SDG 14: Life Below Water Dynamic Briefing Generated 09 October 2020 for Marco Antonio Gonzalez
SDG 14: Life Below Water Last review on Tue 03 September 2019
About This dynamic briefing draws on the collective intelligence of the Forum network to explore the key trends, interconnections and interdependencies between industry, regional and global issues. In the briefing, you will find a visual representation of this topic (Transformation Map – interactive version available online via intelligence.weforum.org ), an overview and the key trends affecting it, along with summaries and links to the latest research and analysis on each of the trends. Briefings for countries also include the relevant data from the Forum’s benchmarking indices. The content is continuously updated with the latest thinking of leaders and experts from across the Forum network, and with insights from Forum meetings, projects communities and activities.
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Executive summary This Transformation Map provides a contextual briefing for one of the Sustainable Development Goals the United Nations’ framework for making real progress towards a more sustainable future by the year 2030 - by mapping related strategic issues and interdependencies. The content, including attached key issue headings and texts, is drawn from expert- and machine-curated knowledge on the World Economic Forum’s Strategic Intelligence platform; it is not a reproduction of the official text of the SDG. The UN introduces this Goal as follows: 'The world’s oceans – their temperature, chemistry, currents and life – drive global systems that make the Earth habitable for humankind. Our rainwater, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, much of our food, and even the oxygen in the air we breathe, are all ultimately provided and regulated by the sea. Throughout history, oceans and seas have been vital conduits for trade and transportation. Careful management of this essential global resource is a key feature of a sustainable future. However, at the current time, there is a continuous deterioration of coastal waters owing to pollution and ocean acidification is having an adversarial effect on the functioning of ecosystems and biodiversity. This is also negatively impacting small scale fisheries. Marine protected areas need to be effectively managed and well-resourced and regulations need to be put in place to reduce overfishing, marine pollution and ocean acidification.'
1. Pollution and the Ocean The ocean has become a receptacle for the world’s pollution.
2. Mass Extinction Ocean life is sitting on an extinction cliff.
3. Human Well-Being and the Ocean The fates of the ocean and humanity are increasingly intertwined.
4. Climate Change Impacts The ocean is extremely vulnerable in the face of climate change.
5. Shifting Ocean Governance Current regulation does not adequately address current challenges.
6. Overfishing Fish are being removed from the sea faster than they can be replaced.
7. Emerging Ocean Technologies New opportunities for ocean-based industries are emerging, and so are challenges.
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Pollution and the Ocean The ocean has become a receptacle for the world’s pollution The most harmful ocean pollutant is - far and away - carbon pollution. In the last decade, the ocean has absorbed nearly a third of the carbon dioxide emitted by industrial activity. This has slowed climate change, but at great cost to ocean health. When carbon dioxide is absorbed by seawater it increases acidity levels, and threatens ocean life ranging from the microscopic snails that feed salmon to the coral reefs that support tourism. Plastics are another particularly insidious form of ocean pollution; according to the non-profit Ocean Conservancy, coastal nations generate 275 million metric tons of plastic waste every year (and 8 million metric tons of plastic enters the ocean). The Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the World Economic Forum jointly predicted that there will be more plastic than fish (by weight) in the ocean by 2050, and the United Nations Environment Programme has recorded more than 817 species of ocean animal that have encountered plastic pollution. Plastic pollution has also been detected in seafood sold for human consumption; a 2015 study by a team of University of California, Davis and Hasanuddin University researchers flagged man-made debris in 25% of seafood market fish, and 67% of all species sampled in the US. According to a report published in the journal Science Advances in 2017, only 9% of plastic waste has been recycled globally - highlighting a need to re-think design and regulation in a way that incentivizes re-use. Potential solutions include policies that curb the use of single-use plastics like bags or straws, or improving the capture of plastics that leak out of waste systems. Researchers have found that just 10 of the world’s rivers are the source of 90% of the plastic pollution entering the ocean, pointing to a possible focus for efforts to curb plastic pollution as a matter of policy and industrial reform - by stopping pollution at its source. Another major source of ocean pollution is the runoff of fertilizers used in agriculture, which are carried down rivers into the ocean where they create population explosions of algae and bacteria. This in turn depletes oxygen levels, killing fish and creating inhospitable conditions for marine life. As a result, more than 400 low-oxygen “dead zones” have been documented in the ocean worldwide. The spread of these areas could be limited, in a way that also saves money for the agriculture industry, by deploying a more strategic and responsible application of fertilizers. Related insight areas: Climate Change, Chemical and Materials Industry, Behavioural Sciences, Agriculture, Food and Beverage, Environment and Natural Resource Security, Water, Plastics and the Environment, Circular Economy, Retail, Consumer Goods and Lifestyle
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Latest knowledge Science Daily
The Conversation
Seagrass restoration speeds recovery of ecosystem services
The ocean is swimming in plastic and it's getting worse – we need connected global policies now
07 October 2020
17 September 2020 The reintroduction of seagrass into Virginia's coastal bays is one of the great success stories in marine restoration. Now, a long-term monitoring study shows this success extends far beyond a single plant species, rippling out to engender substantial increases in fish and invertebrate abundance, water clarity, and the trapping of pollutioncausing carbon and nitrogen.
