World Seagrass Day 2024: Date, theme, history and significance

‘World Seagrass Day’ is celebrated every year on 1 March. This day is celebrated to raise awareness about seagrass and its important functions in the marine ecosystem.

Theme of World Seagrass Day 2024:

• Every year a certain theme is set to celebrate World Seagrass Day. The theme of World Seagrass Day for the year 2024 has been set as “Healthy Seagrass, Healthy Planet”.

About Seagrass: 

• There are plants like seagrass that live close to the sea. Seagrass are the only flowering plants that grow in marine environments. There are more than 60 species of seagrass in the world. They act as the best carbon sinks and provide food for marine life.
• Seagrass is a flowering sea plant. It is present along coastlines all over the world. It serves as an important source of food for marine life. This helps to stabilize water quality.

History of World Seagrass Day:

• It was declared by the United Nations General Assembly after a resolution was passed by Sri Lanka to emphasize the conservation of seagrass in the marine environment.
• On 23 May 2022, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared 1 March as World Seagrass Day. It is celebrated annually by UNGA. The UNEP was also invited to facilitate the observance of the day. In this way the first World Seagrass Day was organized in 2023.
• Seagrasses evolved about 100 million years ago when most plants were also found under water.
• It has adapted to live and reproduce in various marine environments for its growth and development and to spread its pollen through water.

Significance of World Seagrass Day:

• Celebrated to raise awareness about seagrass and its important functions in the marine ecosystem.
• Seagrass plays an important role in maintaining the marine ecosystem. Different types of seagrass are found on beaches around the world, except Antarctica.
• From common eelgrass, shoal grass, star grass and other similar grasses, seagrass provides an important source of food for marine life. It also provides significant environmental, social and economic benefits.
• Fish, turtles, manatees, plankton, and even sharks feed on seagrass, among other things. Seagrass also serves as nursery habitat for commercially harvested fish. It helps in improving the quality of water in the environment in which it lives.
• There are currently 72 species of seagrass recorded in the world, covering an area of approximately 300,000 square kilometers in 159 countries.
• Seagrass protects us from the thought of environmental disturbances. Without seagrass they would certainly be desolate, which would affect every living thing on the planet.
• Like most marine resources, seagrass is currently under threat due to human activity.
• A UN report states that up to 7% of seagrass habitats are being lost worldwide each year. This is equivalent to one football field of seagrass being destroyed every 30 minutes.