Healthy habitats with a diversity of species are important, not least for us to cope with a rapidly changing climate. We have been to the Finnish side of the Baltic Sea and talked to one of the world’s leading marine scientists; Alf Norkko.
It’s not just coral reefs and fish that are threatened as the oceans warm – it’s all life.
A Swedish company has been authorised to investigate the possibility of extracting mineral nodules from the seabed in the Gulf of Bothnia. They are said to be important for the green transition. Researchers will now provide answers to how the extraction would affect the organisms living at the bottom of the sea.
I write this as COP 16, the UN summit meeting on biodiversity, has just ended in the Colombian coastal city of Cali. On a human level there is progress: indigenous people are promised a stronger voice in the fight to protect threatened species on planet Earth. Many of these nations live near the oceans, some on islands that are also threatened with extinction because of climate change. Their voices will be important for the protection of those who inhabit the oceans.
Several countries, including Sweden, have criticized Norway's plans for deep-sea mining. However, a Swedish company has now been granted permission to explore the possibilities of extracting mineral nodules from the seabed off Skellefteå in the Gulf of Bothnia.
