Staff Reporter
WORLD Oceans Day is celebrated on 8 June and the Scientific Society Swakopmund is presenting the “June – Ocean Month” programme in the Swakopmund Museum.
The United Nations’ World Oceans Day is held to remind everyone of the major role the oceans have in everyday life. They are the lungs of our planet, a major source of food and medicine and a critical part of the biosphere.
The purpose of the day is to inform the public of the impact of human actions on the ocean, develop a worldwide movement of citizens for the ocean, and mobilize and unite the world’s population on a project for the sustainable management of the world’s oceans.
The public is invited to the following events held at the Swakopmund Museum: 14 June to 12 July: “Seal Rescues and Entanglements” exhibition by Ocean Conservation Namibia (OCN); Monday, 20 June, 18:00 OCN Lecture and Tuesday, 28 June, 18:00 a film screening of “Chasing Coral”. Entrance is free and donations are welcome.
During the exhibition, there will be screenings of short videos of seal rescues and other ocean related videos from OCN in the Museum Lecture Hall every day from 10:00 to 17:00. On Monday, 20 June at 18:00 OCN will give a public lecture in the Swakopmund Museum.
Naude and Katja Dreyer established Ocean Conservation Namibia in 2020 with the primary objective to help entangled seals and other marine animals along the Namibian coast. In 2020 and 2021, Naude and his team rescued over 1 200 seals.
Through observation, direct action, exposure and education OCN hopes to motivate individuals all over the world to change their own behaviour toward a sustainable future. Over 680 000 subscribers follow OCN’s rescue videos on YouTube.
Each view, comment and share has helped to create more awareness of seals’ dire situation and the general condition of the oceans.
The film Chasing Corals shows a team of divers, photographers and scientists who set out on a thrilling ocean adventure to discover why corals are vanishing at an unprecedented rate.
Between 2014 and 2017, Chasing Coral captured the most severe bleaching event in recorded history. During these years, 75% of corals suffered or died from heat stress brought on by climate change. It is predicted that if nothing changes, by 2034 there will be severe bleaching events every year and by 2050, 90% of reefs could be lost.
This film is a result of more than 500 hours of underwater footage, coral bleaching submissions from volunteers in 30 countries, and support from more than 500 people in various locations around the world.
For more information visit https://www.chasingcoral.com, https://www.ocnamibia.org and https://www.sciswk.com
