Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
3.11 Conclusions
Observations and certainties of change in the ocean confirm that planet Earth is under severe
stress and that humanity is to blame for this situation and for having so far failed to take
the required action. Climate change, nitrogen use, and loss of biodiversity are major con-
cerns well reflected in the changing ocean. Several of these predicted changes are confirmed
by observations of ocean basins over decadal time-scales. Recently a panel of marine sci-
entists convened by the International Programme on the State of the Ocean and the IUCN
concluded that marine 'degradation is now happening at a faster rate than predicted' (Rogers
and Laffoley,
2011
).
The impact of change threatens to alter the marine environment at a scale in time and
space not experienced or documented before, with effects on most current issues, sectors,
peoples, and ecosystems - the whole life-supporting system. This confirms the imperative
of achieving integrated and sustainable management, already acknowledged at the Rio Con-
ference in 1992. The necessity to take into account interactions between the ocean, the at-
mosphere, and the land, and the ecosystems, including human society, is obvious; without
a healthy ocean, there is no healthy life on Earth. The ocean system must be treated as a
whole, as spelled out in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (cf.
Chapters 1
,
10
,
and
However, in spite of strong efforts to promote the development of ocean research in as-
sociation with negotiations for the Law of the Sea, including through the International Dec-
ade of Ocean Exploration 1970-1980, and the discovery of deep-sea vents in the 1970s, the
era of deep-sea exploration may only now come into being, stimulated by private expedi-
tions such as those reaching the greatest depths of the ocean in March 2012, over 50 years
after the first such effort, as well as through increased realization of the role played by the
ocean in human society, globalization, and comprehensive human security (Chua, Kullen-
