MY TWEETCHAT ON GENDER AND OCEAN
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| Gender and Ocean Tweetchat Poster |
Q1. By way of introduction, what is the importance of oceans in Earth’s ecosystem?
A1. Oceans and seas connect and sustain us. They are home to vast biodiversity and are a vital defence against the global climate emergency. Among other ecosystem services, oceans provide over half of the world's oxygen (O2) and also absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from our atmosphere. Also, research has stated that the oceans have absorbed more than 90% of the warming created by humans since the 1970s, had that heat gone into the atmosphere, global average temperatures would have jumped by almost 56 degrees Centigrade (100 degrees Farenheit). I’m sure that gives you an idea of how important the oceans are in the Earth’s ecosystem.
Q2. Plastic pollution is a serious threat to ocean’s life. How do we beat plastic pollution?
A2. More than 8 million tons of plastics leaches into the oceans each year. Plastics can be found in the deepest ocean trenches or circulating around and around the world's gyres, and can potentially entangle, choke or kill aquatic life. The good thing is everyone can do something to reduce the amount of plastic that enters the ocean, some ways we can take positive action include: refusing & reducing the use of single-use plastics, recycling, advocating for legislature to ban the use of single-use plastics and so on.
Q3. What do you think about desalination of ocean water for human consumption?
A3. Desalination is the removal of salts and minerals from water to make it suitable for human consumption and other purposes. Although the process is energy consuming, desalinated water may be the only solution for some water-stress regions in the coming years and so I think it is acceptable as long as the environmental and public health impacts of the process are minimized/eliminated.
Q4. What is the concept behind ‘’celebrating world oceans day”?
A4. World Oceans Day is celebrated to remind everyone of the major role the oceans play in everyday life; they are the lungs of our planet, providing most of the oxygen we breathe. The purpose of the day is to inform the public of the impact of human actions on the ocean, develop a worldwide movement of citizens for the ocean, and mobilize and unite the world’s population on a project for the sustainable management of the world's oceans.
Q5. What is the relationship between gender equality and the oceans?
A5. This year's World Oceans Day focuses on the gender dimensions of our relationship with the ocean. It is well known that the effects of pollution and climate change on the oceans have a disproportionate impact on women. Although women represent half the workforce in processing, cleaning and trading fish, they are often segregated into low-skilled and unrecognized labour, such as fish processing, and are denied a decision-making role. Typically, women in the fishery sector are largely concentrated in low-skilled, low-paid, seasonal jobs without health, safety and labour rights protections. So confronting gender inequality is essential to achieving the ocean-related Goal and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Women deserve equal role in managing ocean-related activities.
Q6. What can we do to promote ocean literacy in our young millennials?
A6. One way to promote ocean literacy is to ensure young people understand the ocean’s influence on us and how our day-to-day actions affect the ocean’s sustainability and its many resources on which we depend. This can be done by improving access to accurate and compelling ocean education that strengthens the young millennial’s connection with the ocean.
Q7. How does climate change affect ocean ecosystem?
A7. Climate Change = Higher Temperatures = Warmer Oceans.
Warmer oceans will cause coral bleaching, mass migration of marine species, negatively affect the growth and development of marine species. Even as mass migration occurs, a warmer ocean also means alteration in the currents that will change the migratory patterns of these species and negatively impact reproduction and nutrients. Climate change will also alter the chemical composition of seawater and make it more acidic, affecting ocean life.
Q8. What is the role of a healthy ocean in climate mitigation?
A8. Healthy oceans sequester more carbon and help people adapt to a changing climate. The ecosystem services that healthy oceans provide will also help people exhibit higher resilience to other problems.
Q9. Does Nigeria have potentials in ocean based tourism?
A9. Yes, we do, from our beaches by the Atlantic Ocean but the tourism industry currently suffers because of our poor electricity, roads and water quality. In my opinion, we are underutilizing the potentials and benefits in ocean based tourism.
A4. World Oceans Day is celebrated to remind everyone of the major role the oceans play in everyday life; they are the lungs of our planet, providing most of the oxygen we breathe. The purpose of the day is to inform the public of the impact of human actions on the ocean, develop a worldwide movement of citizens for the ocean, and mobilize and unite the world’s population on a project for the sustainable management of the world's oceans.
Q5. What is the relationship between gender equality and the oceans?
A5. This year's World Oceans Day focuses on the gender dimensions of our relationship with the ocean. It is well known that the effects of pollution and climate change on the oceans have a disproportionate impact on women. Although women represent half the workforce in processing, cleaning and trading fish, they are often segregated into low-skilled and unrecognized labour, such as fish processing, and are denied a decision-making role. Typically, women in the fishery sector are largely concentrated in low-skilled, low-paid, seasonal jobs without health, safety and labour rights protections. So confronting gender inequality is essential to achieving the ocean-related Goal and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Women deserve equal role in managing ocean-related activities.
Q6. What can we do to promote ocean literacy in our young millennials?
A6. One way to promote ocean literacy is to ensure young people understand the ocean’s influence on us and how our day-to-day actions affect the ocean’s sustainability and its many resources on which we depend. This can be done by improving access to accurate and compelling ocean education that strengthens the young millennial’s connection with the ocean.
Q7. How does climate change affect ocean ecosystem?
A7. Climate Change = Higher Temperatures = Warmer Oceans.
Warmer oceans will cause coral bleaching, mass migration of marine species, negatively affect the growth and development of marine species. Even as mass migration occurs, a warmer ocean also means alteration in the currents that will change the migratory patterns of these species and negatively impact reproduction and nutrients. Climate change will also alter the chemical composition of seawater and make it more acidic, affecting ocean life.
Q8. What is the role of a healthy ocean in climate mitigation?
