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SDG 14 Life Below Water

SDG 14 seeks to preserve marine life and life under water in general, says WU student Veronika. There are 10 million tons of plastic under water, and this is entirely due to human-driven production and consumption patterns. While the COVID-19 pandemic gave the oceans and their species a chance to partially regenerate, there needs to be more consistent, long-term action to protect life under water. By taking small steps like limiting our consumption of single-use plastic or eating less fish from unsustainable sources, we can support SDG 14 and, by extension, other goals such as SDG 12, Responsible Consumption and Production.

Video SDG 14 - Veronika

SDG 14 - Veronika

In this video, STaR project assistant Katerina has a conversation with Dr. Milda Zilinskaite, Senior Scientist and Manager at STaR, about SDG 14. As the coordinators of this SDG video project, Katerina and Milda acknowledge how challenging it was to find a WU researcher focusing on this particular SDG. This goal, as well as SDG 15, Life on Land, are not yet enough of a priority for companies and business researchers; however, they should be, because they both focus on biodiversity loss, which has been occurring at an alarming rate, largely due to the actions and impacts of corporations. For example, plastic waste created by land-based companies forms massive plastic islands in the oceans that are extremely harmful to marine life. Companies have already begun innovating in this space – for instance, Unilever and others are reducing their use of plastic packaging. From a policy perspective, since individual governments do not control the oceans, to further this goal it is crucial that policymakers work together to create international treaties and agreements. 

Video SDG 14 - Milda Zilinskaite & Katerina

SDG 14 - Milda Zilinskaite &…

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