Group4_D | SDG 14 : Life Below Water

Introduction to SDG

As we all know, our oceans are threatened by marine pollution, nutrient pollution, climate change, and resource depletion, now more than ever, all of which are primarily a result of human actions. Further, these threats pressurize our environmental systems, such as our biodiversity, and present us with global socio-economic problems, endangering our health and safety in the process⁽¹⁾. Another thing that should be considered is that more than 3 billion people are dependent on marine resources that provide them their livelihoods, but today, about 30% of the world's fish stocks are being overexploited, making them incapable of producing sustainable yields. The oceans also provide us with clean, breathable air by absorbing 30% of us' carbon dioxide, but the increasing acidification has even put this in danger⁽²⁾.

Here our Sustainable Development Goal 14 comes in. This SDG aims at conserving and sustainably using the oceans, sea, and marine resources for sustainable development to protect and manage ocean ecosystems from polluting factors and take care of the ocean acidification problem. The introduction and implication of this SDG have become vital for the survival of our planet, and thus there has come a need for nations around the world to collaborate and work towards saving our marine biodiversity.

Relevance of the SDG to India

In India, a significant number of people rely on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihood. There are around 3,288⁽³⁾ marine fishing villages and 1,511 marine fish landing centers in 9 maritime states and 2 union territories as per CMFRI Census 2010. However, there is no point in denying the fact that the state of oceans and marine life in India is in bad condition. As per a report published by the UN Environment Programme in 2015, India was at the 12th position amongst the top 20 countries responsible for marine pollution. It is not only India but several other countries that are in the same situation. Therefore, in 2015 when SDGs were introduced, it also focused on the sustainable use of marine resources.

India has also taken several steps towards the fulfillment of SDG 14.

· In 2016 Narendra Modi launched Sagarmala, a flagship program to promote port connectivity, development, and industrialization. This is planned to be achieved in a phased manner till 2025.

· In 2018 it launched an automated ocean pollution observation system that provides automatic readings of pollution in the water bodies making it easier for scientists to keep track of pollution levels. There are more than 129 institutions that are working on issues related to Ocean and marine life. Four government ministries support them.

· The government has invested Rs. 20,050 crores ⁽⁴⁾ in 2020 in a scheme to achieve the Blue revolution keeping in mind the sustainable development and protection of the endangered species.

As per the 2020 SDG report, India is at 117th position ⁽⁵⁾, which means that there is a long way to go. It has been reported that due to the pandemic, countries have been able to perform well in SDG 14, 15, 12, and 13. Even though India has taken various measures, a lot can still be done, which would require coordination from various public, private, and Non-governmental organizations.

Business Implications and Responses

SDG-14 seeks to reduce and prevent marine pollution by furthering the sustainable management and conservation of marine and coastal ecosystems. Apart from containing a vast untapped potential for scientific discovery, Oceans and fisheries are the world's largest ecosystem and are home to nearly a million known species. For India, 7,517 km long coastline provides and sustains the livelihood of almost 250 million people.

Despite the critical importance of the Ocean and its conservation, decades of uncontrolled and unregulated exploitation have led to an alarming level of marine life degradation, ocean acidification, rapid depletion of many fish species, and loss of coastal habitats. The influx of wastewater, Oil Spills, Overfishing, etc., are complications that have been causing the seawater to become more acidic, a 26 percent drop since pre-industrial times ⁽⁶⁾. Ocean acidification endangers coral reefs and other species by impeding their growth, behavior, development, and reproduction. These species are the base of the marine food chain. Such species' impact disrupts the balance of various ecosystem services such as fisheries, coastal protection, aquaculture, and tourism. An increase in the pH of surface-level water also lowers the capacity to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere to moderate climate change. It is estimated that by the end of the century if water pollution is not controlled and is left to the current levels, half of the marine life can be affected due to the increase in acidity.

