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Integrated ocean management for a sustainable ocean economy

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 4, pages 1451–1458 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

The rapidly evolving ocean economy, driven by human needs for food, energy, transportation and recreation, has led to unprecedented pressures on the ocean that are further amplified by climate change, loss of biodiversity and pollution. The need for better governance of human activities in the ocean space has been widely recognized for years, and is now also incorporated in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Even so, many challenges relating to the implementation of existing governance frameworks exist. Here, we argue that integrated ocean management (IOM) should be the key overarching approach—building upon and connecting existing sectoral governance efforts—for achieving a sustainable ocean economy. IOM is a holistic, ecosystem-based and knowledge-based approach that aims to ensure the sustainability and resilience of marine ecosystems while integrating and balancing different ocean uses to optimize the overall ocean economy. We discuss examples of IOM in practice from areas where preconditions differ substantially, and identify six universal opportunities for action that can help achieve a sustainable ocean economy.

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Fig. 1: Integrated ocean management as the hub for balancing various ocean uses and the marine environment.

Centre for the Ocean and the Arctic.

Fig. 2: Overview of maritime zones including the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and High Seas.

Norwegian Polar Institute.

Fig. 3: Increasing uses and pressures on the ocean space illustrated by the Norwegian Arctic.

Norwegian Oil and Gas Association.

Fig. 4: Opportunities for action.

Centre for the Ocean and the Arctic.

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Acknowledgements

This research is adapted from a Blue Paper commissioned by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (HLP) entitled ‘Integrated Ocean Management’. We thank the HLP and the secretariat at World Resources Institute for coordination and supporting our work. We also thank R. Bergstad at Tank Design Tromsø for his help developing Fig. 1 and Fig. 4, A. Skoglund at the Norwegian Polar Institute for his help developing Fig. 2, the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association for their permission to use Fig. 3, and S. DeLucia for copyediting the manuscript.

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Author notes

  1. Leanne Fernandes

    Present address: College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for the Ocean and the Arctic, Tromsø, Norway

    Jan-Gunnar Winther & Therese Rist

  2. Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø, Norway

    Jan-Gunnar Winther

  3. State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China

    Minhan Dai

  4. College of Fisheries Science, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway

    Alf Håkon Hoel

  5. Institute of Marine Research, Tromsø, Norway

    Alf Håkon Hoel

  6. Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China

    Yangfan Li

  7. Ocean Conservancy, Washington, DC, USA

    Amy Trice

  8. The European Centre for Environment & Human Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK

    Karyn Morrissey

  9. The Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines

    Marie Antonette Juinio-Meñez

  10. International Union for Conservation of Nature, Suva, Fiji

    Leanne Fernandes

  11. Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), Potsdam, Germany

    Sebastian Unger

  12. Ecology Department, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Fabio Rubio Scarano

  13. Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    Patrick Halpin

  14. Ocean Conservancy Consultant, Washington, DC, USA

    Sandra Whitehouse

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Contributions

J.-G.W., M.D., T.R., A.H.H., Y.L., A.T., K.M., M.A.J.-M., L.F., S.U., F.R.S., P.H. and S.W. designed the study and carried out analyses. J.-G.W., M.D., T.R. and A.H.H. wrote the paper. J.-G.W., M.D., T.R., A.H.H., Y.L., A.T., K.M., M.A.J.-M., L.F., S.U., F.R.S., P.H. and S.W. provided comments on the text and figures that helped to develop the paper.

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Correspondence to Jan-Gunnar Winther.

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Winther, JG., Dai, M., Rist, T. et al. Integrated ocean management for a sustainable ocean economy. Nat Ecol Evol 4, 1451–1458 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-1259-6

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