Oceans and Society: Feedbacks between ocean and human health

Abstract

The concentration of human population along coastlines has far-reaching effects on ocean and societal health. The oceans provide benefits to humans such as food, coastal protection and improved mental well-being, but can also impact negatively via natural disasters. At the same time, humans influence ocean health, for example, via coastal development or through environmental stewardship. Given the strong feedbacks between ocean and human health there is a need to promote desirable interactions, while minimising undesirable interactions. To this end, we articulate two scenarios for 2030. First, Business-as-Usual, named 'Command & (Out of ) Control ', focuses on the anticipated future based on our current trajectory. Second, a more sustainable scenario called 'Living & Connecting ', emphasises the development of interactions between oceans and society consistent with achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. We describe a potential pathway to achieving the 'Living & Connecting' scenario, centred on improving marine citizenship, achieving a more equitable distribution of power among stakeholders, and more equitable access to resources and opportunities. The constituent actions of this pathway can be categorised into four groups: (i) improved approaches to science and health communication that account for society's diverse values, beliefs and worldviews, (ii) a shift towards more trusted relationships among stakeholders to enable two-way knowledge exchange, (iii) economic incentives that encourage behavioural changes necessary for achieving desired sustainability outcomes, and (iv) stronger regulations that simultaneously focus on ocean and human health. We contend that these changes will provide improved outcomes for both oceans and society over the UN Decade of Ocean Science.

Developing achievable alternate futures for key challenges during the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development

“…See individual papers for more detail

Fig. 4 Excerpts from the narratives developed by Nash et al ( 2020 ) and Melbourne-Thomas et al ( 2020 ), and the associated graphical depictions of these alternate futures. See individual papers for more detail

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“…Dotted arrow indicates process of building up actions from 2030 backwards. Icons represent types of action to be implemented over the UN Decade of Ocean Science in relation to creating desirable feedbacks between ocean health and human health (see Nash et al 2020 for more details) …”

“…Cleaner seas: reducing marine pollution Willis et al ( 2020 ) 6. Oceans and society: feedbacks between human and ocean health Nash et al ( 2020 ) 7. Ocean resource use: building the coastal blue economy Bax et al ( 2020 ) 8.…”

“…The Indigenous and Traditional Knowledge team followed a distinct approach to developing their paper and futures, which are detailed in Fischer et al ( 2020 ). This team also co-authored, reviewed and/or provided critical input for the other Key Challenges (Bax et al 2020 ; Farmery et al 2020 ; Haas et al 2020 ; Kelly et al 2020 ; Melbourne-Thomas et al 2020 ; Nash et al 2020 ; Novaglio et al 2020 ; Smith et al 2020 ; Trebilco et al 2020 ; Ward et al 2020 ; Willis et al 2020 ), based on their chosen preferences and interests, and initiated and elected to draft a preface for the special issue as a whole (Mustonen et al unpublished).…”

Deep aspirations: towards a sustainable offshore Blue Economy

“…Nevertheless, the Blue Economy, if governed correctly, can present sustainable and equitable solutions to the current pressures faced in the oceans (Hoegh-Guldberg et al 2019a , b ). Sustainable development of offshore areas has the potential to reduce pressures on coastal and terrestrial systems, reduce climate impacts, and provide ecological restoration opportunities without undermining the state of offshore ecosystems, thereby positively contributing to ocean health (Hoegh-Guldberg et al 2019b ; Nash et al 2020 ). This can be achieved through, for example, the use of innovative technologies for carbon drawdown and sequestration and for novel or more efficient resource use (Buck et al 2017 ; Hoegh-Guldberg et al 2019a ; Bax et al 2020b ).…”