National Policy to Secure Ocean Wealth Must Address Plastics Pollution

  by Professor Dato Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim,

The country is surrounded by seas. Major ones include the Straits of Melaka and the South China Sea. As a maritime nation, we have thus far only harvested marine fish and extracted petroleum resources from the seas. The marine fishes are under threat from overfishing and pollution. Whilst the petroleum reserves are slowly depleting through constant drilling. The truth is the seas do offer many more potential treasures just waiting to be tapped. But we need to craft the right policy to sustainably harness such untapped wealth. A recent letter posted by academics from University Malaysia Terengganu, UMT, made a strong case for the country to formalise the implementation of a comprehensive National Oceans Policy, NOP.

The call is not entirely new. There were attempts before. But looking at the aggressive efforts taken by many similar maritime nations, there is no time to waste if we are to look to the seas as another source of economic wealth. The situation is made more urgent knowing that some of our traditional drivers of wealth including palm oil, rubber and petroleum are slowly reaching their limits. We must strategize to develop new ones. The strategy must be inclusive and sustainable. We need a workable framework to profit from the ocean. What we have now is more sectoral approach which is not healthy. It has led to jurisdictional and legal disputes. A coordinated effort is critical to strike a balance between a sustained economic development and the need to protect the environment.

We should refer to those earlier attempts to formulate NOP as we develop a new one. No doubt the NOP should be guided by principles including the right to develop equitably with inclusiveness, deploying an integrated and holistic ecosystem approach, and giving due respect to culture and indigenous heritage. Public participation in the design of the NOP is important. The polluter pay approach has been suggested as a precaution. There is no denying the need for international cooperation since much of the issues are transboundary.

The NOP must be clear on the goals, which encompass conserving the ocean environment, opening economic opportunities, practising good ocean governance, while promoting participatory, responsible, and sustainable development for islands and coasts. It has also been proposed that the NOP will have the right strategic thrusts and key actions. These are productive ocean economy, healthy ocean environment, good talent for marine management, constructive ocean governance, and using reliable ocean data in decision making. The experts have also suggested that the NOP should consider the existing law enforcement aimed to protect vulnerable resources and ecosystems from pollution.

Pollution will prove to be a major obstacle to the sustainable economic development of the seas. The signs are already there. Plastics pollution has been flagged as one which has raised much international concern. Their negative impact not only on the marine ecosystem but also on our food chain through the ingestion of microplastics by marine fish has led to active international dialogues seeking viable solutions. UCSI university recently anchored one such symposium where APEC economies shared their different approaches and experiences. The symposium deliberations would form part of a white paper which will be tabled for consideration of the countries in the APEC grouping.

It became clear from the discussions, held through the online platform, that the answers to the dilemma are hard to come by. Talk about alternatives including bioplastics does not appear practical, though many agreed that research should continue. Plastics recycling remains the optimal option. And changing human behaviour is critical if the idea of plastics recycling is to work. But how can the population be motivated to segregate the plastics at source? One idea which gained currency during the symposium was for the authorities, especially in the urban areas, to create and manage a transparent market mechanism where plastics, especially the single use ones, can be openly bought and sold at a regularly informed pricing. At present, there is a black market for such trade, but the prices are more exploitative than conducive. If we are to gain from the ocean wealth, resolving the pollution by plastics debris must form part of the policy equation.