Overview of emerging and new uses of the Ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction Takehiro Nakamura Coordinator, Marine and Coastal Ecosystems Unit, United Nations Environment Programme Marine Ecosystem Services for Human Benefits • Biodiversity and ecosystems – provide ecosystem services for human use and benefits • The Economics of Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity (TEEB) for Oceans • “Green Economy in a Blue World” (UNEP, 2012) – Small scale fishery and aquaculture, transportation, marine-based renewable energy, nutrient management, tourism, and deep water minerals There are trade-offs between the use of a range of ecosystem services.
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Overview of emerging and new uses of the Ocean areas beyond national
jurisdiction
Takehiro NakamuraCoordinator, Marine and Coastal Ecosystems Unit, United Nations
Environment Programme
Marine Ecosystem Services for Human Benefits
• Biodiversity and ecosystems – provide ecosystemservices for human use and benefits
• The Economics of Ecosystem Servicesand Biodiversity (TEEB) for Oceans
• “Green Economy in a Blue World” (UNEP, 2012)– Small scale fishery and aquaculture, transportation,
marine-based renewable energy, nutrient management,tourism, and deep water minerals
There are trade-offs between the use of a rangeof ecosystem services.
Ocean ecosystem services
Provisioning services
Capture fisheries
Aquaculture
Genetic resources
Biochemicals, natural medicines
and pharmaceuticals
Renewable energy
Regulating services Cultural services Supporting
services
Air quality regulation
Climate regulation
Water purification and
waste treatment
Natural hazard regulation
Cultural diversity
Spiritual and religious values
Education values
Aesthetic values
Recreation and ecotourism
Primary production
Nutrient cycling
Water cycling
- Navigation- Seabed mining
- Observatory- Research
- Underwater cableModified from Millennium Ecosystem Assessment ,
2005
Other services
Marine Climate Engineering
Climate engineering
BMBF Scoping Study, 2011, provided by M. Lawrence
Ocean fertilisation
Ocean fertilization: any activity undertaken by humans with the principal intention of stimulating primary productivity in the oceans, not including conventional aquaculture, or mariculture, or the creation of artificial reefs, LC-LP.1 (2008)
Ocean fertilisation involves large-scale fertilising of the ocean with nutrients such as iron, nitrogen or phosphorus in an attempt to produce massive phytoplankton blooms which may assist in increasing absorption of CO2 from the atmosphere (Rayfuse et al. 2008).
Ocean fertilisation
Biological pump (left) and solubility pump (right) (CBD
Technical Series No.45)
Iron fertilisation
• High-Nutrient, Low-Chlorophyll (HNLC) regions, where sufficient N, P and Si, but a relatively low phytoplankton biomass – 20% of world ocean.
• Nutrient, trace elements, sunlight conditions differ in regions and depending on the depth. Micro-nutrient such as Iron is a
limiting element.
Iron fertilisation – a number of experiments of 12 meso-scale iron
fertilisations (1993-2007)Synthesis of the Impacts
of Ocean Fertilization on Marine biodiversity, CBD
Technical Series45, 2009
Impacts of iron fertilisation on marine ecosystems
Observed or possible impacts of iron fertislisation on marine biota/ecosystem
Organisms Diatoms responded for some of the experiments. No evidence of harmful algal blooms.
Nutrient field Depletion of macro nutrients by algal blooms. Warming of surface layer by absorption of solar radiation. Potential increase of re-mineralisation and bacteria process, leading to oxygen depletion.
Climate gases Some experiments saw increase in N2O production.
Ecosystems An increase in amphipods – zooplankton predators, was observed in Southern Ocean, which is the main food for squid and whales.
Summarised from CBD Technical Series No.45
Marine Litter and its Removal
Open Ocean pollution
Pollutants into the open oceans throughAtmospheric deposition or by sea-basedhuman activities.
Heavy metals, Volatile Organic Compounds,Nutrients, CO2, SO2, NOx, POPs, CFCs
Sewage, Oil and chemical spills, PAHs, Oil seepage, dumping
Noise, Marine litter, ballast water, off-shore exploration and production.
Marine Litter or Marine Debris
Marine litter includes any form of manufactured or processed materialdiscarded, disposed of or abandoned inthe marine environment. It consists of items made or used by humans thatenter the seas, whether intentionally orunintentionally, including transport ofthese materials to the oceans by river, drainage, sewage systems or by wind (Galgani et al., 2010).
