Scientists' Warning of an Imperiled Ocean
Sponsor
We would like to thank Ratana Chuenpagdee (Memorial University of Newfoundland) for helpful feedback on the manuscript. Sumaila thanks the OceanCanada Partnership sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Published In
Biological Conservation
Document Type
Citation
Publication Date
8-1-2022
Abstract
In 2017, more than 15,000 scientists from 184 countries signed a second warning letter to humanity to caution against our continued wholesale destruction of global ecosystems (Ripple et al., 2017). Here, we reaffirm their message with a similar warning specifically focused on the ocean: humanity must immediately and significantly alter our harmful trajectory in order to avoid irrevocably damaging our oceans in multiple ways that will further affect ocean health for both us and future generations. The ocean is the world's largest realm, housing an astonishing array of biodiversity that provides critical ecological functions that ultimately support life on Earth. In this paper, we outline some of the significant ongoing and imminent activities that degrade ocean health, including destructive fishing practices, oil and natural gas extraction, seabed mining, coastal development, shipping, pollution, and greenhouse-gas emissions. We end by offering potential avenues to mitigate these impacts, including the cessation of particularly harmful activities, restoration of damaged habitats, strong protection of key and representative ecosystems, reduction in waste and emissions, and global policy shifts that prioritize ecosystem health.
Rights
© 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Locate the Document
DOI
10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109595
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/39217
Citation Details
Georgian, S., Hameed, S., Morgan, L., Amon, D. J., Sumaila, U. R., Johns, D., & Ripple, W. J. (2022). Scientists' warning of an imperiled ocean. Biological Conservation, 272, 109595.