It seems you cannot go a day without reading about the impact of plastic in our oceans, and for good reason. The equivalent of a garbage truck of plastic waste enters the sea every minute, and this increases every day. If we do nothing, by 2040 the amount of plastic entering the ocean will triple from 13 million tonnes this year, to 29 million tonnes in 2040. That is 50kg of waste plastic entering the ocean for every metre of coastline. Add to that almost all the plastic that has entered the ocean is still there since it takes centuries to break down.
Frontiers
Manila River Mouths Act as Temporary Sinks for Macroplastic Pollution 07 October 2020
World Resources Institute
Using the Ocean As a Tool for Global Economic Recovery
The Philippines is suggested to be one of the world's main contributors to global marine plastic pollution. Several rivers in the Manila metropolitan area are assumed to be main pathways of land-based plastic waste into the ocean. However, these model estimates remain uncertain due to a lack of field data. The main goal of this study was therefore to collect field data on floating macroplastic flux and polymer category in three of Manila's main rivers: the Meycauayan, Tullahan and Pasig. We measured plastic flux, item polymer category, and flow velocity at two locations per river during an 11-day period. Each river was measured close to the river mouth, and several kilometer upstream. The results showed no significant difference between the plastic flux in upstream and downstream flow direction at the three river mouths.
15 September 2020 A new report commissioned by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy proposes a roadmap for economic recovery from COVID-19 that utilizes opportunities in the ocean economy and ensures investments help catalyze progress towards a sustainable ocean economy. In Depth News
An Increasingly Crowded Ocean Calls for a New Role for Transnational Corporations 12 September 2020
Frontiers
The Paleoecology of Microplastic Contamination
The MV Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef in Mauritius in late July 2020, leaking 1,000 tonnes of oil into the crystal blue waters of a lagoon, threatening mangrove, seagrass and mudflat habitats. Since then, dozens of dead dolphins and porpoises have washed ashore. Anger has grown and sadness has deepened. This is a different story – it starts two years ago in the same place in mauritius, and i am walking down a muddy path in a mangrove forest.
24 September 2020 While the ubiquity and rising abundance of microplastic contamination is becoming increasingly well-known, there is very little empirical data for the scale of their historical inputs to the environment. For many pollutants, where long-term monitoring is absent, paleoecological approaches (the use of naturally-accumulating archives to assess temporal trends) have been widely applied to determine such historical patterns, but to date this has been undertaken only very rarely for microplastics, despite the enormous potential to identify the scale and extent of inputs as well as rates of change.
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Mass Extinction Ocean life is sitting on an extinction cliff As far as life on land is concerned, we are undergoing what scientists have dubbed the “Sixth Mass Extinction� - as human-caused extinction rates approach levels last experienced during the era that saw the end of many dinosaur lineages. The situation in the ocean is a bit brighter, at least for the moment. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, about 17 ocean animal extinctions have occurred in the past 500 years (during the same period, more than 500 land animal extinctions have occurred due to human activity). A report published in the journal Science projected that rates of extinction in the ocean could increase dramatically, however - particularly as climate change accelerates. Ocean animals that are under threat include Monk Seals (both the Hawaiian monk seal and the Mediterranean monk seal), Blue Whales (which were depleted in the early 1900s), and all six species of sea turtle found in US waters. Without a change to business as usual in ocean management, we may soon initiate an additional Sixth Mass Extinction in the ocean. An industrial revolution is beginning in the ocean, with parallels to the industrial revolutions that have taken place on land. This involves a rapid expansion of marine industries such as ocean farming, marine energy, and marine transport - and a nearly five-fold increase in the amount of ocean area being explored for deep sea mining. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, by May 2018 the International Seabed Authority had issued 29 contracts for the exploration of deep-sea mineral deposits, and more than 1.5 million square kilometres of international seabed (about the size of Mongolia) had been set aside for mineral exploration in the Pacific and Indian oceans and along the mid-Atlantic ridge. Mining in international waters is expected to begin in 2025, according to the IUCN. On land, animal extinction rates began accelerating rapidly during the first two industrial revolutions, when there was much less awareness of the link between human health and the environment. Now, the ocean presents an opportunity to intelligently move a marine industrial revolution forward without associated spikes in animal extinction that compromise nourishing resources. Related insight areas: Fourth Industrial Revolution, Environment and Natural Resource Security, Global Health, Biodiversity, Sustainable Development, Supply Chain and Transport, Mining and Metals, Future of Economic Progress
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Latest knowledge Frontiers
United Nations Environment
I Am Ocean: Expanding the Narrative of Ocean Science Through Inclusive Storytelling
Shaping the Trends of Our Time 17 September 2020 Published today, a new report, Shaping the Trend of Our Time, by the UN Economist Network, analyses five global megatrends - climate change; demographic shifts, especially population ageing; urbanization; digital technologies; and inequalities –that are affecting economic, social and environmental outcomes. In this interview, Pushpam Kumar, Chief Environmental Economist for the United Nations Environment Programme (….
