Seagrasses, One of The Least Protected Coastal Habitats... Why Does No One Know About It?
“And then an image of a vast plant. An underwater meadow of seagrass. In the clearest, cleanest water imaginable, with fractured sunlight breaking through the ocean and a school of small silver fish in the background. It was quite possibly the most beautiful photograph I had ever seen. A fleeting feeling came over me. Something different to the rising fear. Something alongside it. Wonder, I suppose. A magnetic, forceful kind.”
Seagrass. Sounds made up, doesn’t it? Or at the very least, it sounds like some kind of hippy-dippy oil you’d find in an upscale spa. You’d be wrong to assume this is the case. Seagrass is a plant. An underwater plant! In large quantities, Seagrass creates Seagrass meadows, an ecosystem essential to our planet and one that is on a steady decline. Yet, knowledge of this ecosystem and what is does for our planet is considerably low. This begs the question: why should you care? Well, where do I begin?
Seagrass is a flowering plant that can pollinate underwater – the only plant to be able to do so. Seagrass meadows work as brilliant carbon sinks, absorbing enough carbon per acre each year to offset the carbon produced by a car over a distance of 3860 miles. This is through the process we all know and love: photosynthesis. The leaves and roots of the plant absorb carbon which in turn then produce oxygen; in fact, 70% of the oxygen humans breath comes from the sea through photosynthesis. The roots of seagrass also trap sediment in the water, which has a double benefit; it increases water quality, which benefits both humans and sealife alike, and also helps to prevent erosion of coastlines. These meadows even support the biodiversity in our waters, supplying shelter for fish nurseries, food for herbivores who eat the seagrass, food for predators who eat the herbivores and food for decomposers who consume the dead organic matter that collects. Dugongs and sea turtles are two of the endangered species that rely heavily on seagrass meadows to survive. So, you see, Seagrass Meadows bring life to our seas.
According to the Ocean Conservation Trust, “The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimated in 2014 that seagrasses are declining by 7% a year globally. This estimate makes it the fastest disappearing habitat on the planet.” Sadly, these life-bringing ecosystems don’t have the protection that should be given to habitats of this magnitude that are declining this rapidly. Recent data from the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) suggests that “seagrasses are among the least protected coastal habitats. Only 26 per cent of recorded seagrass meadows fall within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) compared with 40 per cent of coral reefs and 43 per cent of mangroves.” It’s a pretty unavoidable fact that Seagrass…grows in the sea. As stated above, our seas would struggle without Seagrass, but being hidden away under the waves means low visibility. Low visibility means low awareness. It’s hard to protect something you can’t see. Noise, anchors, fumes and destructive fishing activities can all affect the plant, and can all occur without the offender even being aware of their crime.
Ignorance is bliss, but as someone once said, ignorance can be knowing the unknown. Fishermen know that anchors, nets and dredges can destroy habitats and wildlife. Corporations know that a large majority of their packaging and waste ends up in our waters. Tourists know that taking cruises or partaking in water sports create sound pollution and disrupt sealife. They know but don’t directly see. Humanity can claim ignorance.
The issue is, typically, most people don’t want to destroy our seas. Perceived efficacy plays a psychological role in people’s relationship with the climate, and in fact any larger global crisis. Perceived efficacy is a persons belief in their ability to take on a task and get the desired outcome from it. If an individuals perceived efficacy is next to none, they believe they can’t do anything to help and that can translate into a disinterest. To see horrors occurring across the world whilst harbouring a feeling that you can’t directly help, creates a helplessness that causes people to turn away. With a bombardment of information overload thanks to the digital age we’ve arrived in, apathy is at an all time high. Over-exposing people to tragic events often has a counterproductive effect. Rather than pushing people into action, they freeze and flee or worse, are so de-sensitised to it that it doesn’t affect them at all.
All is not lost though! There are ways around this apathy. This article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, discusses how social activists can use social science to tackle this fight against climate apathy. They encourage organisations to stop putting all their resources into awareness, which has been proven to not work, cause backlash or even cause harm. Instead, they suggest basing social activism efforts around this principle; “People seek information that makes them feel good about themselves and allows them to be a better version of themselves.” People might avoid news about climate change because it makes them feel guilty; after all, humans are at fault. However, if they’re shown films or images that can make them feel awe or wonder at the natural world, causing a feeling of unity and connection, this could be the key in getting people to care. The same goes with other positive emotions like pride, joy and love. The same Stanford article analyses how Greenpeace have slowly been changing their branding and outreach to reflect these points.
Books, films, podcasts; all of these platforms can contribute to these positive feelings us humans need to kick ourselves into action. In fact, I was spurred on to write this piece after reading a book! For anyone wondering where that beautiful quote in my intro is from, check out Matt Haig’s magical book, ‘The Life Impossible’. The Meadows in Ibiza are a key character in his novel. Painted in a magical and spiritual light, the Meadows end up saving Ibiza. Whilst the real Ibiza Seagrass Meadows don’t have any known magical abilities, they’re a crucial, beautiful and fascinating part of Ibiza’s seas. The Ibiza Seagrass Meadows, otherwise known as Posidonia Oceanica (shoutout Posiden), are known to be some of the oldest on the planet; biologists have predicted them to be around 80,000 to 100,000 years old. If you’ve ever wondered why the tranquil Ibiza waters are so clear, you have these nurturing meadows to thank; colloquially, these meadows are referred to as the lungs of the Mediterranean. I know all of this thanks to the heartwarming, hard-hitting words of Matt Haig. He took something real and important, and gave it a personal meaning to his readers, by making them feel. The narrative makes you fearful and tense at times, but it counters that with moments of joy, unity, peace and hope. I’ve never been to Ibiza, I’ve never seen the Sea Meadows, but I know for sure that I want to protect them from being built over and destroyed. I want to be the hero (Grace) that protects the damsel in distress (Posidonia Oceanica & its eco-system) and has the happy ending. People forget how powerful storytelling can be.
Now storytelling is clearly crucial, but it would be nothing without the groups out in the field, taking action. The Dugong & Seagrass Conservation Project are a brilliant team working on conserving and protecting Dugongs and their habitat; the presence of Dugongs is a great indicator of Seagrass Meadow and ecosystem health. Dugongs are the only vegetarian marine animal, are declining in numbers and largely consume Seagrass. In other words, if Seagrass Meadows cease to exist, so do Dugongs! A handful of other projects and organisations I came upon in my research that are worth mentioning are Project Seagrass, The Wildlife Trusts, and Ibiza Preservation.
So, I suppose knowing all I know now, it would be silly of me to call you to action and say this was a piece to raise awareness of the ever so important Seagrass Meadows. We know this doesn’t work unaccompanied by a feeling of personal connection or improvement. I want to believe that my writing got you to that point, but as much as I want to be, I am sadly no Matt Haig. Instead, I’m going to send you his way, as well as to my lord and saviours, David Attenborough & Jane Goodall. Read ‘The Life Impossible’, check out David Attenborough’s upcoming documentary, ‘Ocean’ and listen to Jane Goodall’s podcast, ‘The Jane Goodall Hopecast’. That’ll get you there.
Written by Shan Victoria
Shannon's current role is as Head Runner at a sound studio, but really she is an aspiring writer. She has a love for all things nature, travel and film. Her current hobbies involve jigsaw puzzles, trying to make vases from clay and visiting hobbycraft to buy things she'll never use.
