Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
5
Australia's marine resources in a
warm, acid ocean
Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Elvira Poloczanska and
Anthony Richardson
Introduction
One of the distinguishing features of our planet is the presence of an ocean that
covers 71 per cent of its surface. This vast ocean nurtured life's beginnings and
continues to support the biosphere and ultimately humanity. Approximately
a quarter of the world's population lives along coastlines where people extract
food, building materials, energy, cultural significance and income (Seto and
Shepherd, 2009). Oceans are also important in connecting and transporting
people and materials over great distances through coastal and ocean-going
shipping. In the current period of rapid global change, oceans play a critical
role by absorbing around 30 per cent of the carbon dioxide from anthropogenic
sources and over 90 per cent of the heat generated by the associated enhanced
greenhouse effect (IPCC, 2007). Without the ocean, climate change would be
far more severe than it is today.
Australia is a maritime country with sovereign rights over an ocean territory
that covers 16 million km² - almost twice the size of its land area. This ocean
area supports industries which are extremely valuable to Australia and yield
economic wealth estimated as $A42 billion per annum while the ecosystem
services provided by Australia's oceans may yield a further $25 billion per annum
(AIMS, 2012). Recreational fishing (supported by over $A3.3 billion in boat
purchases alone), surfing (for instance, worth $A126-233 million per annum
merely along Queensland's Gold Coast) and Great Barrier Reef tourism (which
generates over $A6 billion per annum) are a few examples of the direct benefits
that marine resources provide to the Australian economy (Poloczanska et al.,
2007). In addition to the direct financial benefits to the Australian economy,
our marine ecosystems also provide a wide array of other values, including social
and lifestyle benefits, and indirect yet critically important services such as coastal
protection, shoreline stabilization, greenhouse gas regulation, nutrient recycling
and the maintenance of water quality (Poloczanska et al., 2007, Martinez et al.,
2007).
Marine resources play an important role regionally. Many countries in the
Asia and the Indo-Pacific region have large populations that reside along their
coasts (Martinez et al., 2007). For instance, over 60 per cent of Indonesia's
 
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search