06 October 2020 Over the past twenty years of my career, writing and producing science and natural history content for such broadcasters as PBS/NATURE, National Geographic, Discovery and the BBC, I have served to tell another's story, whether human, animal or ecosystem. Frontiers
Microplastic Pollution in Deep-Sea Sediments From the Great Australian Bight
United Nations Environment
Protecting nature is entirely within humanity’s reach. The work must start now.
05 October 2020 Interest in understanding the extent of plastic and specifically microplastic pollution has increased on a global scale. However, we still know relatively little about how much plastic pollution has found its way into the deeper areas of the world’s oceans. The extent of microplastic pollution in deep-sea sediments remains poorly quantified, but this knowledge is imperative for predicting the distribution and potential impacts of global plastic pollution. To address this knowledge gap, we quantified microplastics in deep-sea sediments from the Great Australian Bight using an adapted density separation and dye fluorescence technique. We analyzed sediment cores from six locations (1–6 cores each, n = 16 total samples) ranging in depth from 1,655 to 3,062 m and offshore distances ranging from 288 to 356 km from the Australian coastline.
15 September 2020 Statement prepared for delivery at the launch of the fifth Global Biodiversity Outlook. We have known for a long time that biodiversity, and the services it provides, have been in decline. It is on this background that ten years ago, the international community adopted the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020. The goal of the plan, and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets, was to halt biodiversity loss and ensure that…. World Economic Forum
This Mexican reef came back from the dead 11 September 2020 Yale Environment 360
The Science Breaker
As Oceans Warm, Some Species Are Moving in the Wrong Direction
Why so aggressive? Bringing the past into the present
10 September 2020
23 September 2020
In recent decades, ocean species from whales to corals have begun to shift poleward in search of cooler waters. New research finds that many sedentary marine species — including snails, worms, and mussels — are actually being transported in the wrong direction. The study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change , found that as water temperatures climb, benthic species in the northwest Atlantic Ocean are spawning earlier in the year, when currents travel southward. As a result, their larvae are being carried into warmer waters rather than cooler ones, threatening their survival and shrinking their ranges. The larvae then grow into adults in these warmer areas and get trapped in a feedback loop, unable to reach more habitable regions.
Animals change their aggressive behaviour across contexts, potentially due to lingering effects of past experiences. We tested the aggression in fruit flies before and after they were placed in a vial for 4-days, varying the group composition and the intensity of food competition. Male aggression changed after the 4-day period, showing how specific past experiences can alter future aggressiveness.
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Human Well-Being and the Ocean The fates of the ocean and humanity are increasingly intertwined The ocean is more than a beautiful home to inspiring wildlife; it is a critically important source of nutritious food, income, jobs, and global stability. The ocean yields $2.5 trillion annually in goods and services, according to a “conservative” estimate published in 2017 by the consultancy BCG, making it equivalent to one of the largest single economies in the world. The ocean provides millions of jobs in fishing, aquaculture, tourism, energy, transportation, and biotechnology. The value of ocean resources is particularly important for poor countries. Fishery net exports from developing countries alone have been valued at $37 billion, or more than value of meat, tobacco, rice, and sugar exports combined, according to a report published in 2018 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Wealthier nations are also dependent on ocean resources. The collapse of cod stocks along the east coast of Canada, for example, sparked the largest mass layoffs in the country’s history and prompted large-scale migration from affected provinces. Canada spent almost $2 billion between 1994 and 1998 on aid and recovery programs aimed at coping with this social and ecological disaster. The ocean acts as a massive refrigerator of free-range, highly nutritious food fit for human consumption. According to the FAO, fish provide more than 3.1 billion people with at least 20% of their animal protein, and serve as a critically important source of nutrients essential to good health like iron, zinc, and omega-3 fatty acids. Researchers estimate that if current trajectories for fishery decline persist, 845 million people could become at risk of diseases associated with malnutrition. Ocean health and human health intersect in other important, but sometimes less obvious ways. Fishery declines have been linked to human trafficking when, for example, child and slave labour is used to capture increasingly rare fish. Another example: some analysts suggest that piracy in Somalia and West Africa can partially be explained by disenfranchised fishermen turning to violence in order to protect decreasing offshore fish stocks. In situations where overfishing has depleted potentially lucrative species, organized crime has also escalated. In Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, for example, it is believed that drug cartels may be involved in an illicit industry that is both depleting a critically-endangered fish and threatening to trigger the extinction of the Vaquita (a small porpoise). Related insight areas: International Trade and Investment, Future of Economic Progress, The Great Reset, Global Health, Human Rights, Mental Health, Future of Food, Water, Environment and Natural Resource Security, Workforce and Employment, Illicit Economy
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Latest knowledge Inside Climate News
Harvard Business School Working Knowledge
Droughts That Start Over the Ocean? They’re Often Worse Than Those That Form Over Land
Is Happiness at Work Really Attainable? 15 September 2020
07 October 2020 Francesca Gino discuss whether Henco Logistics' focus on employee happiness can endure through the Mexican company's rapid growth and leadership transition.
Droughts usually evoke visions of cracked earth, withered crops, dried-up rivers and dust storms. Droughts can also form over oceans, and when they then move ashore they are often more intense and longer-lasting than purely land-born dry spells. A Sept.
