94 cases of marine pollution this year

MUSCAT, NOV 6 - The Sultanate, represented by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs, has recorded 94 cases regarding marine pollution, since the beginning of the current year. These cases are related to oil pollution (21), shipwreck and collision incidents (8), transporting sand from the shore (5), red tide (1) and other types of pollutants (59). The details were revealed in the ‘Lynx’, the monthly newsletter of the National Field Research Centre for Environment Conservation. “However, and by virtue of its geographical location overlooking a number of seas and oceans, the Sultanate is classified as the most vulnerable to marine pollution in the region due to the active maritime traffic in addition to the frequent illegal practices carried out by ships in the territorial waters and in the private area of the Sultanate,” Lynx stated. In this context, the Sultanate has been keen to set plans on how to protect its waters in particular and its environment in general through the enactment of a number of laws. Article 29 of the Law of Environmental Protection and Pollution Control enhances the necessity to make environmental planning an integral part of overall development planning in order to achieve sustainable development. According to the newsletter, priority should be given to protecting the environment from pollution. In addition, the Sultanate issued the Marine Pollution Control Law No 35 /81 and established the Environmental Protection and Pollution Control Council in 1979. “Although plastic is one of the most prominent pollutants of the sea, natural pollution is considered the most dangerous type of marine pollution in the world as it changes the properties of natural water due to changes in temperature, leading to the increase in evaporation which automatically increases water salinity. Not to mention change in the water’s colour and taste,” the report points out. The second category, as the newsletter suggests, is the chemical contamination resulting from the impact of waste water, agricultural residues, subsequent insecticides and other wastes that are dumped into the water and affect the aquatic organisms that are then consumed as food. Oil pollution is the most serious type of marine pollution, which causes huge problems and the death of many aquatic organisms. Thus, countries and international bodies need to make many efforts to get rid of oil spills on the surface of the sea.