How oceans and seas-related measures contribute to the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development: local and regional experiences
Oceans and seas are crucial to sustainable development as they contribute to all aspects of our life on this planet. Although they provide numerous economic, social and environmental benefits, oceans and seas are facing a multitude of local and global challenges caused by human activity and climate change. These include unsustainable extraction of marine resources, ocean acidification, alien invasive species and marine pollution, to name only a few. As a consequence, the state of the oceans remains alarming. This publication is a contribution to a growing collection of studies on how to conserve and sustainably manage the resources of the oceans and seas to foster sustainable development. It contains a selection of successful local and regional examples of oceans- and seas-related measures from around the world. In particular, the publication seeks to illustrate how these measures were able to contribute to all three dimensions of sustainable development with benefits not only for the environment, but also for local communities and national economies.