SpringerNature
The No DICE Carbon Price
Parametric study to enhance performance of wastewater treatment process, by reverse osmosisphotovoltaic system
30 September 2020
11 September 2020
Project Syndicate
If there is a single issue that matters more than any other in the broader debate about climate change, it is how to price carbon dioxide emissions. The battle against catastrophic global warming will have already been lost if those advocating a low figure come out on top.
Abstract The presence of certain toxic pollutants in water and wastewater such as chlorophenol must be eliminated, as they have negative effects on human health and the environment. Based on the state of the art, the reverse osmosis (RO) coupled with photovoltaic (PV) was chosen for wastewater treatment. The aim of this article is to evaluate the optimal operating conditions of RO-PV system that maximize chlorophenol rejection with minimal energy consumption. Two complementary approaches were followed combining physical models with statistical ones. The physical model used for the simulation is based on the equations of diffusion and matter balance. After demonstrating the reliability of this model, it was used for parametric sensitivity analysis, performing numerical experiments using a program developed under Python.
United Nations Environment
Multilateral action for a green postCOVID-19 recovery 22 September 2020 Statement prepared for delivery at the 2020 Kapuchinski Development Lecture organized by the Earth Institute of Columbia University in cooperation with the Global Masters for Development Practice and the UN Sustainable Development Network.
United Nations Environment
United in Science report: Climate change has not stopped for COVID19
World Resources Institute
The Nature of Nature: A Conversation with Enric Sala
09 September 2020
17 September 2020
New York/Geneva, 9 September 2020 - Climate change has not stopped for COVID19. Greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere are at record levels and continue to increase. Emissions are heading in the direction of pre-pandemic levels following a temporary decline caused by the lockdown and economic slowdown. The world is set to see its warmest five years on record – in a trend which is likely to continue - and is….
Join Dr. Enric Sala, National Geographic explorer-inresidence and leading conservationist and Dr. Andrew Steer, WRI President and CEO for a fascinating discussion on why we need nature and all of its species and habitats. In his new book, The Nature of Nature: Why We Need the Wild, Enric crafts a love letter to the planet through stories and imagery. He explores how human health and livelihoods are at risk from our broken relationship with nature but shares real world solutions to turn this around.
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Climate Change Impacts The ocean is extremely vulnerable in the face of climate change The ocean is being hit hard by climate change in the form of warming, acidification, and oxygen depletion. The 2019 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report on the ocean and cryosphere found that all of these effects were intensifying. A future ocean that is hotter, more acidic, and a more difficult place to breathe presents serious challenges. The ocean has absorbed more than 90% of the heat produced via greenhouse gas-associated warming since the 1970s - and, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2019 was the secondwarmest year on record. Ocean life is largely accustomed to stable temperatures, and is vulnerable to related changes. Coral reefs, for example, which can house millions of species, are being bleached from overheating. Back-to-back extreme ocean heat waves in 2016 and 2017 caused massive bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia, killing half of its coral. Potential related economic impacts, not to mention environmental impacts, are significant - a 2013 Deloitte study found that the Great Barrier Reef was generating about $7 billion in revenue for Australia, largely via tourism. As the ocean warms, its oxygen levels drop. Oxygen content in the ocean declined by an estimated 2% global average between 1960 and 2010, according to a study published in the journal Nature, and IPCC scientists predict there could be a further 3% to 4% decrease by the end of the 21st century. Since the first industrial revolution, the acidity of the ocean has increased by roughly 30% as carbon dioxide dissolves in marine waters; this makes it more difficult for organisms to form healthy skeletons and shells. Scientists from the University of British Columbia's Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries have predicted that if climate change continues unchecked, global fisheries may suffer $10 billion in annual revenue loss by 2050. Global warming-driven sea level rise may be the most impactful form of ocean-related climate change. Scientists predict that half the population in cities with more than 10 million inhabitants will be affected by sea level rise if climate change is not slowed; Miami, Shanghai, and dozens of other cities have already suffered related effects. Climate change must be aggressively checked in order to enable natural adaptation and evolution, and the best way to do this is to confront the difficult task of directly reducing global carbon emissions. Related insight areas: Environment and Natural Resource Security, Global Governance, Global Risks, Biodiversity, Arctic, Climate Change, Cities and Urbanization
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Latest knowledge Project Syndicate
The Conversation
The Plastics Pandemic
One of Earth's most biodiverse habitats lies off the Scottish coast – but climate change could wipe it out
07 October 2020 Although the world's attention is understandably focused on COVID-19, we must not lose sight of longer-term priorities such as reducing plastics pollution, which the pandemic has exacerbated. The imperative is clear: Invest in policies and infrastructure to protect a resource that is vital to our economies and our very survival.
15 September 2020 Maerl beds stud the ocean floor like underwater brambles. They’re pastel pink and, despite their knobbly appearance, made up of a red seaweed. This algae has a limestone skeleton which gives it a complex threedimensional structure that is quite unlike the slimy seaweeds you may be more familiar with. In fact, the closest thing to a maerl bed you’ve probably heard of is a coral reef. Like tropical reefs, the seaweeds in maerl beds interlock as they grow, creating nooks and crannies that serve as the perfect home for a huge range of sealife.
