Report looks at coastal villages, sea pollution

National

By Jessica Koae and Dolly Palek
PEOPLE living along the coast in Papua New Guinea pollute the sea by dumping non-biodegradable materials into it, a United Nations report reveals.
The report by the UN Ocean Conference stated that
PNG was at the forefront of “ghost gear” dumping in the Pacific.
Scientist and Associate Professor of the University of Papua New Guinea Dr Ralf Mana said the report was in some way true because of
the pressure on coastal and marine ecosystems which
continue to increase in the country.
“As more communities live along coasts, they tend to continuously pollute the sea by dumping non-biodegradable materials causing an unsustainable strain on coastal resources,” Dr Mana said.
He said this was announced during one of the sessions that emphasised on conserving the marine resources for sustainable development.
Sustaining marine resources refers to addressing marine threats such as sewerage
waste dumping and plastic pollution.
Various government and non-government organisations, the private sector and representatives of different countries around the world attended the event and shared their experiences on conserving marine resources.
Dr Mana said threats included climate change, marine pollution, unsustainable extraction of marine and physical alterations and destruction of marine and coastal habitats and landscapes.