Findings & Analysis
We, at Prakriti, realise the paramountcy of preservation of nature and are also aware of the preponderance of profit making or prudence in any decision. Hence, we have come up with No Pile On Isle - an urban solution to the age old problem of Henderson Island.
The uninhabited island, which was once pristine and proud of its biodiversity, is now plumaged by the pollution caused by the ruthless expansion and industrialisation pursued by humans. Being designated as a Heritage Site by the United Nations, we must collectively endeavour to save the site from excessive pollution. The efforts are not only required to undo the harm that we have caused, but also prevent any further deterioration.
Through this, we aim to spread awareness about the plight of the island. We bring to you everything that we have about it and promise to deliver credible and authentic information from various sources.
From every penny of revenue generated from advertisements, endorsement, fund-raisers or from every click, we pledge to contribute it towards cleaning Henderson Island and standing true to our name - No Pile On Isle.
We propose that the dwindling population of birds might also be attributed to their continuous consumption of these fragments and colored plastics, along with the increased rat population.
We have studied and categorised colours of the dump since it has been observed that birds are attracted to colors, mainly RED and WHITE.
These 4 endemic species of the island are currently vulnerable:
Propose a petition for Nature Neutral Plastic Color for the concerned nations initially - to reduce leaching, prevent convulsions in wildlife and ultimately save them. Which comes at no additional cost. This short term solutions will go a long way in preserving the endemic birds of the Henderson island with adoption of nature neutral color leading to a stop in genetic alterations and increase in population by 10-15%.
Through our endeavour to preserve the island, viv-a-vis visualization, data collection, amalgamation, and presentation of various credible and authentic sources, articles and blogs, we propose to establish an application in order to create awareness. Also Plans to increase the traffic on the website for revenue generation to be taken up as a collaboration with the United Nations and search engines.
Social media has a greater reach and influences a large part of the population. In order to tap this, we would be collaborating with UN ambassadors, environmentalists and famous personalities to spread awareness and bolster support pertaining to this noble cause.
The website would act as a one stop solution for all the information pertaining to Henderson Island. It would also encompass several visualisations to make the task even more lucid. The I Pledge campaign is to bring people across the globe together for this environmental cause The donations, petitions and forum for discussion would buttress the endeavour undertaken.
Assessing and quantifying the amount of plastics and debris is a tedious task. One big problem we found out is that for scientists it is difficult to track and map plastic in the ocean because of less data. This becomes even harder for small remote islands like our Henderson Island. We found out that Scientists are working on a technique to track plastic debris in the ocean from space.
It's extremely challenging, especially since the individual pieces of litter are smaller than the minimum-sized objects that satellites can resolve. But the approach works by looking for plastic's reflected light signature in the water.And early trials conducted by the UK's Plymouth Marine Laboratory have been very encouraging.
We do suggest that since Henderson Island is part of the UK's oceania, to start work on collecting data for the Henderson Island’s shoreline plastic accumulation. To track its source and mend it.
Redefining the ERM i.e ecologically relevant metrics and AOP i.e adverse outcome pathways is something to help quantify the effects of plastic and several other pollutants on wildlife. A restructuring is essential to have a comprehensive yet specific approach, an approach that would yield higher accuracy while quantifying effects and hence policy formation when it comes to different pollutants, areas and species.
Approx 213.5M tonnes will be discarded by 2030, and 10% of that is found in the ocean. With proper surveying than proxies, restructured ERMs and AOPs, we will be able to quantify the risk and then formulate the policies accordingly.
To account for industrial change and start a demand driven campaign, we propose the use of a global eco marking - ‘EnvMark’. This would categorise products as biodegradable and non biodegradable, with a number of years taken to decay. This would push towards purchase and production of eco friendly products.
If adopted in areas of concern (contributing 67% of debris) initially and can help in reduction of the debris accumulation on the beaches of the island by approximately 1.89 - 4.72 items/m.
The revenue generated, your generous contribution, each penny will be used up for skill development of people, who would then help not only to further the understanding of the causes of pollution at the isle, but also help test several techniques and clean the island efficaciously. This would not only provide employment, but will also ensure that the island is restored to its glory and pristine pure environment in the coming future. Post this, we will launch several other campaigns to help further our cause of environmental conservation. A detailed description of expenditure on the website for maintaining transparency.
Citizens of Tahiti and several other islands near Henderson Island, where the primary occupation is tourism, which has been severely hit by Covid-19, will get an additional employment opportunity in forms of periodic ground surveying activities ,conserving and cleaning the Henderson Island.
Testing the already posited strategies for Henderson Island on a global scale and incorporating them in Ocean Plastic Charter, along with strengthening and expanding it.
Lecturer
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies,
University of Tasmania
You might have pledged margins, money or something else in your life. But today, pledge for your children, your better tomorrow and for your heavenly environment.
Each pledge would go a long way in our fight against use of plastic and other pollutants. Each pledge would take us closer to save those birds, who are being forced to consume plastic.
