent global gered species. These include, legal pro-
Deoxygenating is starting to alter the action to overcome and reverse the ef- tection of wild animals against hunting
balance of marine life , favouring low-ox- fects of ocean deoxygenating is needed. and commercial exploitation under
ygen tolerant species (e.g. microbes, jel- World leaders will also come together the provisions of the Wild Life (Protec-
lyfish and some squid) at the expense of tion) Act, 1972. The Wild Life (Protection)
low-oxygen sensitive ones (many marine Act 1972 has been amended and made
species, including most fish). At a global scale, more stringent. The punishment for
Some of the ocean’s most produc- warming-induced offences under the Act has been
tive biomes — which support one fifth enhanced.
of the world’s wild marine fish harvest oxygen loss is driving Protected Areas, viz., National Parks,
— are formed by ocean currents carry- progressive persistent Sanctuaries, Conservation Reserves and
ing nutrient-rich but oxygen-poor wa- Community Reserves covering impor-
ter to coasts that line the eastern edges changes in nutrient cycling tant wildlife habitats have been created
of the world’s ocean basins. As naturally and recycling, species all over the country under the provisions
oxygen-poor systems, these areas are of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 to
particularly vulnerable to even small distributions, marine conserve wild animals and their habitats.
changes in ocean oxygen. Impacts here The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau has
will ultimately ripple out and affect hun- ecosystem services and been set up to strengthen the enforce-
dreds of millions of people. habitat availability, points ment of law for control of poaching and
Species groups such as tuna, marlin illegal trade in wildlife and its products.
and sharks are particularly sensitive to out the latest IUCN report The Ministry of Environment & For-
low oxygen because of their large size ests also provides financial assistance
and energy demands. These species are to State Governments for undertaking
starting to be driven into increasingly in June 2020 at the IUCN World Con- “recovery programmes for saving criti-
shallow surface layers of oxygen-rich servation Congress in Marseille to drive cally endangered species” as a compo-
water, making them more vulnerable to action towards restoring ocean health – nent of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme
overfishing. Very low ocean oxygen can one of the key themes of the next IUCN of ‘Integrated Development of Wildlife
also affect basic processes like the cycling Congress. Habitats’.
of elements crucial for life on Earth, such The IUCN has in the report found that At present, sixteen species have been
as nitrogen and phosphorous, the report over 6,000 species are critically endan- prioritized for taking up such recovery
warns. gered. “There are literally thousands of programmes which include Snow Leop-
The ocean is expected to lose 3–4 per species which could go extinct by 2030 ard, Bustards (including Floricans), River
cent of its oxygen inventory globally by as many are very much on the brink.” Dolphin, Hangul, Nilgiri Tahr, Marine
the year 2100 under a business-as-usual It says that the “Earth is experiencing Turtles, Dugongs and coral reefs, Edible-
scenario, but the global average masks an extinction crisis and governments nest Swiftlets, Asian Wild Buffalo, Nico-
local changes that are predicted to be, worldwide are failing to respond appro- bar Megapode, Manipur Brow-antlered
for example, more severe in mid to high priately. It is important to save animals deer, Vultures, Malabar civet, the great
latitudes. Most of the losses are predicted from extinction because our fate is tied one-horned rhinoceros, Asiatic Lion,
to be concentrated in the upper 1000m directly to theirs.” Swamp deer and Jerdon’s Courser.
of the water column, which is richest in Some of the species most at risk of
marine biodiversity. dying out before 2030 are herbivo- LETTERS@TEHELKA.COM

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