Plastic threatens migratory species in Asia-Pacific: UN

A 2017 filepic of wild elephants rummaging through garbage dumped at an open ground in a village in Sri Lanka. — AFP

From endangered freshwater dolphins drowned by discarded fishing nets to elephants scavenging through rubbish, migratory species are among the most vulnerable to plastic pollution, a UN report on the Asia-Pacific region said on Aug 31, calling for greater action to cut waste.

Plastic particles have infiltrated even the most remote and seemingly pristine regions of the planet, with tiny fragments discovered inside fish in the deepest recesses of the ocean and peppering Arctic sea ice.