Seagrasses(with Japanese Dictionary)

Seagrasses, flowering plants that live in shallow coastal waters, are under threat worldwide. Areas where these plants grow play an essential role as nurseries for young fish and other sea creatures, providing not only a steady supply of nutrients but also shelter from hungry predators. Seagrass beds are inhabited by a broad range of species, making them important fishing grounds for both recreational and commercial operations. They are declining rapidly, however, because of human activity mainly coastal development, water pollution, and overfishing. Chemicals and things like soil finding their way into rivers also contributes to the problem.

　The Indonesian part of the Coral Triangle, a huge area with thousands of islands, contains seagrass beds considered the most biologically diverse in the world. But research has shown these have been significantly damaged since 2013. Leanne Cullen­Unsworth of the United Kingdom’s Cardiff University calls this a “tragedy of the seagrass commons” a reference to an economic problem in which people overuse a shared resource, thinking only of their own short­term benefit and ultimately causing its destruction. Seagrass beds in Indonesia, she says, are often overlooked by conservationists, so they are poorly monitored. Their loss threatens the livelihood of millions of people in the surrounding area as the fish these people rely on for food and income become scarce. It could also reduce the populations of endangered species that live in seagrass beds, such as sea horses.

　Fortunately, efforts are being made in various countries to address the problem. A local NGO in Sulawesi, Indonesia, has launched a tree­planting project alongside rivers in order to block harmful soil and rocks from falling into them and eventually ending up in seagrass beds. In Denmark, work has been done to improve coastal water quality by reducing agricultural pollution from fertilizer, significantly improving the condition of seagrass beds. Undoubtedly, however, additional measures to reverse seagrass destruction are still necessary.