Marine pollution is a serious problem that primarily comes from land-based sources. It includes plastic waste, sewage, oil, and other chemicals that are washed or blown into the ocean. This pollution harms marine life and ecosystems, and also negatively impacts human health and coastal economies. Some key points: - An estimated 10 billion tons of ballast water and 10,000 million gallons of sewage enter oceans annually. - Plastic waste kills millions of seabirds and marine mammals each year and takes hundreds of years to decompose. - Pollution has far-reaching effects, including toxic impacts on organisms, eutrophication, reduced water quality, and economic damages totaling billions of dollars annually. -

1. MARINE POLLUTION, land matters ?
P.B. Terney Pradeep Kumara (Ph.D.)
General Manager
Marine Environment Protection Authority
Ministry of Mahaweli Dev. and Environment
Senior Lecturer
Dept. of Oceanography & Marine Geology
University of Ruhuna, Matara
Symposium on Urban Water and Coastal Zone Management, Yellow River Auditorium, IWME - November 28, 2019

2.  The term 'pollution' describes the occurrence and inputs
of wastes and the impact of these wastes on the
environment.
 Marine Pollution (UN definition) –
The introduction by man, directly, or indirectly, of
substances or energy to the marine environment
resulting in deleterious effects such as: hazards to
human health, hindrance to marine activities,
impairment of the quality of seawater for various uses
and reduction of amenities.

3.  Marine pollution is a combination of chemicals
(liquid) and trash (solid), most of which comes from
land sources and is washed or blown into the ocean.
 This pollution results in damage to the environment,
to the health of all organisms, and to economic
structures worldwide (National Geographic Society)

4. Types of pollution

5. Sound and light pollution ???

6. Major Marine Pollutants Worldwide
10 Billion tonnes of ballast water with invasive
Est. 10,000 Million gallons of sewage annually
3.25 million Metric tonnes of oil annually
Millions of tonnes of Solid waste

12. Major Marine Pollutants – Solid Waste
 A large portion and great danger is non-biodegradable
plastic
 46,000 pieces of floating plastic/sq mile of ocean surface
off the NW Atlantic coast.
 Sea turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish and die from
internal blockages.
 Seals and sea lions starve after being entangled by nets or
muzzled by six-pack rings (decomposition time 400 years).
 Plastic debris kills 100,000 marine mammals and 2 million
sea birds die annually

13. Photograph- Terney

14. Photograph- Terney

18. Major Marine Pollutants - Biological
 International Maritime Organization top ten:
Cholera, Cladoceran Water Flea, Mitten Crab, toxic algae
(R,G,B tides), Round Goby, European Green Crab, Asian
kelp, Zebra Mussel, North Pacific Sea star, North American
Comb Jelly.
Spreading infestation of Jamaican waters by a Green mussel

19. Ballast water

22. Impacts of Marine Pollution
 Generally marine pollution affects ecosystem health,
public health, recreational water quality and economic
viability in the following ways:
 Mechanical
 Eutrophication
 Saphrogenic
 Toxicity
 Mutagenic and Carcinogenic

26.  A 32-foot sperm whale that washed up dead on the Spanish coast was
found with huge amounts of garbage in its stomach.
 Authorities in Cabo de Palos, southeast Murcia, revealed the young
male had ingested approximately 29kg of rubbish before it died in
February.

32. Microplastics ????
11/29/2019 Department of Oceanography and Marine Geology 32
Microplastics are defined as <5 mm (Thompson et al.,2004)

35. Origin of microplastics
11/29/2019 Department of Oceanography and Marine Geology 35
Primary Secondary
• Virgin resin pellets
• Plastic micro beads
in cosmetics
• Textile fibers
Fragmentation and
Weathering of large
plastic particles
Light induce
degradation

45. Photograph- Terney

48. Before 1998
Before tsunami
After tsunami
Photograph- Terney
Photograph- Terney
Photograph- Terney

49. Cost of Marine Pollution
 MPB recently reported that plastic pollution in the world’s
oceans costs society up to $2.5 trillion a year
 The Guardian, plastic waste is said to cost up to $33,000 per
ton in reduced environmental value.
 In addition, an estimated 8 million tons of plastic
pollution ends up in the oceans ever year.
 100,000 mammal and 2 million bird deaths annually

50.  Fisheries, aquaculture, recreational activities and global
wellbeing are all negatively affected by plastic pollution,
with an estimated 1-5% decline in the benefit humans
derive from oceans
 The resulting cost in such benefits, known as marine
ecosystem value, is up to $2.5tn (£1.9tn) a year (MPB)
 Plastic waste is also believed to cost up to $33,000 per ton in
reduced environmental value, the study found.

