by “The science we need for the ocean we need” – this is the benchmark for the United Nations Decade of Oceans (2021-2030), which just held its first conference in Barcelona, Spain. Marine scientists from around the world, including me, gathered together with world leaders to track the progress of this ten-year mission to improve ocean health and marine biodiversity. That includes finding ways to better protect the seabed that we still don’t know much about.
Some of the sedimentary areas on the seabed contain large stores of carbon. Without more protection, disturbance from bottom trawling fishing practices could release some of that stored carbon back into the atmosphere.
I joined a discussion in Barcelona about the launch of a new initiative for sustainable ocean planning, which will be coordinated by Julian Barbière, global coordinator of the Ocean Decade. This aims to encourage commitment to the sustainable management of 100% of the sea area under a nation’s jurisdiction.
With this in place, there is scope to re-imagine the role of the ocean in our wider climate system and recognize that all natural marine systems sequester and store carbon in their soils and sediments.
I’m here for the global ocean decennial program for blue carbon – that’s any carbon stored in the ocean. This project is one of 50 UN programs aimed at providing transformative ocean science solutions for sustainable development, connecting people and our oceans. That’s a big question.
My work focuses on the extraordinary ability of coastal ecosystems – such as mangroves, salt marshes and sea grasses – to sequester or store organic carbon in unusually high densities. Our blue carbon team of international research scientists from more than 20 countries is beginning to define emerging blue carbon ecosystems such as kelp forest and subtidal sediments as solutions for managing climate and biodiversity crises.
The 360 million square kilometers of ocean and sea floor, from coastal seagrass meadows to the slowly accumulating sediments within the deepest trenches, are seen as a valuable store of carbon. The oceans hold huge stores of carbon – an estimated 2.3 trillion metric tons at the top of the ocean.
The seabed is not a resource to be endlessly exploited, but a fragile storehouse of global biodiversity and carbon that needs to be protected. These highly productive but fragile ecosystems have been greatly affected by habitat loss and destructive practices such as deforestation of mangroves for shrimp aquaculture in the relentless development of the world’s coastal zones.
Blue carbon has enormous potential to provide ocean-based solutions to help mitigate climate change, and thankfully, at least on a global scale, these losses have slowed in recent years.
The potential for blue carbon to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is small, but healthy, restored ecosystems have the potential to store an additional 2.96 million tonnes of carbon per year. Certain countries, such as Indonesia, offer huge potential as blue carbon areas where there is an opportunity for both the environment and local communities to protect and restore nature.
Carbon credits, the way in which extra carbon can be a source of investment income in that community, is attracting a lot of interest. Off the coast of Kenya, the community-based Miko Pamojo project brings direct benefits to local people from mangrove restoration.
Blue carbon ecosystems can help countries meet their climate obligations and are attracting a lot of interest. However, if nations want these ecosystems to continue to provide a full range of services our governments must protect them and, where possible, restore lost habitats.
Most governments have been very slow to prioritize ocean-based solutions on the agenda of global climate negotiations. At this conference, I heard more people, including Unesco director general Audrey Azoulay, driving home the need to protect and effectively manage our ocean resources.
Members from the traditional owners of the Great Barrier Reef spoke of “land” in terms of a long and enduring human relationship with nature and being closely linked to the ocean. There is a growing recognition and appreciation of this indigenous knowledge and our need to integrate it into a sustainable ocean future.
Reimagining the role of the sea
It is wise to start by protecting these natural systems that already have fragile carbon stores – this is prudent risk management.
As nations continue to exploit the marine environment for fishing, fossil fuels and even precious metals that are now being mined from the seabed in some places, it is time to rethink the value of these vast natural reserves of ocean carbon.
Space science receives much more funding than our oceans, but vast areas of the global deep ocean remain largely unmapped. “Life under water” is the least funded of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. That needs to change through sustained and increased investment in ocean science and greater recognition of the value of our blue economy – defined by the UN as the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs.
Stepping back to stop and conserve what’s already in the ocean can help the planet and us build resilience and create a healthier and more sustainable marine environment. The seabed is the foundation of an interconnected ocean ecosystem and acts as an important long-term global sink for carbon associated with the entire ocean and its exchanges with the atmosphere and the wider Earth system.
Although plans are finally moving in the right direction, there are huge challenges ahead. To paraphrase Cynthia Barzuna, director of oceans 2030 action at the World Resources Institute, “there is no rich ocean without a healthy ocean”. The biggest takeaway from the Barcelona conference is that a sustainable ocean future depends on a shared vision that works for all of us and for marine life as well.
This article from The Conversation is republished under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
William Austin receives funding from the Natural Environment Research Council UKRI, Horizon Europe, the Scottish Government, Defra, Natural England, Nature Scot, the Scottish Marine Environment Improvement Fund, Blue Marine Foundation, and WWF.
