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Beach pollution causes contamination and degradation of coastal areas and their surrounding ecosystems. It is the result of both human actions and natural occurrences. If the growth rate of human-generated solid waste is high compared to the rate at which they degrade, the effect would be alarming, and there will be a gradual accumulation of litter along the coastline and the seafloor. Marine debris, improper waste disposal, sewage and wastewater discharge, oil spills and agricultural runoff, and industrial discharges are familiar sources of beach pollution. They damage the coastline around the world. The impacts of climate change are also worth mentioning. Treated or untreated sewage and wastewater discharge can contaminate coastal waters. These things affect beach quality by releasing harmful pathogens and chemicals.

Beach Pollution
Education/ awareness

•  Inadequate signage or information about beach rules and environmental protection
•  Limited understanding of beach echo system
•  Low participation in beach cleanup and conservation
•  Lack of public awareness

Materials

•  Untreated sewage
•  Docking site for vessels
•  Debris from flooding
•  Non-biodegradable materials

Lack of regulations

•  Lack of collaboration and coordination
•  Inadequate funding
•  Improper enforcement of pollution controls
•  Weak or insufficient environmental regulations

Machine

•  Recycling equipment
•  Jet skies
•  Boat

Environmental factors

•  Wave actions
•  Natural disasters
•  Harmful algal blooms and marine debris
•  Erosion and sedimentation
•  Hurricane/ storm/ rain
•  Runoff from agriculture

Waste management

•  Illegal dumping and improper disposal practices
•  Political interference
•  Inefficient monitoring system
•  Lack of recycling facilities
•  Inadequate waste collection/ disposal infrastructure

  Human activities

•  Excessive industrial pollutants
•  Overcrowding/ extreme tourism activities
•  Public littering
•  Desensitization of waste protocol
•  Oil spills from boat/ maritime activities

This fishbone gives us a visual impression of systematic root cause analysis for any problem. It offers an idea of the primary and related causes responsible for coastline contamination and piling of debris on the beach. You can look at this fishbone analysis to understand the situation you have with pollution so that you can take the necessary steps to control it.

Who should use the Beach Pollution template?

• Anyone who wants to examine the reasons for beach or marine pollution.

Why use this template?

• Quickly visualize the common causes of pollution along the coastline
• Easily reuse this or design your new templates for problem-solving in smartQED
• Design your templates for different types of problems and incident analysis in smartQED.

Curated from community experience and public sources:

• https://stratmatters.wordpress.com/tag/beach-pollution/
• https://www.unep.org/beatpollution/forms-pollution/marine-and-coastal#:~:text=The%20major%20sea%2Dbased%20sources,public%20health%20and%20waste%20disposal