Keeping Asia-Pacific afloat (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 3: International Relations
Prelims level: ESCAP
Mains level: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests

Context:

• The Asia-Pacific seas provide food, livelihoods and a sense of identity, especially for coastal communities in the Pacific island states.
• Escalating strains on the marine environment are .................................................

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Insights from Changing Sails:

• Accelerating Regional Actions for Sustainable Oceans in Asia and the Pacific’, the theme study of this year’s Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), reveal that without data, we are swimming in the dark.
• Data are available for only two out of ten targets for the Sustainable Development Goal 14, ‘Life Below Water’.
• Due to limitations in methodology and national statistical systems, information gaps have persisted at uneven levels across countries.

Challenges facing in this region:

• Asia and the Pacific produces nearly half of global plastic by volume, of which it consumes 38%.
• Plastics represent a double burden for the ocean: their production generates CO2 absorbed by the ocean, and as a final product enters the ocean as pollution.
• Beating this challenge will hinge upon effective national policies and re-thinking production cycles.

Declining the fish stocks:

• Environmental decline is also affecting fish stocks. Our region’s position as the world’s largest producer of fish has come at the cost of over-exploitation.
• The percentage of stocks fished at unsustainable levels has increased threefold from 10% in 1974 to 33% in 2015.
• Generating complete data on fish stocks, fighting illicit fishing activity and conserving marine areas must remain a priority.

Connectivity of islands nation:

• While the most connected shipping economies are in Asia, the small island developing States of the Pacific experience much lower levels of connectivity, leaving them relatively isolated from the global economy.
• Closing the maritime connectivity gap must be placed at the centre of regional transport cooperation efforts.
• We must also work with the shipping community to navigate toward green shipping. Enforcing sustainable shipping policies is essential.

Areas of cooperation:

• Trans-boundary ocean management and linking ocean data call for close cooperation among countries in the region.
• Harnessing ocean statistics through strong ..............................................

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Conclusion:

• Our oceans keep our economy and our lives above the waves. In the post-COVID-19 era, we must use the years ahead to steer our collective fleets toward sustainable oceans.

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General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions:

Q1. With reference to the World Red Cross Day, consider the following statements:
1. It is observed every year on May 8.
2. The day is the birthday of Henry Dunant, who had generated the Red Cross Committee of the International (ICRI) in 1863 in Switzerland, Geneva.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer:

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Mains Questions:
Q1. Highlights the major challenges facing with the.........................................