Transcript State of the Oceans: waves of change

State of the Oceans:
 waves of change 
Leonard Sonnenschein
President, World Aquarium &
Conservation for the Oceans Foundation
Co-Founder, World Ocean Network
World Aquarium History
• St. Louis Aquacenter, Inc., a Missouri not-for-profit
organization formed in November 1971 which has operated
the St. Louis Children’s Aquarium and the World Aquarium
since 1993. World Aquarium conducts and supports
conservation and research projects studying sustainable
agriculture and aquaculture, coral ecology, and issues
associated with climate change.
World Aquarium Activities
WORLD AQUARIUM
EDUCATION PROGRAMS
• Aquarium Tours
– Traditional 90-minute tours
– Extended Length Educational Tours
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Sea Camp
Light & Lively Tour
Seafari Experience Adventure Tour
Discovery Adventure Tour
Extreme Adventure Tour
Mommy & Me Tour
Wildlife Conservation & Sustainable Living Tour
• Wet & Wild Outreach Education Programs
– Creature Feature
– Creepy Crawly Ocean Animals
– Marine Biology Career Exploration
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
• The World Aquarium utilizes its bench-level laboratories to
determine by applied science environmental solutions
implemented through efforts supported by its Conservation
for the Oceans Foundation for field-level applications on a
project by project basis.
• High School and College Internships are done at the Aquarium
with students from over 45 universities.
Conservation Activities
REGIONAL ACTIVITIES
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Publication series dealing with conservation and multistakeholder
engagement
REGIONAL ACTIVITIES
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Microfinance Project for Fisherfolk in Kollam, India:
This project was realized in 2008 based upon a multi-year field study including
surveys of local leadership and post-analysis that led to a collaborative
between the World Aquarium, Fatima Mata National College, Sathigiri Ashram
and the Desinganad Multi-State Development Cooperative Credit Society
Limited (DDS). DDS is a Social Organization working in the field of
development support activities. It is established to promote, facilitate, conduct
and co-ordinate social action/ programs for the emancipation and upliftment
of the weaker sections, particularly those socially challenged and
discriminated against on the grounds of gender, caste and creed. The
operational area of DDS lies in the coastal region of Kollam inhabited by the
traditional fisher folk and the adjoining backwaters where also the livelihood is
largely dependent on fishing related activities. The impact of poverty is
interwoven with fisheries throughout Kerala, India, upon which 80% of their
economy is based. In one year, we expect this project to be sustainable. The
aim is to positively affect the entire economy of Kollam, Kerala, India. This
project, we hope, will become a model for other fisheries communities
throughout the world.
REGIONAL ACTIVITIES
• Upper Ganges River Dolphin Conservation Project:
This project started in September 2010 at a collaborative meeting
between the Institute of Environment & Eco-Development, World
Aquarium/ Conservation for the Oceans Foundation, UNESCO, A.N.
College, Dept. Of Water Sciences & Environment, Bihar State Pollution
Control Board and Bhagalpur University, Bihar. The meeting was entitled,
“Aquatic Conservation of Ganga River in Bihar.” A focus of the project is
the conservation of the Susu River Dolphin (Ganges and Indus River
Dolphins). Construction of dams and barrages, dredging and development
of the riverine environment, and pollutants from industrialization and
intensive agriculture are the major causes of freshwater dolphin
extinction. In addition, the dolphins are incidentally killed through fishing
activities and are deliberately killed for their meat and oil. This book will
mark the beginning of a collaboration to improve conditions of the Ganges
River Dolphin and to lessen the effects of pollution, and improve fisheries
and agricultural practices towards the improvement of water quality.
REGIONAL ACTIVITIES
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Caspian Sea Conservation: A Regional Approach
The first contact from the World Aquarium and the World Ocean Network
(WON) was established in 2004. A European Seas Regional meeting was held
in January 28-29, 2006 entitled, “Mobilizing Public and Stakeholders Toward
Fisheries Sustainability” involving representatives from Russia, Azerbaijan,
Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran. A second regional meeting
was held November 6, 2007 in conjunction with Pacem in Maribus XXXII –
2007, Women, Youth and the Sea. The theme was Marine Biodiversity/Food
Security. In Russia, a meeting was convened at Astrakhan University entitled,
“Survey on how the recommendation of Leadership seminar on Caspian Sea
and its Deltas Region Sustainable development and regional security held in
27-30 May, Astrakhan, Russian Federation - has been implemented 27 – 28
August 2010.” A summative book regarding conservation of the Caspian Sea
region is expected to be published. A positive outcome of these meetings is
the establishment of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Site at the Caspian Sea,
improved conservation practice and development of sustainability of the
fisheries as well as an agreement with the oil companies for future
environmental protection were amongst the additional precedents set.
Growing Scientific and Popular Understanding
and Dependence Upon the Ocean
• One billion depend on protein from the ocean
• 200 million employed directly from the ocean
• 70%-80% of the world’s oxygen is produced by oceans
Early Resource Management
• Not much is known about the ocean as an exhaustable
resource until the 1900s
• Fish stocks
Collapse of Atlantic Cod
Creating a Law of the Sea
• Starting in 1945, the Truman Declaration asked for unilateral
rights to the continental shelf
• 1950s - 4-200 miles International Law Commission
• 1960 – Convention of Oceans
• 1982 – United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea
• 1990 – Ratified with 60 countries
Evolution of the “Law of the Sea”
• 1960 – Convention of Oceans
• 1982 – United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea
• 1990 – Ratified with 60 countries
Competing Uses for Ocean Resources
• Mining & Drilling
• Destructive Fisheries Practices
• Jurisdiction Over Polar Use
Fishing on Land?