RAND Corporation
Developing Recovery Options for Puerto Rico's Economic and Disaster Recovery Plan 30 September 2020
United Nations Environment
South-South cooperation to tackle climate change
This report summarizes the strategic planning process in support of the government of Puerto Rico in its development of a congressionally mandated recovery plan.
11 September 2020 For the International Day for South-South Cooperation on 12 September, we follow a pioneering, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)-supported project that’s using nature to adapt to climate change in three ecosystems – the coasts of Seychelles, the mountains of Nepal and the deserts of Mauritania. The Seychelles, a nation known for exquisite beaches and turquoise waters, has been described by some as a sinking….
United Nations Environment
Streaming a message: Flipflopi to sail across Lake Victoria in another historic journey 22 September 2020 The Flipflopi, the world’s first sailing boat (dhow) made entirely from plastic waste collected from towns and beaches in Kenya, is headed to Lake Victoria to raise awareness of the pollution plaguing the region’s most critical freshwater ecosystem Along with the initiative is a petition calling on all East African Community Member States to reach a regional consensus on banning nonessential single-use plastics The….
Australian Strategic Policy Institute
China expands its island-building strategy into the Pacific 10 September 2020 The world knows the Republic of Kiribati as a very lowlying nation in the mid-Pacific that is in danger of inundation as the climate changes and sea levels rise.
EOS
Most of the Arctic’s Microscopic Algae Are Chilling Under Ice 21 September 2020 New modeling has produced a surprising result: Most photosynthesis in the Arctic Ocean happens under the ice rather than in the open ocean. Marine phytoplankton are the solar panels of the sea, soaking up the Sun’s rays to make energy that powers ocean ecosystems. These single-celled organisms photosynthesize like plants, sucking carbon out of the atmosphere and producing about half of the world’s oxygen. Scientists consider phytoplankton to be the ocean’s most important primary producers, because they take energy directly from the Sun and make it available to the rest of ocean life in such vast quantities. The role of phytoplankton as the ocean’s favorite vegetarian snack means scientists can learn a lot about an ecosystem by measuring annual phytoplankton blooms.
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Shifting Ocean Governance Current regulation does not adequately address current challenges The ocean has always been difficult to govern; it covers 90% of the habitable space on Earth, creating an immense, supranational domain with unique regulatory challenges. Unlike most natural assets on land, many ocean resources (such as the bluefin tuna that is prized for sushi) regularly swim across jurisdictional boundaries. In addition, damage incurred within one nation’s jurisdiction (like plastic pollution) can impact nations many thousands of kilometres away. Meanwhile climate change is driving seafood stocks towards the planet’s poles in a bid to escape warming waters. This can create worrisome volatility in less-developed regions, as fish travel out of the reach of countries that need them most. Unfortunately, policies that can properly address these issues have been deferred. Two-thirds of the ocean is located on the high seas, or outside of the jurisdiction of any single country. The United Nations has committed to developing a first-of-its-kind, legally-binding treaty to better manage biodiversity and resources on the high seas by 2020 - if it is successfully implemented, it could be a significant boon for ocean biodiversity. The cross-border migration of valuable seafood can deprive developing economies of resources and spur regional conflict. Research published in the journal Science in 2018 suggested that as many as 70 countries will see new fish stocks in their national waters by the year 2100 as a result of climate change. New international agreements are needed to govern the sharing of fishery resources, and to prevent countries from overharvesting stocks when they realize assets are migrating beyond their borders. One positive related development has been the establishment of marine protected areas, which can buy time for at-risk ecosystems to better adapt to climate change. However, researchers at the University of York have concluded that about 30% of the ocean needs to be placed within protected areas in order to meet ocean health management goals - though just over 7% is currently designated as a protected area. The United Kingdom has protected an area of ocean larger than the country’s own land mass, and Chile, the US, and Kiribati have established protected areas that are collectively larger than Italy. As other countries seek to catch up, more must be done to ensure the effectiveness of existing protections. Related insight areas: Geopolitics, Geo-economics, Green New Deals, European Union, Environment and Natural Resource Security, Climate Change, United States, Global Governance, International Security, United Kingdom, Sustainable Development, Mining and Metals
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Latest knowledge Mother Jones
Inside Climate News
Fish species communicate with one another in coral reefs. Can they save these threatened ecosystems?
Changing Patterns of Ocean Salt Levels Give Scientists Clues to Extreme Weather on Land
04 October 2020
14 September 2020
Among the many egregious scientific inaccuracies in Finding Nemo —fish can talk, sharks form support groups, turtles wax their shells —perhaps none is more glaring than the conceit of fish maintaining friendships.
New mapping of salt concentrations in the world's oceans confirms what physics and climate models have long suggested: Global warming is intensifying Earth's water cycle , speeding up the rate at which water evaporates in one area and falls as rain or snow somewhere else. That intensification has enormous implications because it worsens droughts and increases extreme rainstorms and flooding. It has been hard to measure, because data is sparse across vast expanses of the oceans, which cover more than 70 percent of the planet's surface. A study published Sept. 9 in the Journal of Climate, however, paints a much clearer picture of how much, and exactly where, the water cycle is changing, by tracking how salt concentrations have changed in the oceans over the last 50 years.
