Page 33 - Livre_MOW2021_EN

■ 65% of the Caribbean region
depends on the ocean and its POLLUTION AND HEALTH | 31
IN ecosystem services
FIGURES

4 AREAS IN THE SPOTLIGHT
In line with United Nations Sustainable Development
Goal 14, REMARCO plays its part to reduce ocean
pollution, the impacts of ocean acidification and to
establish sustainable management of marine and
coastal environments.

e Network members notably study changes to the
level of pollutants in marine sediment across the re-
gion. It has emerged that three sites on the coasts of
Haiti, Cuba and Colombia (countries which have rati-
fied the Minamata Convention) could be considered

r

r Microplastic contamination trends are also tracked
to the nearest micron in the water column like se-
diments, and recorded on a map which, over time,
will offer precise information on the distribution and
concentration of this emerging pollutant.

t Also closely monitored, harmful algal blooms are
increasingly common, increasing in severity and with
a severe economic impact.
“Thanks to the standardised protocols which we
have developed, we gather long-term data within
the region’s laboratories, and we implement effective
science-based management, for example for cigua-
tera”, explains Rebecca Quintanilla, from the marine e
toxins laboratory at the University of El Salvador.

u Finally, the network is focusing
on ocean acidification in the re-
gion. “We created the first coastal
acidification observatory in four
countries, an observatory which
has expanded to the entire Latin
American region, with water pH
t monitoring stations”, explains Pro-
fessor Joan-Albert Sanchez-Cabe-
za, from the Mexico Institute of
mercury hot spots. “Network measures should allow Marine Science and Limnology.
us to target the effectiveness of this international mer- The observatory has reported aci-
cury convention”, explains the researcher Ana-Caro- dification on the Cuban coastline
for several months. “We must keep
lina Ruiz Fernández from the Mexico Institute of Ma-
© Conservación Internacional Colombia term, which is new in the region”, u
up coordinated efforts in the long-
rine Science and Limnology..
the professor summarises.