Companies can lead the protection of Life below Water by setting new benchmarks on pursuing growth without damaging seas, oceans, and water resources⁽¹⁾. Leading companies can strategically implement ambitious policies and practices across multiple supply chain tiers to adhere to environmental standards. Thus, delivering solutions that contribute to the restoration of ocean ecosystems will help the companies grow sustainably while being relevant and inspiring to their stakeholders.

Here are examples of companies that have contributed towards SDG 14:

Microsoft: Underwater ecosystem faces severe stress due to waste, pollution, and unsustainable fishing practices. Microsoft is committed to providing the necessary resources and technology to manage critical resources. Microsoft AI for Earth "OceanMind" enhances fishing sustainability by identifying vessels that may violate regulations, analyzing their movements with AI and Microsoft Azure data analytics and provide fishing authorities with their insights. Since one-third of the stocks of fish in the world are overfished, which constitutes a severe threat to food supplies around the world. OceanMind determines the movement of the vessel, and the AI system identifies suspicious activities that can warrant investigation.

Tata Trusts: Tata understands the importance of marine life, and its subsidiaries are carrying out activities towards promoting and adopting SDG 14.

· "Save the Whale Shark" was a campaign launched by Tata Chemicals partnering with Gujarat Heavy Chemicals, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), the Coast Guard, the Indian Navy, and the Ministry Environment and Reef watch. Whale sharks swim from the seas off Australian shores to Saurashtra Gujarat's coast around September and May. More than 1200 Sharks are killed due to fisherman fishing. Tata Chemicals organized many street plays along the coast of Gujarat to create awareness among the same fishing community.

· TCS partnered with Sahyadri Nisarga Mitra and implemented the Marine Turtle Conservation Program to protect the breeding sites of endangered marine Olive Ridley Turtles species. The company held the Turtle festival, which involves the release of hatchlings into their natural habitat. TCS involves the local community and TCS associates to drive the program.

Analysis

In India, the importance of marine and aquatic life can be witnessed by the fact that over 1.4 crore people depend on fisheries for livelihood. However, unregulated and illegal fishing in Eco-sensitive zones, dumping of plastic and industrial wastes by the polluted rivers into the Ocean pose the greatest threats to marine life as most aquatic lifeforms now contain traces of microplastics and toxic minerals.

India is a large country with much untreated industrial wastewater carrying rivers such as the Ganges^[7], which receives 2,900 Million liters of sewage daily, polluting the sea that it merges into also the cities it runs through. There is a need for private players to join hands with the government and focus on reducing industrial waste outlets in the seas and rivers. Industries utilizing ocean resources should be made to adhere to the regulations and treat water before discharging it into the rivers to prevent ocean acidification.

Another severe issue is the diminishing oxygen level in Indian water bodies due to climate change and industrial pollution. Such waters with less dissolved oxygen are called Dead Zones. The Bay of Bengal hosts around 60,000 km squares of Dead zones^[8]. Oxygen level has dropped by nearly about 2% in the Indian Ocean, leaving marine life under threat.

India needs to tackle these marine issues at various levels, starting right from the bottom-most district levels to get a national impact. Targets should be set and measured at state levels, which can then be collated together to achieve national goals.

India's stand on SDG 14 is assuring. Nearly 129 institutions^[9] are working together on marine and ocean-related issues. However, there is a severe lack of coordination amongst them. India lacks in having a database of all the status and trends at both state and national levels. We need to collect, collate, and analyze data related to the set targets and indicators.

Given the diversity and seriousness of India's challenges, it is important to identify additional and new sources of finances to ensure adequate and timely availability of finances in this direction. The tax-to-GDP ratio in India is relatively low as compared to the other BRICS countries. So, there is a scope to get the finances by growing the tax base. There is also a need to have an independent regulatory body that focuses on the issues and development related to the marine sector.

India needs to focus on sustainable development of the fishing industry while emphasizing the conservation of resources, which can be achieved by driving awareness programs for the unorganized sector, restricting fishing zones, and banning mechanized fishing.

