The Pacific Ocean report : the cost of inaction - Pacific Ocean 2020 Challenge

Abstract

The Pacific Ocean occupies one-third of the earth’s surface area and almost half of the world’s ocean area. It supports hundreds of millions of people living in Pacific Rim countries and the island nations of the Pacific. It is home to a diversity of plant and animal species within many complex ecosystems and supporting the economies of the Pacific Rim and Pacific countries, as well as globally. It is the engine room for Earth’s climate, as well as being an integral part of the global politics and security. Despite such ecological, economic and social importance, the Pacific Ocean is not being managed sustainably. If anything the Pacific Ocean is under considerable stress from ongoing human activites, according to the Pacific Ocean Scientific Consensus Statement (Annex 1) coordinated by the Centre for Ocean Solutions, which is a partnership between the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and Stanford University