Coastal ecosystems are heavily impacted by various external impacts with direct economic and social consequences. In October 2024, The 6th International Workshop on Bridging the Gap Between Ocean Acidification Impacts and Economic Valuation: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Address Multiple Ocean Stressors, held by the will of the Centre Scientifique de Monaco (CSM) and the Marine Environment Laboratories of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sought to explore the issue through a multidisciplinary approach, leading to guidelines for decision makers, designed by a a group of twenty-six experts from twelve countries. The outcome is an interesting policy paper based on scientific evidence and case studies.
MONACŒCOART® examined the document highlighting some key points.
What is the subject matter?
The health of Coastal ecosystems is the result of the interaction of different variables including local stressors, notably pollution, non-indigenous species, plastics, eutrophication, and global stressors, like ocean warming and ocean acidification. These factors generally do not operate individually but together with other elements partly produced by human activities. Understanding these interconnections and creating scenarios that assess the costs of implementing mitigation or adaptation actions, or do nothing, is essential to find the most suitable solutions. The working groups meant to provide a useful feedback to reverse the negative trend that threatens marine biodiversity.
ENVIRONMENT: alien species, climatic variations and marine litter deplete the natural balance.
The oceans are constantly overrun by exotic species known as non-indigenous species (NIS) and aquatic invasive species (AIS), as a result of the increase in trade by ship. The lack of native predators encourages their rapid spread (biopollution) by harming endemic marine creatures that are currently suffering from changes due to the warming of marine waters.
The spread of the lionfish, tropical species invading the Mediterranean Sea, brought Cyprus and Greece to control their invasion by introducing commercial fishing and community actions within Marine Protected Areas.
Large or small plastic items (macro-plastic or micro-plastic) dispersed in the Sea is a major threat to the entire food chain. It is estimated that more than 1,500 marine species ingest plastic elements. Furthermore, plastic favours the creation of floating garbage patches, it causes death by suffocation of some species, it induces the disruption of coral reef photosynthesis due to insufficient solar radiation while spreading potential pathogenic bacteria fostered by ocean acidification.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC MATTERS: polluted areas generate high costs for local communities and put economic potential at risk.
The Ocean provides a series of ecosystem services that we can consider vital for the human being, such as the quality of the natural environment, top lifestyle, energy and food resources. Any element able to disrupt this fragile ecological balance of sensitive marine environments generates expenses required to clean up, restore, reduce negative impacts and guarantee public health. The costs of fighting plastic pollution are expected to go up to a range between $ 13.7 trillion and $ 281.8 trillion by 2040, if no action is taken (business-as-usual scenario).
But also imbalances in biological diversity can cause significant economic and social impacts. For instance, the invasion of jellyfish in swimming coastal regions can affect tourist attractiveness forcing policy makers to increase in the cost of eradication, monitoring and maintenance operations. Thus, nature-based solutions are to be preferred as they can balance economic and financial objectives with natural ecosystems.
GOVERNANCE: engaging various stakeholders to implement management plans,
while strengthening an appropriate regulatory framework, is the key.
Policy makers are strongly advised to implement forms of cooperation aimed at improving territorial management to tackle marine litter, biopollution and other impacts. Maximising positive outcomes, while minimising negative aspects of nature based adaptation strategies, should be the core mission, combined with a clear regulatory apparatus, both in hard and soft law, introducing due limits and restrictions.
The zero single-use plastic waste national strategy introduced in 2016 by the Principality of Monaco is producing an increasing stakeholder commitment thanks to a series of targeted guidelines and alternative devices to enable an ecological transition that is not contrary to the economic growth.
RESEARCH: the exchange of data and strategies fosters the study of new eco-materials and systems for restoring compromised marine environments.
Researchers are invited to join in multinational study groups to focus on a comprehensive combination of threats, including chemical mixtures, global stressors, and emerging contaminants with the aim to advance the knowledge of each individual stressor and to find multiple solutions, based on fair scientific data and insight sharing.
Achieving standardised methodologies and protocols to detect micro-plastics, improving recycling techniques and biodegradable materials as well deepening the knowledge of the synergistic relationship among plastic pollution, climate change and ocean acidification are top priorities. ***
📑 SOURCE: Hilmi N., Couvreur, C., Allemand D., Backhaus T., Descroix-Comanducci F., Dupont S., Fleming L.E., Friedrich J., Grover R., Hall- Spencer J. M., Hansson L., Haraldsson G., Safa A., (2024), Workshop Summary for Policymakers, Sixth International Workshop on Bridging the Gap Between Ocean Acidification Impacts and Economic Valuation: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Address Multiple Ocean Stressors, Principality of Monaco.
The Workshop was organized by the Scientific Center of Monaco (CSM) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
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By Maurice Abbati
Journalist; Editor; Communication, Media and Public Relations Specialist
Lecturer and Author in English language of Technical Articles and the Manual: "Communicating the Environment to Save the Planet, a Journey into Eco-Communication" by Springer International Publishing.
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