Oceans play major role in sustaining life on Earth. Covering approximately 71 percent of the Earth’s surface, oceans are far more than vast bodies of water. They regulate climate, produce oxygen, provide food, support global trade, and sustain millions of livelihoods. Yet, despite their immense importance, oceans are facing unprecedented threats from pollution, climate change, overfishing, and habitat destruction.
According to a rsearch report made by Muhammad Nawaz Khuhro, Bureau Chief of Pakistan Press International Karachi, oceans are also the backbone of global commerce. More than 80 percent of international trade by volume is transported by sea. Major shipping routes connect continents, enabling the movement of food, energy resources, manufactured goods, and raw materials. Millions of jobs depend on maritime trade, fisheries, tourism, and coastal industries. Additionally, oceans provide seafood for billions of people and support industries worth trillions of dollars annually. Coastal tourism, shipping, offshore energy production, and fishing are all heavily dependent on healthy marine ecosystems.
National Forum for Environment and Health (NFEH) President Muhammad Naeem Qureshi said that many people believe that forests are the primary source of oxygen on Earth. While forests are crucial, scientists estimate that oceans produce about 50 percent of the world’s oxygen through microscopic marine plants known as phytoplankton, he said. These tiny organisms float near the ocean’s surface and perform photosynthesis, absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. Some studies indicate that a single species, Prochlorococcus, contributes up to 20 percent of the oxygen in Earth’s biosphere, Qureshi said.
NFEH president said: “Without healthy oceans, life on Earth would be impossible. Every second breath taken by humans is linked directly or indirectly to oxygen generated by marine ecosystems. Oceans also act as massive carbon sinks, absorbing large quantities of carbon dioxide and helping slow global warming.”
Although ocean water is salty and unsuitable for direct human consumption, it plays a crucial role in global freshwater supplies. Through the water cycle, ocean water evaporates, forms clouds, and returns to land as rain. This process replenishes rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and groundwater that support drinking water supplies and agriculture worldwide.
A UN report says: “The ocean is fundamental to life on our planet and to our future. The ocean is an important source of the planet’s biodiversity and plays a vital role in the climate system and water cycle. The ocean provides a range of ecosystem services, supplies us with oxygen to breathe, contributes to food security, nutrition and decent jobs and livelihoods, acts as a sink and reservoir of greenhouse gases and protects biodiversity, provides a means for maritime transportation, including for global trade, forms an important part of our natural and cultural heritage and plays an essential role in sustainable development, a sustainable ocean-based economy and poverty eradication.”
Agriculture depends heavily on rainfall generated through ocean-driven weather systems. Without ocean evaporation and precipitation cycles, crop production would collapse in many parts of the world.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US Department of Commerce’s report says arine debris is a persistent pollution problem that reaches throughout the entire ocean and Great Lakes. It says our ocean and waterways are polluted with a wide variety of marine debris, ranging from tiny microplastics, smaller than 5 mm, to derelict fishing gear and abandoned vessels. Worldwide, hundreds of marine species have been negatively impacted by marine debris, which can harm or kill an animal when it is ingested or they become entangled, and can threaten the habitats they depend on. Marine debris can also interfere with navigation safety and potentially pose a threat to human health.
All marine debris comes from people with a majority of it originating on land and entering the ocean and Great Lakes through littering, poor waste management practices, storm water discharge, and extreme natural events such as tsunamis and hurricanes. Some debris, such as derelict fishing gear, can also come from ocean-based sources. This lost or abandoned gear is a major problem because it can continue to capture and kill wildlife, damage sensitive habitats, and even compete with and damage active fishing gear, concludes NOAA.
Pakistan possesses a coastline of approximately 1,050 kilometers along the Arabian Sea, stretching across Sindh and Balochistan. This coastline supports fisheries, ports, mangrove forests, tourism, and maritime trade.
However, Pakistan’s marine environment faces serious challenges. The waters off Karachi are among the most polluted in the country. Large quantities of untreated municipal and industrial wastewater are discharged into the sea daily. Karachi generates hundreds of millions of gallons of wastewater every day, but only a small portion receives treatment before reaching the Arabian Sea.
Major pollutants entering Pakistan’s coastal waters include: untreated sewage, industrial chemicals, oil residues, plastic waste, heavy metals, agricultural runoff and olid waste from urban areas. Studies conducted along Karachi’s beaches have found plastic to be the most common form of marine debris. Beaches such as Paradise Point, Sandspit, and Korangi Creek have experienced significant pollution from discarded plastics and other waste materials. Marine pollution threatens fish populations, mangrove forests, coastal biodiversity, and public health. It also undermines the economic potential of Pakistan’s blue economy.
Pakistan should prioritize: construction and modernization of wastewater treatment plants; strict enforcement of industrial pollution regulations; reduction of single-use plastics; improved municipal waste management systems; protection and expansion of marine protected areas; strengthening of coastal monitoring and research; promotion of sustainable fishing practices; greater environmental education in schools and universities; enhanced cooperation between federal, provincial, and local governments; and investment in the blue economy while ensuring environmental sustainability.
World Oceans Day serves as a reminder that the future of humanity is closely linked to the health of the oceans. These vast waters generate around half of the oxygen we breathe, regulate climate, support agriculture through the water cycle, facilitate global trade, and provide livelihoods for billions of people. Yet pollution, climate change, and unsustainable human activities are pushing marine ecosystems toward crisis.
For Pakistan, protecting the Arabian Sea is not merely an environmental responsibility but an economic and national necessity. Cleaner coastlines, healthier fisheries, stronger mangrove forests, and effective pollution control measures can help secure a sustainable future for coming generations. On this World Oceans Day, governments, industries, and citizens alike must recognize that safeguarding the oceans means safeguarding life itself.