Oceans are
incredible habitats that provide immense benefits in tourism, fisheries and
coastal protection. Coral reefs, mangrove forests and other near-shore marine
habitats are systems that are closely tied to people’s socio-economic and
cultural values. Over the last several decades, significant changes have taken
place; over-fishing, destructive fishing, climate change and pollution.
Marine
litter is any type of man‐made solid
waste which deliberately or accidentally pollutes oceans, seas and coastlines.
Marine litter is found in all the accessible world's oceans and seas, even in
remote areas (Valavanidis & Vlachogianni, 2011) . Marine solid waste
can float on the sea surface or sink on the seafloor and some can be washed to
the sea coastlines (beach‐litter).
Marine litter can spread very easily to the coastline as a result of marine
transport, tourism and uncontrolled discharge of municipal waste in illegal
landfills.
Floating
debris can be transported over substantial distances by winds and currents,
resulting in the deposition of items from many different countries on beaches
around the world. Litter in the marine environment originates from two main
sources: rubbish dumped from ships at sea and land-based sources such as runoff
from rivers, waste water systems, wind-blown litter and recreational litter
left on beaches (Coe & Rogers, 1997) .
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| Litter along the beach |
80% of litter
found in marine is plastic items (Valavanidis & Vlachogianni,
2011) .
Floating plastic waste wash out into the oceans from rivers and sewers, while
larger plastics are broken down into smaller fragments that last for years (Smithers,
2016) .
The slow biodegradability nature of plastics makes it the most pervasive,
persistent and hazardous form of litter in the marine environment. It is
estimated that 4.8-12.7 million tonnes of plastics enter the world’s oceans
every year due to littering and inadequate waste management. This figure is deemed
to increase to as much as 28 million tonnes a year by 2025 (Smithers,
2016) .
In Kenya,
seasonality, North East Monsoon (NEM) and South East Monsoon (SEM), is a major
factor affecting transport and deposition of litter along the coast yearly. The
SEM is characterized by high rainfall, river discharge, terrestrial runoff,
fast currents, wave energy and wind energy. During this season, transport of
debris from the land and in the sea is high. These parameters are reversed
during the NEM season and it is characterized by deposition of litter along the
coast (McClanahan, 1988). During NEM, Somali currents occur relatively close to
the coast, travelling at low speeds of 0.7–1.0m/s. This makes it possible for marine
litter to be deposited offshore in the north of the WIO region, particularly,
on the northern Kenyan coast (UNEP & WIOMSA, 2008) .
Beach Cleanup
exercises need to be done so as to remove litters that if swallowed by marine
life, they enter the food chain and disrupt fragile ecosystems. Although, this
will not happen overnight, a temporary solution is needed, thus beach clean-up
activities need to be carried out frequently along the Kenyan Coast. In this context,
the marine debris has direct impacts on the sea turtles both in the sea and on land.
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| Sea turtle feeding on a plastic bag |
Turtles are known to consume plastic
bags mistaking them for jellyfish and the bags clog their stomachs, often
leading to death from starvation. Turtle hatchlings face incredibly low
survival odds as they mount long and difficult trek to the water to survive.
The faster they reach the water, the more likely they are to live, but physical
objects like trash prolong their movement diverting them from the shortest
route to the sea. This result in hatchlings following a path parallel to the
ocean that may increase chances of mortality.
Debris in
our coast if not removed, can be harmful and even fatal to all manners of
marine wild, can damage our country’s economy and even become a human health
hazard.