Frontiers
Impacts of Marine Litter on Mediterranean Reef Systems: From Shallow to Deep Waters 29 September 2020 Biogenic reefs are known worldwide to play a key role in benthic ecosystems, enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem functioning at every level, from shallow to deeper waters. Unfortunately, several stressors threaten these vulnerable systems. The widespread presence of marine litter represents one of these. The harmful effects of marine litter on several organisms are known so far. However, only in the last decade, there was increasingly scientific and public attention on the impacts on reef organisms and habitats caused by litter accumulating on the seafloor. This review aims to synthesize literature and discuss the state of current knowledge on the interactions between marine litter and reef organisms in a strongly polluted basin, the Mediterranean Sea.
Frontiers
A Global Overview of Restorative Shellfish Mariculture 11 September 2020 Farming of marine organisms (mariculture) represented 36% of global aquaculture, with mollusks representing 58.8% in live weight. Mollusk populations in some locations are, however, threatened by degradation of the ecosystems and/or over-fishing. This threat is increasingly being addressed through Restorative Shellfish Mariculture (RSM), as opposed to mariculture alone. There is no general consensus in the literature on what can and cannot be considered RSM. While maximization of benefits other than provisioning services is often considered a prerequisite, in other cases the maximization of fisheries yields is prioritized.
World Economic Forum
How stronger trade rules can help us meet climate goals 22 September 2020 International trade should facilitate progress towards sustainability and environmental protection, alongside continued growth.
World Resources Institute Brookings Institution
Square Your Circle
American Leadership in Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals
08 September 2020 This guidebook aims to help companies identify the stakeholders in their supply chain and recognize the effects their transition to reuse business models may have on them. It is intended to be a guide, as part of a learning process, to ensure the transition to a reuse model, a component of the circular economy, is equitable and just. The guidebook takes companies through three steps of identifying who their stakeholders are, what effects are felt by these stakeholders, and target setting to mitigate risks to these stakeholders and identify partners to support a transition to an equitable reuse business model.
16 September 2020
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Overfishing Fish are being removed from the sea faster than they can be replaced The scientific philosopher Thomas Henry Huxley assured everyone in 1883 that it would be impossible to deplete populations of prolific fish like cod, mackerel, and herring. Within a century, he was proven wrong. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reported in 2018 that about a third of global fish stocks are overfished not least because fishing laws promote the philosophy that anything fishermen fail to harvest themselves will just be taken by others. Research published in 2016 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggested that replacing antiquated fishery governance systems with rights-based fishery management tools could increase fisheries’ collective annual profit by $53 billion. These tools can be used to allocate individual fishing rights to local fishermen and fishing communities, and their successful adoption has been documented in Australia, Iceland, and Mexico. Another issue is wasteful inefficiency; many fisheries capture, kill, and potentially discard marine species like sharks, dolphins, and sea turtles regardless of their suitability as potential food, and the damage that this causes imperils broader ecosystem health.
Related insight areas: Illicit Economy, Global Governance, Australia, Agriculture, Food and Beverage, Future of Food, Innovation, United States, European Union, Mexico, Environment and Natural Resource Security, Japan, Sustainable Development
Illegal and unreported fishing are growing problems. According to a study published in Marine Policy, up to a third of all wild seafood imported in the US is believed to be illegally caught. In the case of long-living, slow-growing marine species, a single incident of illegal fishing can set an ocean ecosystem back decades. New surveillance technologies are needed to rein in illegal fishing; one promising related development is the Agreement on Port State Measures, a global treaty intended to curb illegal fishing vessels’ access to ports. However, more countries must back the agreement. There are a variety of other ways to combat overfishing, including a closer review of the billions of dollars spent on fishery subsidies that can promote economically-irrational overfishing. Meanwhile the World Trade Organization is pushing forward negotiations for reform in line with UN Sustainable Development Goal 14.6, which aims to end harmful subsidies by 2020. Replicating the European Union’s yellow/red card program, which blocks market access to non-compliant foreign supply nations, is another option for combating illegal fishing. Controlling overfishing and illegal fishing is an increasingly critical element of safeguarding global food security - and of ensuring the health and prosperity of coastal economies.
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Latest knowledge World Economic Forum
Observer Research Foundation
This fish farm regenerates the environment around it
Subregional Security Cooperation: An Exploratory Study of India’s Approach
02 October 2020
14 September 2020 Subregional economic cooperation has become a prioritised agenda in India’s neighbourhood policy. Policymakers and scholars increasingly conceptualise subregions in the neighbourhood to promote economic and connectivity cooperation. However, the subregional notion is rarely discussed in the context of security cooperation.
Frontiers
The Global Fisheries Subsidies Divide Between Small- and Large-Scale Fisheries 29 September 2020 In 2015 the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations stipulated that certain forms of subsidies that the fishing sector receive must be prohibited. However, the global fishing sector is complex and varied, and as such there remains a need for information on the distribution of subsidies between the different regions and their subsectors. This bottom-up study therefore provides up-dated and improved analyses of the financial support fishing subsectors receive from public entities. Estimates show that of the USD 35.4 billion of global fisheries subsidies provided in 2018, 19% went to the small-scale fishing subsector (SSF), including artisanal, and subsistence fisheries. Whilst more than 80% went to the large-scale (industrial) fishing sub-sector (LSF).
