Can Green Technology Negatively Impact Marine Biodiversity?
A new study has identified emerging threats within the next five to ten years that have the potential to affect marine biodiversity.
The study, published on July 7 in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, also discusses the negative implications of adopting green technology, which must not be neglected. To arrive at their results, a group of thirty specialists from several fields utilised a methodology known as "horizon scanning."
Attempts have been made to replace plastic manufactured from fossil fuels with biodegradable polymers, such as "biodegradable plastic bags" made from plant starches, in response to rising public criticism against marine plastic pollution.
However, according to the researchers, these materials do not biodegrade in the ocean under natural conditions, and their widespread use can contribute to marine litter. Since their long-term effects on the ecosystem are unknown, they can create new difficulties.
The researchers claim that the increasing demand for renewable energy technologies, such as lithium batteries for electric vehicles, poses a great threat to marine ecology.
Deep-sea "brine pools" consisting of more saline water contain larger quantities of lithium and could serve as future extraction sites. The study reveals that these ecosystems are home to a variety of species, many of which are largely unknown. Increasing demand for lithium-powered electric vehicles may threaten these ecosystems.
In its recent Ministerial Conference on June 23, the WTO called for prohibiting subsidies for individuals who engage in overfished stock fishing. Overfishing has been recognised as an immediate problem.
To address rising worries about global food security, the authors predict an increase in fishing in deeper seas.
In the mesopelagic zone (200 m – 1,000 m depth), there are around 10 billion tonnes of small lanternfishes that are unfit for human eating but can be sold to fish farms or used as fertiliser.
The large-scale harvesting of mesopelagic fish, which serve as an ocean pump and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, would inflict significant environmental damage.
According to the study's authors, this methodology is intended to "mainly serve as signposts, drawing attention to certain challenges and encouraging researchers and practitioners to seek investment in these areas" before they have a large impact.
It is also an efficient means of bringing together specialists from other fields to examine common difficulties and develop more comprehensive answers.
Historically, the horizon scan method has been used to discover issues with now-known global environmental consequences. Microplastics (plastic garbage less than 5 millimetres in size) constitute a threat to marine habitats, as indicated by a 2009 scan. Since then, countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom have prohibited microbeads from cosmetics.
Source: The Indian Express