• Fish as protein source
• As fish stocks are depleted, land wildlife is further decimated
such as in Africa (i.e. hippopotamuses, monkeys, lions, and
leopards)
Growing Threats to Reef Systems
• Coastal development and pollution
• Climate Change
Policy Options
• United Nations Law of the Sea: Yes or No?
• A New Domestic Oceans Policy for the U.S.?
• New Tools for Ocean Marine Management
Fisheries
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Abolish Government Subsidies for Fishing
Individual Fishing Quotas or Catch Shares
Ecosystem Approach to Sustainable Fisheries
Marine Protected Areas and Reserves
Shaping Consumer Demand
Next Steps
• A new global Approach
• Improved Governance at the Local Level
INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES
• World Ocean Network
CONCRETE FIELD ACTIONS COMMITTEE GOALS
o Implementing outdoor/indoor field actions on a local
scale as well as on a global scale.
o To launch a call for Field actions project within the
Network, according to pre-defined criteria and objective.
o Partners supports of local initiatives on the field as well
as votes for global projects which will be financed by
the Network fund for Field action.
o WORLD OCEAN DAY Celebrations.
CURRENT OCEAN INITIATIVES
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Organic pharmaculture
Sustainable agriculture to reduce fertilizer runoff
Eutrophic zone amelioration
Nutrients to improve coral growth
Aquaculture
Improving fisheries productivity through Marine Protected Area
management
• Pollution on coastal ecosystems
AQUACULTURE
– Aquaculture process improvement
• GroFish treatment
• Feed modification
• Reduced effluent
Aquaculture is intertwined with the natural production system through nutrients,
pollutants, pathogens, release levels affecting wild stocks, economic research, and public
awareness.
Feed Formulation
Fish Meal/Oil
Oxygen
Fish
Stock
Effluents
Nitrogen/Phosphorus
Settled Wastes
Soluble
Wastes
Water Column
bacteria
Management Practices:
Fish Escapes Prevention
Benthos
Current Ocean Issues
DESALINATION & OCEAN ACIDIFICATION
Climate change, rising atmospheric carbon dioxide, excess nutrient inputs,
and pollution in its many forms are made toxic by temperature changes,
chemical solubility differences, and concomitant microfaunal alterations,
fundamentally altering the chemistry of the ocean, often on a global scale
and, in some cases, at rates greatly exceeding those in the historical and
recent geological record. Major observed trends include a shift in the acidbase chemistry of seawater, reduced subsurface oxygen both in near-shore
coastal water and in the open ocean, rising coastal nitrogen levels, and
widespread increase in mercury and persistent organic pollutants. Most of
these perturbations, tied either directly or indirectly to human fossil fuel
combustion, fertilizer use, and industrial activity, are projected to grow in
coming decades, resulting in increasing negative impacts on ocean biota and
marine resources.
These changes have affected the melting of the ice caps. The melting of the
ice caps affects the salinity of the water. The normal pH for freshwater is 7.0.
The normal pH for saltwater is 8.0-8.4. As the salinity decreases (more
freshwater in the seawater) so does the pH. The acidification affects the
coral reef and any carbonate process significantly. Because the carbonate
ions are necessary for marine calcifying organisms, such as corals, molluscs,
echinoderms, and crustaceans, to produce their calcium carbonate shells
and skeletons. Therefore, a significant amount of coral reefs and oceans are
dying due to the changes in salinity.
Change in sea surface pH caused by anthropogenic CO2 emissions between the
1700s and 1990s
Our Dying Oceans by Jeremy Jacquot
http://www.scienceprogress.org/2008/06/our-dying-oceans/
MARINE CONSERVATION
– Pollution on coastal ecosystems
– Eutrophic zone amelioration
– Sustainable agriculture to reduce fertilizer runoff
Mississippi Dead Zone
Dead Zone near the mouth
of the Mississippi, winter
Dead Zone near the mouth
of the Mississippi, summer
Source: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Scientific
Visualization Studio
CLIMATE CHANGE & WEATHER PATTERNS
• As the Earth’s surface temperature increases, weather patterns
will change.
• Changes and challenges caused by these temperature
abnormalities can range from climate change patterns that cause
tsunamis, hurricanes, excessive or declined rainfall, flooding, and
droughts, to changes in fisheries productivity.
CORAL BLEACHING
o Coral recovery
SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD
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Billions of people throughout the world rely on fish as a primary source of
protein, particularly in developing countries with rapidly expanding
populations. Worldwide, fish provide over 2.6 billion people with more than
20% of their animal protein. The world’s fisheries generate over US$130
billion annually, and contribute significantly to the economies of many
countries. Even where fisheries are not important on a national level, they can
be critical for regional employment, where entire communities of small-scale
fishermen rely on fishing as their primary source of income. Worldwide, over
38 million people earn an income by fishing or raising fish, and if activities
associated with fisheries production are included, fisheries support over 200
million people. In industrialized countries, recreational fishing also provides a
large source of income.
RIO+20 ZERO-DRAFT DOCUMENT NEGOTIATIONS
• Prior to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development (Rio+20) in June 2012, the outcomes of this
conference are being considered through various inputs from
governmental, non-governmental and independent
organizations for the purpose of obtaining a full spectrum of
opinions from all levels of society to elicit the greatest level of
buy-in.
Next Steps
THANK YOU!
Any questions?
World Aquarium
701 North 15th Street, 2nd Floor
St. Louis, MO 63103
314-647-6011
[email protected]