Science Daily
Understanding Earth's 'deep-carbon cycle' 10 September 2020 The research by a team including Case Western Reserve University scientists focused on the "deep carbon cycle," part of the overall cycle by which carbon moves through the Earth's various systems. In simplest terms, the deep carbon cycle involves two steps: Surface carbon, mostly in the form of carbonates, is brought into the deep mantle by subducting oceanic plates at ocean trenches. World Resources Institute
Building Coastal Resilience in Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Colombia: Country Experiences with Mainstreaming Climate Adaptation
Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Governors' Seminar: Developing Asia beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic 19 September 2020
08 September 2020 United Nations Environment
This paper examines case studies from three regions— Bangladesh, Malabon City (Philippines) and Cartegana (Colombia) —that are making progress on integrating climate adaptation into planning and implementing onthe-ground actions to build coastal resilience. The enabling factors and challenges shared by these locations can serve as models and inspiration to policy makers and other stakeholders in other countries that are grappling with similar issues as they work to narrow the “implementation gap” between planning and action.
A new United Nations Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Coral Reefs 16 September 2020 New York/Nairobi, 16 September 2020 – A new, first of its kind fund to protect coral reefs was officially launched today on the sidelines of the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly, with a coalition of partners convening to mobilise resources to make coral reefs more resilient. The Global Fund for Coral Reefs seeks to raise and invest USD $500 million in coral reef conservation over the next 10 years. The Fund, a….
15 SDG 14: Life Below Water Briefing, October 2020
Emerging Ocean Technologies New opportunities for ocean-based industries are emerging, and so are challenges Technology is changing the ways that we harvest food, energy, minerals, and data from the ocean. Innovation in marine robotics, artificial intelligence, low-cost sensors, satellite systems, and the collection and analysis of data may yet create a cleaner and safer future - but can also undermine ocean health. Ocean mining is one example; portions of the seafloor are rich in gold, platinum, cobalt, and rare-earth elements that have up until now been out of reach. New, 300-ton mining machines have been developed that can harvest minerals in some of the deepest parts of the sea. Japan has completed its first large-scale mineral extraction from the seabed and plans to begin commercial mining in its national waters in the next decade. Meanwhile on the high seas, the Jamaica-based International Seabed Authority has issued more than 1 million square kilometres of mining exploration claims to 20 different countries. However, much of the seabed within these claims remains unexplored, and new species are frequently being discovered in the vicinity. It remains unclear if and how sediment plumes from seabed mining will affect the health of oceans generally, and fisheries specifically. Finding a way to balance mining interests with the health of ocean ecosystems and marine industries remains a challenge. Revolutionary progress in our ability to collect and process ocean data has now enabled the detection of illegal fishing from space, empowered sustainability-focused companies to more efficiently connect with people, and helped build intelligent zoning plans that better balance the needs of fishermen, marine transportation, and ocean conservation. In addition, new technologies are being developed to plug into the ocean’s enormous stores of green energy (possibilities include wave energy, tidal energy, thermal energy, and offshore wind). The global offshore wind market grew by nearly 30% per year between 2010 and 2018, and the International Energy Agency estimates that global offshore wind will become a $1 trillion industry by 2040. While remaining hurdles to harvesting ocean energy include cost efficiency and the potential impact of new ocean power plants on ocean life, other exciting innovations are on the way: a robot that swims like a tuna, underwater data centres, autonomous self-driving ships, and geodesic spheres that can serve as offshore fish farms, for example. Properly embraced, disruptive technologies can help us take more from the oceans while damaging them less. Related insight areas: Environment and Natural Resource Security, Innovation, Fourth Industrial Revolution, Mining and Metals, Internet of Things, Climate Change, Artificial Intelligence, Future of Computing
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Latest knowledge United Nations Environment
Frontiers
New virtual journey highlights benefits of peatlands
Coral Reefs of the High Seas: Hidden Biodiversity Hotspots in Need of Protection
01 October 2020
14 September 2020 According to the latest Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services assessment, 75% of land, 66% of oceans and 85% of our planet’s wetlands have been negatively impacted by human activity. The United Nations reports are also raising alarm bells on the climate crisis and tipping points from which we may not be able to rehabilitate our planet’s ability to deliver life supporting….
Coral reefs are widely regarded as one of the top science and conservation priorities globally, as previous research has demonstrated that these ecosystems harbor an extraordinary biodiversity, myriad ecosystem services, and are highly vulnerable to human stressors. However, most of this knowledge is derived from studies on nearshore and shallow-water reefs, with coral reef ecosystems remaining virtually unstudied in marine areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ), commonly known as the high seas.
Carbon Brief
The oceans are absorbing more carbon than previously thought
The Conversation
28 September 2020
A new role for transnational corporations in an increasingly crowded ocean?
The oceans cover over 70% of the Earth’s surface and play a crucial role in taking up CO2 from the atmosphere. Estimates suggest that around a quarter of CO2 emissions that human activity generates each year is absorbed by the oceans. .
