World Oceans Day
Today is World Oceans Day, a day that always makes me wonder: is this an occasion for celebration or mourning? For me, the response is always the same. We can hold both emotions and use them to take action.
Because where I live, near the shores of the Salish Sea, a region of magnificent cultural and ecological richness, we cannot help but relish the complexity we are so lucky to witness and be a part of every day. However, the feeling of loss is inevitable when we remember the plight of over 100 endangered species within its waters and hundreds more in the other oceans that surround this continent.
The Salish Sea is where mighty glacier-fed rivers meet the ocean, mixing to create an abundance of life like no other. From above, its 17,803 km2 of combined marine and estuarine waters resemble a breathing lung providing oxygen for the more than 9 million people living around it.
Since time immemorial, the area has been home to more than 65 Tribes and First Nations, who hold inherent rights and titles that represent the reciprocal relations they hold with these lands and waters.
After colonization, though, this region has been subjected to the political interests of two different countries, the U.S. and Canada, adding to the complexity of the ecological issues facing the region. Ecosystems and species at risk do not conform to political borders and decentralizing this division is essential to create regional scale stewardship connections for the protection of the Salish Sea.