The Way Forward

SDG 14, a part of Agenda 2030, was adopted by world leaders in 2015. Conserving and making sustainable use of the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development is the main aim of the SDG. The SDG sets the global agenda towards a vision of peace, prosperity, and global health by 2030. And they include clear targets against which we can measure advancement.

The common causes of pollution in the marine environment are nutrients and plastics. Both prove the failure of policies that were made to prevent marine pollution and improve the environment to boost marine flora and fauna. The costs and actions required for the effective management of nutrients and plastics to prevent and minimize ocean pollution, for example, have not been included in the prices of fertilizer, food, wastewater treatment, and products containing plastics. But these products are the very reason for the rampant damage to marine life and the whole planet.

A paradigm shift is crucial at this time. A move from the common approach to production, use, and disposal need to be phased out systematically by a much more holistic approach for pollutants like nutrients and plastic. Through improvements in efficiency and implementation of government policies and the process of incentivizing the producers and consumers will encourage quick recovery, recycling, and reuse. This will reduce the overall consumption of these materials, which are harmful to the marine environment.

This translates into major changes in several key sectors that are responsible for the pollution caused by nutrients and plastics. Even the whole system of functioning by municipal waste management will have to change. Whatever be the case, there are opportunities for innovation in various sectors. This will lead to revenue generation for the nations and, most importantly, job creation, which can improve the health of marine life and the economy as a whole.

References

1) SDG Compass- SDG 14(n.d.). Retrieved 14^th December 2020 from https://sdgcompass.org/sdgs/sdg-14/

2) UNDP.org- Facts and Figures(n.d.)- Retrieved 14^th December 2020 from

https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-14-life-below-water.html

3) Desk, I. T. W. (2018, November 21). World Fisheries Day: A look at fisheries resources and fisher-folks of India. India Today. Retrieved 14^th December 2020 from https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/world-fisheries-day-a-look-at-fisheries-resources-and-fisher-folks-of-india-1393118-2018-11-21.

4) Supplychainlog. (2020, June 1). Blue Revolution to make India leading fish producing country "SUPPLYCHAINLOG. SUPPLYCHAINLOG. Retrieved 14^th December 2020 from https://www.supplychainlog.com/2020/05/31/blue-revolution-make-india-leading-fish-producing-country/.

5) Sustainable Development Report 2020. (June 30,2020). Sustainable Development Report 2020 - Sustainable Development Report. Retrieved 14^th December 2020 from https://sdgindex.org/reports/sustainable-development-report-2020/.

6) United Nations: The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2020. Retrieved 14^th December 2020 from

https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2020/The-Sustainable-Development-Goals-Report-2020.pdf

7) Ganga Action Parivar (2020). Retrieved from https://www.gangaaction.org/actions/issues/industrial-waste-management/

8) Max-Planck- Gesellschaft. (December 2016). A new dead zone in the Indian Ocean. Retrieved 14^th December 2020 from https://www.mpg.de/10848009/death-zone-indian-ocean

9) Ris Org (2016) SDG Report. Retrieved 14^th December 2020 from http://ris.org.in/pdf/SDGs_Report_Chapter_14.pdf

Sustainability Report Of Companies

· Aditya Birla Group: http://sustainability.adityabirla.com/group-sustainable-business-report/?page=1

· Adobe: https://www.adobe.com/in/corporate-responsibility/corporate-responsibility-reports.html

· Novozymes: http://www.businessfor2030.org/novozymes

· Tata Steel: https://www.tatatrusts.org/upload/pdf/report-tata-group-and-the-sdgs.pdf

· Microsoft: https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RE4GSkV

Statestreet: https://www.statestreet.com/content/dam/statestreet/documents/values/2019_State_Street_Corporate_Responsibility_Report.pdf

ITC: https://www.itcportal.com/sustainability/sustainability-report-2020/sustainability-report-2020.pdf

· P&G: https://assets.ctfassets.net/oe48y40ukei6/B5XmfFUoyR1jOMkbrTyry/cef3b960200f46ad072b05c39dbb4f70/P_G_ISC_Citizenship_report.pdf

Authors

Anusree Balakrishnan - BD20011