Ocean Sustainability in the 21st Century

Describing the emerging and unresolved issues related to the oceans and the marine environment, this book presents the developments made in marine science and policy since the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and implications for the sustainable management of ocean areas and resources. This comprehensive volume also provides a number of scientific, policy, and legal tools to address such issues, and to ensure better science-based management of the oceans. Topics covered include the impacts of human-induced climate change on the oceans, the marine genetic resources debate, the current legal framework for the oceans, and a comparative study of the legal issues associated with outer space. Including practical examples and worldwide case studies, this book is a valuable resource for policy makers, students and academics, in marine science and policy, ocean affairs, and the law of the sea.

List of contributors; Foreword; Preface; Acknowledgments; 1. Issues regarding oceans and opportunities: an introduction to the book Salvatore Aricò; 2. Main human uses of ocean areas and resources, impacts and multiple scales of governance Marjo Vierros, Rashid Sumaila and Rolph A. Payet; 3. Physical and chemical changes in the ocean over basin-wide zones and decadal or longer time-scales: perspectives on current and future conditions Gunnar Kullenberg, Eddy Carmack and Kenneth Denman; 4. Knowledge and implications of global change in the oceans for biology, ecology and ecosystem services Roberto Danovaro, Cristina Gambi and Cinzia Corinaldesi; 5. A new perspective on changing Arctic marine ecosystems: panarchy adaptive cycles in pan-Arctic spatial and temporal scales Henry P. Huntington, Eddy Carmack, Paul Wassmann, Francis Wiese, Eva Leu and Rolf Gradinger; 6. Ecosystem approach and ocean management Marjo Vierros, Ian D. Cresswell, Peter Bridgewater and Anthony D. M. Smith; 7. Challenges in using valuation in ecosystem-based management in a marine context: the case of UK marine protected area designation Salman Hussain; 8. The contribution of international scientific cooperation and related institutions to effective governance for the oceans: the cases of regional tsunami early warning systems and the Argo project Stefano Belfiore and Aurora Mateos; 9. Emerging and unresolved issues: the example of marine genetic resources of areas beyond national jurisdiction Marjo Vierros, Charlotte Salpin, Claudio Chiarolla and Salvatore Aricò; 10. The assumption that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is the legal framework for all activities taking place in the sea Tullio Scovazzi; 11. The legal regime of outer space in light of the Law of the Sea Viviana Iavicoli; 12. Towards sustainable oceans in the twenty-first century Salvatore Aricò, Gunnar Kullenberg and Biliana Cicin-Sain.

Salvatore Aricò is Senior Programme Specialist for biodiversity science and policy in the Natural Sciences Sector at UNESCO, and coordinator of UNESCOs Biodiversity Initiative. He is also Visiting Researcher and Professor at the University of Delaware, the Parthenope University of Naples, and United Nations University's Institute of Advanced Studies in Yokohama. He has co-authored approximately seventy scientific publications related to oceans and biodiversity.