Taking Action Against Ocean Acidification: A Review of Management and Policy Options

Abstract

Ocean acidification has emerged over the last two decades as one of the largest threats to marine organisms and ecosystems. However, most research efforts on ocean acidification have so far neglected management and related policy issues to focus instead on understanding its ecological and biogeochemical implications. This shortfall is addressed here with a systematic, international and critical review of management and policy options. In particular, we investigate the assumption that fighting acidification is mainly, but not only, about reducing CO 2 emissions, and explore the leeway that this emerging problem may open in old environmental issues. We review nine types of management responses, initially grouped under four categories: preventing ocean acidification; strengthening ecosystem resilience; adapting human activities; and repairing damages. Connecting and comparing options leads to classifying them, in a qualitative way, according to their potential and feasibility. While reducing CO 2 emissions is confirmed as the key action that must be taken against acidification, some of the other options appear to have the potential to buy time, e.g. by relieving the pressure of other stressors, and help marine life face unavoidable acidification. Although the existing legal basis to take action shows few gaps, policy challenges are significant: tackling them will mean succeeding in various areas of environmental management where we failed to a large extent so far.

Contrasting futures for ocean and society from different anthropogenic CO 2 emissions scenarios

“…A growing body of literature presents options for action in response to climate change and ocean acidification (143)(144)(145). Drawing on Billé et al (146), these actions can be clustered in four groups (Fig. 4): reducing the drivers of climate change and ocean acidification (mitigate), building or maintaining resilience in ecosystems (protect), adapting human societies (adapt), and repairing damage that has already occurred (repair).…”

The impacts of As accumulation under different pH levels: Comparing Ruditapes decussatus and Ruditapes philippinarum biochemical performance

“…Industrialization has also led to the increase of atmospheric CO 2 concentrations, consequently influencing CO 2 and pH levels in Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/envres the aquatic environment (Billé et al, 2013), and predictions pointing for decreases of up to 0.3-0.5 units of oceanic pH by the end of the 21st century (Caldeira and Wickett, 2005;EPA, 2008;Mohan and Reddy, 2000). Different studies have also used marine bivalves to assess the effects of seawater acidification (Basallote et al, 2011;Berge et al, 2006;Dickinson et al, 2012;Dickinson et al, 2013;Duarte et al, 2014;Freitas et al, 2015;Gazeau et al, 2013).…”

Oysters and Eelgrass: Potential Partners in a High pCO2 Ocean

“…For example, in the United States, the Washington State Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification, the West Coast Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Panel, and the Northeast Coastal Acidification Network are all tasked with summarizing the current science and strategizing plans to mitigate and manage impacts of OA (Gledhill et al 2015, Chan et al 2016, WA State Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification 2012). Recent studies suggest that, in certain situations, ecosystem level management through biological mitigation of OA may be an effective strategy for increasing resilience of coastal ecosystems to OA (Bill e et al 2013). At local scales, the cocultivation of seagrass or macro-algal populations with OAsensitive taxa is hypothesized to improve the health of the sensitive taxa (Unsworth et al 2012, Koch et al 2013, Hendriks et al 2014).…”