WORLD Ocean's Day. It's a day that is recognised by many the world over, but there are those who have little knowledge of what it really is. Celebrated on June 8 each year, World Ocean's Day was born at the 1992 earth summit in Rio de Janeiro. It is intended to give people an opportunity to recognise and celebrate their relationship to the sea, and its value to their lives.

The Ocean Project (which collaborates with the World Ocean Network to coordinate events for the annual celebrations) identifies a number of reasons people should recognise the day. Those reasons include:
. the fact that the day gives people the opportunity to encourage others to think about what the ocean means to them and what it has to offer;
. it represents a chance to discover "the wealth of diverse and beautiful ocean creatures and habitats" as well as "how our daily actions affect them, and how we are all interconnected"; and
. it allows people the chance to devise, for themselves, strategies to positively impact the ocean.

As for the reasons to take care of the ocean, there are many. Among them, the Ocean Project lists:
. the fact that the ocean generates most of the oxygen that living organisms, not least of them humans, need to breathe;
. that it feeds the human population, while regulating climate;
. that it cleans the water people consume, while offering potential medicines to cure their ailments; and yes,
. provides "limitless" inspiration for those who are so inclined.
The value of the sea notwithstanding, people continue to pollute it, to their detriment as they face diverse and far reaching negative effects, such as declining fish stock and loss of coral reefs.

Source: http://www.theoceanproject.org/wod/

Why we need coral reefs

WITH the world's coral reefs at risk due to climate change and other threats, and with World Ocean's Day only a few days away, Our Habitat thought it timely to look at coral reefs and their overall value.

Corals reefs are found in warm tropical and subtropical seas. They are rich in life, providing a habitat for a large variety of other marine forms. It may in fact support more than 3,000 species of corals, fish and shellfish.
They perform a range of functions, including not only the provision of shelter for fish and other ocean-bound organisms, but also:
. the provision of food to such organisms;
. the building of reefs; and
. the production of medicines to treat a variety of ailments.

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