The Pacific nation of Palau is the first country to ban sun cream that causes damages to corals and sea life.
Sun cream including common ingredients, such as oxybenzone, will not be allowed to be worn or sold in the country anymore.
Palau’s President Tommy Remengesau said as reported by the BBC: “We have to live and respect the environment because the environment is the nest of life.”
The nation is known to be a “pristine paradise” for divers and one of its lagoons, Palau’s Rock Islands is a Unesco World Heritage site.
Mr Remengesau told the AFP news agency: “When science tells us that a practice is damaging to coral reefs, to fish populations, or to the ocean itself, our people take note and our visitors do too.
“Toxic sunscreen chemicals have been found throughout Palau’s critical habitats, and in the tissues of our most famous creatures. We don’t mind being the first nation to ban these chemicals, and we will do our part to spread the word.”
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