Maheera Munir<\/p>\n
The Red Sea is the shortest geographical linkage be\u00adtween the Bab al-Mandeb and the Suez Canal, connecting the Middle East and Africa to the Indian Ocean. It trans\u00adports around 6.2 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum daily and ac\u00adcounts for 40% of in\u00adternational trade annu\u00adally. This speaks volumes about the strategic value of the Red Sea. However, the Houthi attacks on the Western commercial shipping in the Red Sea in protest of the Israeli military operations in Gaza have escalated tensions in the region. Coupled with the US and UK-led airstrikes on Yemen, the Red Sea is facing a grave crisis.
\nThis has become a pressing geo\u00adpolitical concern not only due to its negative impacts on global maritime trade but also owing to its far-reaching implications for the environment. The clashes be\u00adtween the Houthis and the West are exacerbating already acute environmental risks, posing irre\u00adversible damage to the oceans.
\nThe recent Houthi missile attack against a UK-owned bulk freight\u00ader, Rubymar, transporting 21,000 metric tonnes of ammonium-phos\u00adphate-sulfate fertiliser, implies the worst ecological havoc the region has witnessed to date. In addition to the fertiliser, more than 7,000 barrels of oil from the freighter are also likely to end up in the waters of this region. According to mari\u00adtime experts, dumping such a vast amount of fertiliser into the ocean will lead to drastic algal blooms. The excessive growth of algae blocks sunlight and creates dead zones in the ocean due to oxygen deficiency, making the survival of marine life close to impossible. Fer\u00adtilisers also contain toxic chemicals which are harmful to marine life.
\nOther than that, this oil and fer\u00adtiliser contamination will disrupt the food security and livelihoods of the fishing communities along the Red Sea coast of Yemen, and over time, other coastal areas in the region. Thus, sea pollution does not only impact marine life but can jeopardise the very sur\u00advival of human life in the region.
\nIn addition to immediate threats to the Red Sea region, the crisis can have long-term implications for the Western Indian Ocean Re\u00adgion. The damage to the oceans, which impacts marine life and the wider ecosystem, will eventually escalate the climate crisis, posing critical threats to other regions with geographical proximity be\u00adfore they expand across the globe.
\nMoreover, with the drought-stricken Panama Canal, the Black Sea blockade amid the Russia-Ukraine war, and the Red Sea un\u00adable to support secure shipping operations, the majority of the shipping traffic is redirected to\u00adwards South Africa\u2019s Cape of Good Hope, which adds to the environ\u00admental challenges. This route in\u00adcurs an additional $1 million in fuel costs and longer transit times. This increased fuel consumption and elongated transit routes translate into greater risks for accidental oil spillage and hundreds of tonnes of extra CO2 emissions, resulting in increased carbon intensity and fur\u00adther deterioration of the climate.
\nRealistically, the cessation of hostilities in Gaza would mark an end to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, which is important for avert\u00ading these negative impacts on global maritime trade as well as protecting the environment. How\u00adever, Israel\u2019s continued atrocities against Palestinians despite the UNSC resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire is preventing the global community from real\u00adising the environmental catastro\u00adphe unfolding in the Red Sea.
\nAddressing this maritime di\u00adsaster necessitates the collabora\u00adtion of key regional stakeholders, including Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, other African states, and na\u00adtions within the Indian Ocean Re\u00adgion, such as India and Pakistan.
\nThese stakeholders must exert pressure on shipping companies to adhere to the maritime regula\u00adtions of the International Maritime Organisation to reduce oil spillage, mitigate carbon emissions, and improve maritime security.
\nMoreover, as Pakistan has been quite vocal on the Israel-Gaza war in the UN General Assembly, Pakistan must also raise its voice on the det\u00adrimental environmental impact of the Red Sea crisis at the UN forum.
\nIn the regional context, Pakistan must cooperate with the African states for the effective implemen\u00adtation of the maritime securi\u00adty measures listed in the Djibou\u00adti Code of Conduct and the Jeddah Amendment. It will help advance maritime security and strengthen regional collaboration in mitigat\u00ading environmental challenges in the Western Indian Ocean region.
\nFurthermore, the Arabian Sea largely bears the brunt of the en\u00advironmental disaster building up in the Red Sea and the wider In\u00addian Ocean. Pakistan must re\u00adalise the severity of the threat im\u00admediately. Domestically, Pakistan should establish and expand ma\u00adrine protected areas where fishing and other activities are regulated to conserve marine ecosystems. Also, Pakistan could promote sus\u00adtainable fishing practices, respon\u00adsible waste disposal, and the re\u00adduction of single-use plastics to prevent devastating humanitarian consequences in the longer run.
\nAll in all, the complex geopoliti\u00adcal landscape of the Middle East is not only undermining regional sta\u00adbility and maritime security but is also threatening the environment. The need for regional cooperation, focused diplomacy, and implemen\u00adtation of international law cannot be overstressed in this fragile situ\u00adation. Only through multilateral di\u00adalogue, constructive engagement, and end of violence can the Mid\u00addle East progress towards peace and stability and the Red Sea crisis be put to a halt. Essentially, it will lead towards environmental sus\u00adtainability and human security.
\nThe writer is a researcher at the Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies (CASS), Lahore, Pakistan. She can be reached at info@casslhr.com
\nCourtesy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Maheera Munir The Red Sea is the shortest geographical linkage be\u00adtween the Bab al-Mandeb and the Suez Canal, connecting the Middle East and Africa to the Indian Ocean. It trans\u00adports around 6.2 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum daily and ac\u00adcounts for 40% of in\u00adternational trade annu\u00adally. This speaks volumes about the strategic value […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[13348],"class_list":["post-399225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-article","tag-maheera-munir"],"yoast_head":"\n