10 September 2020 The MV Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef in Mauritius in late July 2020, leaking 1,000 tonnes of oil into the crystal blue waters of a lagoon, threatening mangrove, seagrass and mudflat habitats. Since then, dozens of dead dolphins and porpoises have washed ashore. Anger has grown and sadness has deepened. This is a different story – it starts two years ago in the same place in mauritius, and i am walking down a muddy path in a mangrove forest. A guide is telling me about how the community has removed invasive species, cleaned up waste and planted mangroves.
Carbon Brief
Arctic sea ice shrinks to second-lowest summer minimum on record 21 September 2020 Arctic sea ice has reached its second lowest level on record, data shows. World Resources Institute
Building a 100 Percent Clean Economy: Opportunities for an Equitable, Low-Carbon Recovery
World Resources Institute
What Has the Ocean Ever Done for Us? Humanizing the Sustainable Ocean Economy Narrative
16 September 2020 On September 16, WRI U.S. Climate Program Senior Associate Devashree Saha, Ph.D., testified in a hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy & Commerce, Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change. The hearing, titled "Building a 100 Percent Clean Economy: Opportunities for an Equitable, Low-Carbon Recovery,” examined opportunities for the United States to rebuild from the economic crisis in a way that creates a cleaner, more equitable and just economy.
07 September 2020 The global ocean delivers an estimated $2.8 trillion in annual ecosystem services, but that's not all it does. The COVID-19 crisis shows the ocean's importance as part of nature's role in human well-being.
17 SDG 14: Life Below Water Briefing, October 2020
References 1. Pollution and the Ocean
4. Climate Change Impacts
Seagrass restoration speeds recovery of ecosystem services, Science Daily, www.sciencedaily.com Manila River Mouths Act as Temporary Sinks for Macroplastic Pollution, Frontiers, www.frontiersin.org The Paleoecology of Microplastic Contamination, Frontiers, www.frontiersin.org The ocean is swimming in plastic and it's getting worse – we need connected global policies now, The Conversation, theconversation.com Using the Ocean As a Tool for Global Economic Recovery, World Resources Institute, www.wri.org An Increasingly Crowded Ocean Calls for a New Role for Transnational Corporations, In Depth News, www.indepthnews.net
The Plastics Pandemic, Project Syndicate, www.project-syndicate.org Developing Recovery Options for Puerto Rico's Economic and Disaster Recovery Plan, RAND Corporation, www.rand.org Streaming a message: Flipflopi to sail across Lake Victoria in another historic journey, United Nations Environment, www.unenvironment.org Most of the Arctic’s Microscopic Algae Are Chilling Under Ice , EOS, eos.org One of Earth's most biodiverse habitats lies off the Scottish coast – but climate change could wipe it out, The Conversation, theconversation.com South-South cooperation to tackle climate change, United Nations Environment, www.unenvironment.org China expands its island-building strategy into the Pacific, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, www.aspistrategist.org.au
2. Mass Extinction
5. Shifting Ocean Governance
I Am Ocean: Expanding the Narrative of Ocean Science Through Inclusive Storytelling, Frontiers, www.frontiersin.org Microplastic Pollution in Deep-Sea Sediments From the Great Australian Bight, Frontiers, www.frontiersin.org Why so aggressive? Bringing the past into the present, The Science Breaker, thesciencebreaker.org Shaping the Trends of Our Time, United Nations Environment, www.unenvironment.org Protecting nature is entirely within humanity’s reach. The work must start now., United Nations Environment, www.unenvironment.org This Mexican reef came back from the dead, World Economic Forum, www.youtube.com As Oceans Warm, Some Species Are Moving in the Wrong Direction, Yale Environment 360, e360.yale.edu
Fish species communicate with one another in coral reefs. Can they save these threatened ecosystems?, Mother Jones, www.motherjones.com Impacts of Marine Litter on Mediterranean Reef Systems: From Shallow to Deep Waters, Frontiers, www.frontiersin.org How stronger trade rules can help us meet climate goals, World Economic Forum, www.weforum.org American Leadership in Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals, Brookings Institution, www.youtube.com Changing Patterns of Ocean Salt Levels Give Scientists Clues to Extreme Weather on Land, Inside Climate News, insideclimatenews.org A Global Overview of Restorative Shellfish Mariculture, Frontiers, www.frontiersin.org Square Your Circle, World Resources Institute, www.wri.org
Acknowledgements
3. Human Well-Being and the Ocean
Cover and selected images throughout supplied by Reuters.
Droughts That Start Over the Ocean? They’re Often Worse Than Those That Form Over Land, Inside Climate News, insideclimatenews.org The No DICE Carbon Price, Project Syndicate, www.project-syndicate.org
Some URLs have been shortened for readability. Please follow the URL given to visit the source of the article. A full URL can be provided on request.
Multilateral action for a green post-COVID-19 recovery, United Nations Environment, www.unenvironment.org The Nature of Nature: A Conversation with Enric Sala, World Resources Institute, www.youtube.com Is Happiness at Work Really Attainable?, Harvard Business School Working Knowledge, hbswk.hbs.edu Parametric study to enhance performance of wastewater treatment process, by reverse osmosis-photovoltaic system, SpringerNature, link.springer.com United in Science report: Climate change has not stopped for COVID19, United Nations Environment, www.unenvironment.org
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19 SDG 14: Life Below Water Briefing, October 2020
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