'2.4 million acres of land in Indus Delta eroded by seawater'

ISLAMABAD: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that the 2.4 million acres of land in Indus Delta has been eroded by the rising seawater.

In his message on the World Oceans Day, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister on Wednesday said that according to a research report the deltas along oceans are facing rapid extinction.

Bilawal said that the number of big fishes in oceans has decreased by 90 percent. “Fifty percent of coral reefs have already been destroyed,” he said.

“The situation has been an extreme matter of concern for Pakistan as well as the world,” he said.

Oceans absorb about 30% of carbon dioxide produced by humans, buffering the impacts of global warming. It also produce at least 50% of the planet’s oxygen, it is home to most of earth’s biodiversity.

World Oceans Day takes place annually on 8 June. The concept was originally proposed in 1992 by Canada’s International Centre for Ocean Development (ICOD) and the Ocean Institute of Canada (OIC) at the Earth Summit – UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

World Oceans Day was officially recognized by the United Nations in 2008. The international day supports the implementation of worldwide Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and fosters public interest in the protection of the ocean and the sustainable management of its resources.