51.  Globally, we are ingesting an average of 5 grams of
plastic every week, the equivalent of a credit card, a
new study suggests
 Around the world, people ingest an average of around
2,000 microplastic particles a week, according to the
study by the University of Newcastle, in Australia

56. Photograph- Terney

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67. Photograph- Terney
1
2

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73. Photograph- Terney

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75. Photograph- Terney

76. Trans-boundary waste movements

77.  Sri Lanka 0.64 mmt/yr
 Col - 1500, Kal – 300, Galle – 108, Mat - 92, Jaf – 77 mt/day
 Modera sea outfall 340 l/s
 Wellawatta sea outfall 390 l/s
 Fecal coliform 60/100 ml .. Often 1800 after rains,
 Lowest 200-300 range
Fecal pollution

78. Major long sea outfalls in Colombo

83. Why should we be concerned?

84. Ocean Based
< 10%
Possible Means of Marine Pollution
Ocean Based
> 10%
Land Based
< 90%

86. Solutions to Pollutionh
NOT DILUTION !
Two main methods
 Correction – Costly and time intensive
 Prevention – Requires attitude changes

87.  National Water Supplies and Drainage Board
 Central Environment Authority
 Urban Development Authority
 Coast Conservation and Coastal Resources
Management Department
 Local governments
 Private sector

89. Objectives
To prevent, reduce and control of coastal and marine
pollution in Sri Lanka waters,
To give effect to International Conventions for the
prevention of marine pollution
To protect coastal and marine environment

90. Marine Pollution Prevention Act No. 35 of 2008
Effective From January 2009
Legislative Authority

92. Maritime Zones
According to
the UNCLOS
Convention
517,000 Sq km

97.  Sri Lankan Joined UN Clean seas campaign along
with Chile, South Africa and Oman, on 4th December
2017

98. 41 –15 March, 2019
United Nations Office
Nairobi, Kenya

99. “Strengthening global governance on marine plastic
litter and microplastics”
“Promoting innovative solutions for solid waste
management”

100.  Blue Flag program
14 proposed blue flagged beaches
 Commonwealth Blue charter

101.  National policy document ‘Policy strategy and national
action plan for marine environment protection in Sri
Lanka – 2030 vision ’
 National strategy for the pollution prevention from
fisheries sector
 ‘Marine Pollution Prevention Act no 35 of 2008’ is
being amended

104.  MEPA joined ICC in 2008 as One day program
 Coast Conservation Week in 2015 covering the whole
coastal stretch
 2016 Sep 14 No. 16/1723/704/046
Third Saturday Fourth Saturday
 Marine Conservation week
Clean ups, awareness raising, tree planting, media
publicity, debates, art competition etc…
Participation 2014 – 5000, 2015 – 39277, 2016 – 6735, 2017 - 12000

105. 2016

106. 2017

107. 2018

109.  Sri Lanka banned polythene products such as High-
density polyethylene (HDPE)
 Shopping bags
 Carry bags
 Lunch sheets
 Polystyrene lunch boxes
 Usage of polythene in all decorations, specially the usage
of polythene in political, social and cultural events
 Burning of polythene and plastics in open spaces.
 discussion process of banning 6 single use plastics items,
improvement of PET recycling, strengthen EPR initiatives

118. Photograph- Terney

119. Marine Environment Protection Authority

124. Jungle beach

125. Keeri

126. Pesalai

128. Photograph- Terney
Coastal belt - tree planting

129. Urban Forest Patches

130. හලාවත වවරළ උද්යානය
කළුතර වවරළ තීරය ගම්පහ වවරළ තීරය
ගම්පහ පැළ සිටිවීම

136. Pick up litter

137. Buy less packaged items

141. Why The Oceans Important To Us
 Largest Carbon Sink
 Source of protein - billions of people depend
for protein from sea food
 Source of Energy, Minerals, Medicine
 Media of transportation -90% of goods transport by ships
 More than half the world population live closer to
the coast
 Coastal and marine resources support employment
for millions of population
 Regulate climatic change and global weather
(monsoons !)

142.  phytoplankton contribute between 50 - 85 % of the
Oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere
Cyanobacterium – Prochlorococcus
 The ocean is the largest sink for anthropogenic Carbon
dioxide (CO2), absorbing ~30% of the CO2 emitted
annually
 (A third of the carbon emitted by human activity),
roughly Two Billion Metric Tons each year

143. 8th June - World Ocean Day……

144. Thank you !