Marine species at risk
2003-10-15 14:05
Nairobi - The increasingly rapid destruction of seagrass is threatening the survival or some marine species and potentially worsening erosion of the world's coastlines, says a new report to be released on Wednesday.
The World Atlas of Seagrasses - compiled by the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) - shows that 15% of seagrass cover has been lost in the past 10 years.
Seagrasses - flowering underwater plants that grow in meadow-like formations - cover just 177 000 square kilometres, an area two-thirds the size of Britain, according to the mapping project.
The authors say the plants are dying from increased run-off of sediment, man-made pollution, dredging and harmful fishing practices.
"In many cases, these vitally important undersea meadows are being needlessly destroyed for short-term gain without a true understanding of their significance," said Unep director Klaus Toepfer.
The destruction in turn can potentially make life worse for marine life that depend on seagrass for habitat, including such threatened species as sea-horses, manatees, dugong and sea turtles.
The report compiles data in an atlas form, creating a literal map of seagrasses off the coast of 120 countries. It was conducted under the auspices of the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, a project of Unep. - Sapa-DPA
- SAPA