Towards sustainable oceans in the 21st century - Ocean Sustainability in the 21st Century - page 443

plication oftheecosystem approachcallsfortheneedtoadopta'mountaintooceantrench'
approach to management of the coasts and seas (as stated in Chapter 6 ) .
Changes induced by global warming and ocean acidification will have direct and in-
direct consequences on marine ecosystems and human life. Because of the high, not only
social but also economic, importance of the services provided by marine habitats and eco-
systems, including coastal, open ocean, and deep-sea habitats and ecosystems, the global
economy is likely to suffer from the continuous degradation of these areas. In fact, a high
level of unpredictability is associated with the effects of climate change on marine eco-
systems and their capacity to deliver services important for human well-being. Moreover,
the effects of human impacts on the ocean can be mutually reinforcing, and cumulative
impacts suggest the need to act very promptly so as to reduce our pressure on the marine
environment. To this end, we first need to be capable of assessing the real value brought
by the oceans, in a methodologically sound manner and so also to reflect intangible values.
Assessing values and benefits and implementing appropriate measures for the conservation
and sustainable use of marine biodiversity appear therefore as imperatives to achieving the
sustainability of the oceans in this very century.
Marine resources novel to science, namely, genetic resources, have a potential value
to humans due to possible applications in the areas ofhealth and industry.The related legal,
regime, and policy frameworks may need further elucidation and to further evolve so as to
accommodate developments related to the application of findings of research on organisms
which are the source of compounds presenting novel properties. Emerging issues associ-
ated with the oceans, such as those related to marine genetic resources, indicate that, in
addition to questions related to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity,
new equity questions on access to and the sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of
resources in marine areas beyond national jurisdiction also arise.
A 'culture of care' should guide our actions (Child, 2009 ), not just a culture of eco-
nomic efficiency (cf. Chapter 7 in this topic). We have a moral responsibility to ensure
inter-generational equity too; this entails a longer-term responsible attitude vis-à-vis the
time-scale of management choices, the need to ensure flexibility in exercising intellectu-