Plastic are the predominant typein the Pacific gyre (Gragory and Ryan, 1997).
Microplastics and abandoned, lost orotherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG)
Micro beads included in the face/skin scrub products, which cannot be captured by urban
wastewater treatment systemPicture provided by Plastic Soup Foundation
Marine Litter and accumulation in ocean gyres
ment of marine and coastal ecosystems.
GEF STAP information document: Marine Debris as a
Global Environmental Problem, November 2011)
Marine Litter impacts on marine biota
Indigestion and entanglement
Microplastics (less than 5 mm in diameter)– Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and otherpersistent, bio-accummulative and toxic substances are adsorbed onto plastics and enterinto biota, leading to, e.g., endocrine disruptingeffects.
Marine litter providing new habitats
GEF STAP information document: Marine Debris as a Global Environmental Problem,
November 2011)
Marine Litter Removal
Some technologies that may be deployed:
Ship-based collection and removal;Detection and information management
The Ocean systems in ABNJ function as the site of marine debris accumulation, and possibly some litter could be removed from water column.
Who would cover the cost of removal of marine litter? (e.g., Fishing to Energy Programme in the United States)
Marine-based Renewable Energy
Marine-based Renewable Energy
• Wave energy;• Tidal range;• Tidal current;• Ocean current;• Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC); • Salinity gradient;• Marine biomass farming; and• Submarine geothermal.(IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate
Change Mitigation, 2011)
Off-shore wind power generation
Marine-based renewable energy: potential and costs
Green Economy in a Blue World(UNEP, 2012)
Wave power level distribution
IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation, 2011
Ocean Temperature difference
IPCC Special Report on Renewable
Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation, 2011
Producing energy from Oceans
Currently energyproduction and
experimental operations(UNEP, Green economyin a Blue World 2012)
- Off shore wind energy• - Off shore wave energy
Marine-based Wind Power
• Global generation capacity increased ten fold from 2000 to reach 215,000 MW in 2011. More than 100 different technologies are under development.
• The potential range from 160 to 1,500 millionMW a year considering shallow water and near-shore application, and greater potential exists for deeper wager applications that may relyon floating wind turbines.
• Development is capital intensive.
• Higher and consistent wind speed off shore. 20%higher wind speed (less turbulent) in deeper waterinstallation may be possible.
• As of 2011, EU alone installed 69 wind farms. Summary from Green Economy in a Blue World (UNEP, 2012)
Other marine-based renewable energy optionsRenewable energy options
Status and trends
Tidal energy A tidal range of 7 m is considered to be required for economicaloperation.
Wave energy Wave energy can be captured from surface waves or from pressure fluctuations. Wave energy is predictable. Different technologies (more than 50?) conceived but at pre-commercial phase. Need o reduce capital costs of construction and to withstand extreme weather conditions
Submarine geothermal
Currently no technologies are in use to tap submarine geothermalresources. Distance from the shore, and possible impacts on marine life of hydrothermal vents
Algae-based biofuel
Need to look for climatically favourable sites. Need for a highinitial capital investment. Co-production of foods and biofuel may have potential to address these needs?
(UNEP, 2012: Green Economy in a Blue World; IPCC, 2011)
Other marine-based renewable energy options
Driving Forces
Pressure State Impacts Responses
Increased demand for renewable energy, including marine-based renewable energy
Construction of infrastructure
Noise pollution
Electromagnetic waves
Changed seabed
Changed hydrographic and sedimentolo-gical patters
Habitat loss/gainDisturbance of hunting/breeding grounds
No fishing zones
Conflicts between marine users including tourism, fisheries, shipping, etc.
Proactive seascape planning (avoid ecological sensitive areas)
Best practice design, construction, operation and decommissioningStakeholder engagement
Green Economy in a Blue World (UNEP, 2012)
Acknowledgement of contributions:Mark Lawrence (Institute of Advanced Sustainability Study, Germany)
Julien Rochette (Institut de Développement Durable et Relations Internationales, France)
Heidi Savelli (UNEP GPA Coordination Office)Lev Neretin (GEF STAP Secretariat)
Materials used: UNEP, IPPC, CBD, GEF STAP
UNEP materials: www.unep.org
Thank you.
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