by Maria Spiliopoulou
ATHENS, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Greek seas and coastline, a national asset for the Mediterranean country, are threatened by the plastics pollution and climate change, local experts warned on the occasion of the World Oceans Day marked on Friday.
Although Greece has no coasts on oceans, environment conservation organizations and scientists reminded Greeks that the healthy state of the oceans concerns all citizens of the world.
"We celebrate World Oceans Day to remind everyone of the major role the oceans have in everyday life. They are the lungs of our planet, providing most of the oxygen we breathe," a UN note read.
As the main theme for the 2018 World Oceans Day was the plastic pollution, WWF focused on this challenge for the Mediterranean Sea.
In a report released for the World Oceans Day it warned that it was turning into a sea of plastic which threatens marine life and human health, as the micro plastics enter the food chain.
Some 300,000 tons of plastic end up in the Mediterranean Sea each year, according to the WWF report which calls in particular Turkey, Spain, Italy, France, Greece, Egypt and Algeria to take measures.
"If we wish to keep saying that we are a country with unique marine wealth and tradition, we should act now," Achilleas Plitharas, head of WWF Hellas public awareness programs, said in a press release.
Greeks recycle only 20 percent of the plastics they use, while half of the litter items found on Greek beaches are plastics, according to the report.
According to WWF Hellas in addition to the plastics challenge, the impact of climate change is already evident, as the 60 percent of fish species in the Greek seas are affected.
Due to its extensive coastline which spreads along more than 16,000 kilometers, Greece is extremely vulnerable to the sea level rise linked to climate change, Athanassios Argyriou, Professor of the Physics faculty at the University of Patras noted in a recent interview with Greek national news agency AMNA.
With sea levels predicted to rise between 0.2 and 2 meters over the next 50 years, many areas on Greece's coastline will be directly affected, unless the international community implements immediately drastic policies to avert the adverse scenario, the Greek scientist said.
