Our responsibility to protect Earth’s fragile eco-systems

By Ellen Ratner

The great thing about traveling is that you learn about how local communities have found solutions to problems. I was in Grenada in the Caribbean in January and wrote about it then. I was there again last week, although this time I had a chance to go snorkeling and see the changes in the sea for myself. There are certainly fewer fish than there were years ago, and I have been coming to the island since 1978. Climate change, as some call it, and over-fishing have certainly influenced what is happening in the sea.

There are groups that are concerned about what is happening in and around Grenada and in the Caribbean, and they are taking action and organizing. Many local groups (depending on where in the world you are) have developed “Ridge to Reef” programs. Some of the projects with similar names develop seagrass restoration and deal with destruction due to pier development and dumping of debris and septic systems that empty right into the sea. Another issue that these “Ridge to Reef” projects address is the impact of many people, such as myself, who swim and snorkel around reefs. Humans, even if they are there to see the fish and coral, do endanger the sea. Various “Ridge to Reef” projects assess and attempt to alter the impact of humans.

Another issue few people think about is runoff from farms. Farms in places like the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland have impacted biodiversity of that large body of water. Some local groups are trying to reduce the impact of phosphorus and other farm “nutrients” that go directly into the water. Many of these groups are also working on soil restoration. Soil can “run off” into bodies of water, and it comes not only from farming but from road construction. It can go directly into the coral reefs. More people and population growth also means more soil and nutrient runoff. Keeping tabs on what happens with that kind of runoff is part of what the “Ridge to Reef” groups attempt to do.

These “Ridge to Reef” groups are not only active in the Caribbean and the Chesapeake but are forming in areas of the Pacific. There is now a group working with the United Nations that encompasses Pacific areas such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Samoa. Most of us don’t think about these far-flung islands, but what happens to the seas in those areas of the world impacts all of us.

On the island of Grenada, one group, the Grenada Conservation Group, is embarking on projects to save the island and the seas around it. It is working on cleaning up the land areas of the island by collecting garbage and also restoring the mangroves. Mangroves act as protection for an island community, and they are able to filter water and prevent destruction of land.

The American Museum of Natural History says: “Mangroves are remarkably tough. Most live on muddy soil, but some also grow on sand, peat, and coral rock. They live in water up to 100 times saltier than most other plants can tolerate. They thrive despite twice-daily flooding by ocean tides; even if this water were fresh, the flooding alone would drown most trees. Growing where land and water meet, mangroves bear the brunt of ocean-borne storms and hurricanes.”

Mangroves also provide pollen sources for bees. We have all heard about what can happen if bees are not available to pollinate plants. Developing the resources that bees need is important to our food production.

Climate change has become a political word in the United States. Some people think it’s not real. It doesn’t matter if you think that it is from humans or natural causes, the fact is that we now have seven-and-half billion people sharing the planet and its resources. That is almost double the population of when I was a teenager.

We need to take care of these fragile eco-systems and resources. It doesn’t matter if it is the small island of Grenada or the larger United States. Earth’s bodies of land and water are related, and we have a responsibility to be good stewards of them.

Media wishing to interview Ellen Ratner, please contact [email protected].

Ellen Ratner

Ellen Ratner is the bureau chief for the Talk Media News service. She is also Washington bureau chief and political editor for Talkers Magazine. In addition, Ratner is a news analyst at the Fox News Channel. Read more of Ellen Ratner's articles here.


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