¿Cómo puede un océano sano mejorar la salud humana y el bienestar en un planeta que cambia rápidamente?

Human health and the health of the ocean are inextricably linked. The ocean is a source of joy, peace, recreation and restoration. Interactions with blue spaces — coasts, salt marshes, beaches and the ocean itself — enhance the physical health, mental health and wellbeing of humans from infancy to old age (White et al. 2020). For billions of people, the ocean is an essential source of food, micronutrients, livelihoods and traditions. The ocean economy generates more than US$1.5 to $2.5 trillion per year and provides over 30 million formal jobs (OECD 2016), with millions more people informally employed in artisanal and small-scale fisheries. Ocean species have provided multiple essential medicines, some of the world’s strongest adhesives, and inspired new visions in architecture and engineering (Fleming et al. 2019; Fleming et al. 2021).

The ocean is an essential component of the planetary systems that sustain all life on Earth. It holds most of the planet’s water, produces much of its oxygen and is responsible for almost half of all primary biological production. By absorbing 25 percent of all carbon dioxide (CO2 ) emissions and more than 90 percent of excess atmospheric heat, the ocean stabilises the global climate and slows global warming (Friedlingstein et al. 2019; HoeghGuldberg et al. 2023).

However, the health of the ocean is increasingly under threat, and the current threats to ocean health are largely of human origin. They range from the growing impacts of climate change (e.g. extreme weather events, ocean warming, melting polar ice, sea level rise, ocean acidification and ocean deoxygenation), to industrial fishing practices that damage ocean ecosystems and deplete fisheries, to oil and gas extraction, deep-sea mining and pollution (Nash et al. 2017; Landrigan et al. 2020). For example, coastal urbanisation and nutrient and microbial pollution increase the frequency of harmful algal blooms, and these endanger coastal photosynthetic species (e.g. seagrasses and seaweeds) worldwide (Berdalet et al. 2016). Declines in the biomass of photosynthetic species reduce the ocean’s capacity to store CO2 (Filbee-Dexter et al. 2023) and its ability to generate oxygen. Plastic pollution (including large macroplastics and chemical-laden microplastic particles) derived from fossil fuels is pervasive and rapidly worsening (Landrigan et al. 2023). Harmful chemicals that leach out of plastic polymers bioaccumulate in the tissue of aquatic species and contaminate food chains (Landrigan et al. 2023). All these threats to ocean health can harm human health, leading to malnutrition, acute gastrointestinal illnesses, paralytic neurotoxicity or chronic diseases such cardiovascular disease and cancer (Figure 1).

Since the Industrial Revolution, the marine environment has experienced a significant decline in biodiversity. Some marine species have already become extinct, and many more are threatened (Roberts 2007; McCauley et al. 2015). Unless humanity takes urgent action to protect the ocean’s biological diversity, more species will be lost, the genetic and biological secrets these organisms hold will be gone forever, and their potential benefits for human health and wellbeing will never be realised.

If the ocean economy is to grow sustainably, and if new products, medicines and other opportunities are to continue to come from the ocean, we must effectively conserve and manage the rich biological diversity of the ocean and ensure all people’s use of marine resources by creating a sustainable and equitable ocean economy. Cross-sectoral, crossnational partnerships, a global network of laws and treaties, and metrics of national and global economic wellbeing that look beyond measures of short-term productivity such as gross domestic product (GDP) and include explicit assessment of natural and human capital will be essential to achieving these goals.

Fuente:

Designed by Will Stahl-Timmins, first published in Fleming et al. 2019.

To provide context, the paper first details the risks and threats that are the consequence of current interactions between humans and the ocean. However, our main focus is on the opportunities and the many still incompletely realised benefits that the ocean holds for humankind. In particular, we focus on actions that can be taken now to benefit both ocean health and the health and wellbeing of all people now and in future generations.

This Blue Paper reviews current knowledge and the best available evidence for ocean and human health in four key areas:

• Medicine and biotechnology
• Building and sustaining food security
• Enhancing physical health, mental health and societal wellbeing
• Growing the economy and improving health by addressing inequity

Each section identifies specific opportunities for individual and collective action by local, regional and international policymakers. The result is a collation of local, national and transnational opportunities for action and investment, which include governmental policies, international agreements and opportunities for sustainable investment. In a final section, we rank these actions by feasibility and impact; and we distinguish those that will produce immediate benefit from those whose benefits will accrue mainly to future generations. We recommend that all these actions begin now.

Throughout this Blue Paper, we stress the need for actions that are just, inclusive and designed to ensure that all members of society benefit maximally. We emphasise the need to fully involve representatives of Indigenous Peoples, marginalised coastal communities, small-scale fishers, small island developing states (SIDS; also known as ‘large ocean states’) and populations who live in and around marine protected areas (MPAs) and other areas designated as ‘protected’ in all decision making and action to protect or

develop the ocean (Bennett et al. 2018; Blythe et al. 2023; Villasante et al. 2023). These communities are at disproportionate risk from disruptions of planetary and ocean health, but they are also long-time stewards of the ocean and curators of hard-won, empirical knowledge that can guide local and global efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change and preserve biodiversity (Berkes et al. 2000).


In each section, we emphasise the need for continued monitoring and evaluation of all interventions, as well as the establishment of collaborative programmes for prevention, intervention and adaptation. This is especially important given the rapidly evolving nature of climate change and its consequences. Only through continued measurement and transparent dissemination of shared data can effectiveness be assessed, unintended consequences detected, policies improved and course corrections made.

Throughout this Blue Paper, we employ a variety of frameworks to envision threats, benefits and opportunities for intervention. These range from consideration of ecosystem services and planetary boundaries, to the Planetary Health and One Health constructs, to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the 10 UN Ocean Decade Challenges (Villasante et al. 2023) and the Ocean Panel Transformations Agenda (Ocean Panel 2020).

We also focus on the global health sector. Hospitals, clinics, public health systems and the entire health sector inflict harm on ocean health through their greenhouse gas emissions (e.g. 8.5 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and 4.5 percent worldwide), the pollution caused by their extensive global shipping and supply chains, and because they release pharmaceuticals, other chemicals and plastic wastes that pollute the environment and enter the ocean (Steenmeijer et al. 2022; Healthcare Ocean n.d.; Senay et al. 2023).

But the health sector can also model positive change. Health professionals are tasked with maintaining and restoring health, are expert communicators and are respected, trusted members of their societies (Depledge et al. 2019; Patel 2023). Once educated in ocean and human health, they are uniquely well positioned to influence opinion, lead by example and offer science-based guidance to policymakers — all of which will enable greater protection of the patients and communities they serve.

The authors of this Blue Paper are international and interdisciplinary experts with intentionally diverse backgrounds and broad experiences enabling them to provide a global perspective and present innovative insights for the future of both ocean and human health (please see ‘About the authors’). The authors present an expert review of the current state of scientific evidence and other forms of information and knowledge; this Blue Paper is not intended to be an in-depth formal systematic evidence review. We also include several illustrative case studies throughout the document.

Our goal is to present a menu of opportunities and actions that will promote equity, sustainability, biodiversity and human flourishing and inspire individuals, communities, businesses, policymakers, the health sector and governments from around the world towards a new vision of ocean citizenship and planetary stewardship.