Global Agenda Council on Oceans 2011

Covering over 70% of the world’s surface, oceans provide life-sustaining goods and services to the global population. One in four people rely on seafood as their primary source of protein. As coral reefs and mangroves offer shoreline protection from storms and floods, the ocean also provides natural carbon sequestration, buffering the impacts of global warming. Marine ecosystems provide raw materials, bioremediation of waste, cultural heritage and identity, recreation, global resistance to disruption and most of the oxygen we breathe through phytoplankton. Intensification of off-shore energy generation, increasing pressure on maritime trade routes, and expanding tourism underscore strong industry reliance on oceans. With rapid population growth, our dependence on the resilience of ocean ecosystems will only continue to increase.