A8. Healthy oceans sequester more carbon and help people adapt to a changing climate. The ecosystem services that healthy oceans provide will also help people exhibit higher resilience to other problems.
Q9. Does Nigeria have potentials in ocean based tourism?
A9. Yes, we do, from our beaches by the Atlantic Ocean but the tourism industry currently suffers because of our poor electricity, roads and water quality. In my opinion, we are underutilizing the potentials and benefits in ocean based tourism.
Q10. What is ocean acidification?
A10. I touched on this briefly in Q7, ocean acidification is the reduction in the pH of the Earth's oceans over an extended period of time, caused by the uptake of CO2 from the atmosphere. Increased CO2 in oceans increased ocean acidification and negatively affects calcifying ocean organisms while also limiting the ability of certain fish to detect predators, disrupting the food chain. The ocean absorbs around 30% of the CO2 in the atmosphere & as atmospheric CO2 increases, the levels in the oceans also increases when that carbon dissolves into the water, it forms carbonic acid. This increased acidification can limit the ability of certain fish to detect predators, disrupting the food chain. Ocean acidification is affecting the entire world’s oceans, including coastal estuaries and waterways. Many economies are dependent on fish and shellfish and people worldwide rely on food from the ocean as their primary source of protein.
Additionally, When the water becomes more acidic, carbonate ions become relatively less abundant. Carbonate ions are an important building block of structures such as sea shells and coral skeletons. Decreases in carbonate ions can make building and maintaining shells and other calcium carbonate structures difficult for calcifying organisms such as oysters, clams, sea urchins, shallow water corals, deep sea corals, and calcareous plankton.
These changes in ocean chemistry can affect the behavior of non-calcifying organisms as well. Certain fish's ability to detect predators is decreased in more acidic waters. When these organisms are at risk, the entire food web may also be at risk.
Q11. Why is the ocean blue?
A11. According to the National Ocean Service, the ocean is blue because water absorbs colors in the red part of the light spectrum. Like a filter, this leaves behind colors in the blue part of the light spectrum for us to see.
Q12. What roles can women play in ocean conservation?
A12. I will use a popular quote to explain this: ‘Want to protect the oceans? Empower women’; this simply means women are the backbone of ocean conservation. Women have deep knowledge of the ocean ecosystem, are good stewards of their environment and have strong incentives to manage natural resources sustainably.
Q13. How does world oceans day key in SDGs 14?
A13. The commemoration of World Oceans Day supports the implementation of SDG 14 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
Q14. The use of chemicals for fishing is a threat to ocean biodiversity. How can we effectively discourage this?
A14. The government has to prohibit that crude and hazardous method of fishing and adequately train farmers on how to use sustainable and modern fishing methods and equipment while also reducing tariffs on the equipment to enable the farmers switch conveniently.
Q15. What role can the government play in ocean sustainability?
A15. To promote ocean sustainability, the government needs to form sound cross-sectoral policies that will improve integrated water resource management; with respect to the environment, economy, energy, agriculture, trade, foreign affairs and development cooperation.
Here is a link to the tweetchat: https://twitter.com/reesafrica/status/1137402079243309056?s=19
A10. I touched on this briefly in Q7, ocean acidification is the reduction in the pH of the Earth's oceans over an extended period of time, caused by the uptake of CO2 from the atmosphere. Increased CO2 in oceans increased ocean acidification and negatively affects calcifying ocean organisms while also limiting the ability of certain fish to detect predators, disrupting the food chain. The ocean absorbs around 30% of the CO2 in the atmosphere & as atmospheric CO2 increases, the levels in the oceans also increases when that carbon dissolves into the water, it forms carbonic acid. This increased acidification can limit the ability of certain fish to detect predators, disrupting the food chain. Ocean acidification is affecting the entire world’s oceans, including coastal estuaries and waterways. Many economies are dependent on fish and shellfish and people worldwide rely on food from the ocean as their primary source of protein.
Additionally, When the water becomes more acidic, carbonate ions become relatively less abundant. Carbonate ions are an important building block of structures such as sea shells and coral skeletons. Decreases in carbonate ions can make building and maintaining shells and other calcium carbonate structures difficult for calcifying organisms such as oysters, clams, sea urchins, shallow water corals, deep sea corals, and calcareous plankton.
These changes in ocean chemistry can affect the behavior of non-calcifying organisms as well. Certain fish's ability to detect predators is decreased in more acidic waters. When these organisms are at risk, the entire food web may also be at risk.
Q11. Why is the ocean blue?
A11. According to the National Ocean Service, the ocean is blue because water absorbs colors in the red part of the light spectrum. Like a filter, this leaves behind colors in the blue part of the light spectrum for us to see.
Q12. What roles can women play in ocean conservation?
A12. I will use a popular quote to explain this: ‘Want to protect the oceans? Empower women’; this simply means women are the backbone of ocean conservation. Women have deep knowledge of the ocean ecosystem, are good stewards of their environment and have strong incentives to manage natural resources sustainably.
Q13. How does world oceans day key in SDGs 14?
A13. The commemoration of World Oceans Day supports the implementation of SDG 14 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
Q14. The use of chemicals for fishing is a threat to ocean biodiversity. How can we effectively discourage this?
A14. The government has to prohibit that crude and hazardous method of fishing and adequately train farmers on how to use sustainable and modern fishing methods and equipment while also reducing tariffs on the equipment to enable the farmers switch conveniently.
Q15. What role can the government play in ocean sustainability?
A15. To promote ocean sustainability, the government needs to form sound cross-sectoral policies that will improve integrated water resource management; with respect to the environment, economy, energy, agriculture, trade, foreign affairs and development cooperation.
Here is a link to the tweetchat: https://twitter.com/reesafrica/status/1137402079243309056?s=19
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