Infographic: Why even landlubbers need healthy oceans
- Infographic byThe World Bank
- Writing byTodd Reubold
Oceans around the world face a fierce array of threats: plastic pollution, overfishing, acidification, climate change and more.
The infographic above from the World Bank highlights the importance of oceans to the health of the planet and economies around the world. For example, coastal habitats store five times more carbon than do tropical forests, and 90 percent of the people whose livelihood depend on ocean fishing live in developing countries.
Furthermore, 57 percent of all ocean fisheries are considered “fully exploited” and overall fishing capacity globally is around 2.5 times what’s considered sustainable.
The future of the world’s oceans — and, by extension, its ecosystems and human inhabitants — may hinge on how quickly these negative trends are reversed. 