By : Tarsicio Antezana
(Read news in El Mostrador)
The Government of Chile is preparing for COP25, highlighting its special interest in protecting ocean ecosystems, consistent with the country's extensive coastline (many thousands of km, including the islands of southern Chile). Among other actions, the Government has prepared a draft climate change framework law of more than 43 articles, including the creation of a Council of Ministers, Scientific Advisory Committees, National Council, Sectoral Mitigation and Adaptation Plans, National Financing Strategy, etc., which implies considerable efforts and investments.
Undoubtedly, these actions will serve to promote greater citizen awareness. First, in the harmonious or friendly use of ecosystems and their resources. Second, in the devastating power of mankind to cause the destruction of its own common home. However, the image projected by the Government should not lead us to false expectations, because the primary causes and solutions to global change come from external powers (e.g., countries, transnationals).
On the other hand, it is particularly counterproductive that this image is not reflected in the negligence with which local marine ecosystems are protected, represented by the progressive overexploitation of fish stocks, pollution and destruction of marine communities in bays by mining, and in inland seas by aquaculture, etc.
And here the responsibility of the current government (and others in the past) and the emergency actions required are very direct: in fact, the indicators of global climate change are orders of magnitude lower than those recorded in the inland seas of Chiloé and the rest of Patagonia due to the effect of aquaculture.
Among these indicators are: the reduction of dissolved oxygen in the sea of 06-2% as a cumulative average over the last 60 years -according to the latest IPCC Report (2014) and researchers from Kiel, Germany (2018)-, and the increase of acidification of 26% cumulatively over the last 200 years (corresponding to a decrease in pH from 8.2 to 8.1).
According to Sernapesca, there have been more than 600 aquaculture concessions that generated anaerobic conditions (the majority of salmon and the minority of mithilids); according to that typification, the oxygen reduction would be 35-118 times more than that attributed to global climate change (8.6 to 2.5 mg/liter at 1 m from the bottom), and the pH reduction would be 10 times greater (8.1 to 7.1 at the bottom), corresponding to an acidification of 900%.
Oxygen reduction to these levels causes asphyxia and death of most organisms, and such acidification levels would prevent the formation of shells and calcareous skeletons of many marine organisms (e.g. mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms, fish and microorganisms such as foraminifera, coccolithophorids, etc.). We can imagine (because neither the industry nor the State of Chile has established it) that these conditions and their impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning extend far beyond the shadow of the concessions, which is the focus of the regulation.
Until when will the Chilean State not assume its function of studying and evaluating the entire ecosystem under exploitation, establishing baselines, contamination, carrying capacity, assimilation capacity of organic overload, etc., for a more precautionary regulation?
How long will industry fail to address the deterioration of the ecosystem and assume its responsibility to fill the gaps in scientific knowledge for a more sustainable and comprehensive regulation of its activities?
How long will academia fail to project its scientific and cultural potential with the disciplinary integrity, level of excellence and presence that these highly valuable and already exploited ecosystems and cultures demand?