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Challenges and

opportunities

for a sustainable ocean © Thierry Apparu

IN
FIGURES
2. GENUINE CONSIDERATION OF
th
MARINE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES ■ 7 world GDP (2.5 trillion dollars) if we consider
the blue economy as a country,
The benefits provided to human societies by ecosys- ■ livelihoods for over 820 million people,
tems can be monetarily assessed to raise awareness
in economic and policy discourses. In addition to in- ■ more than 13 sectors of activity of crucial
creasing the number of marine protected areas, the economic interest.
evaluation of Ecosystem Services that are not generally
taken into account in economic models (water quality, 3. MPAS: A POWERFUL TOOL
fish supply, protection against storms, etc.) is consi-
dered essential. The working group encourages the Only 30% of Marine Protected Area (MPA) coverage
application of universal guidelines based on scientific - a crucial protection tool - is managed effectively for
data to ensure the long-term monitoring of ecosystems food security, biodiversity, and climate . However,
3
and services they provide. Various solutions have been as Laure Thierry de Ville d'Avray, Sea Academy Pro-
documented for increasing the carbon sequestration ject Manager at Sulubaaï Environmental Foundation,
potential of marine ecosystems (combining aquaculture pointed out after listing the many social and ecologi-
and oyster farming, restoring marine biodiversity, choo- cal benefits of these areas, "the greater the protection
sing renewable energies, etc.) of a marine protected area, the greater the benefits.
Total protection delivers the best ecological and so-
"It is no longer acceptable to consider the ocean solely cial results." A higher level of protection for existing
as a source of raw materials. While it is an essential and future areas is therefore essential to guarantee
contributor to global GDP, it has been shown that its effectiveness.
economic value in terms of the ecosystem services
is much greater", explains Patricia Morales Errázuriz, In addition, the MPA system should be included in
Director of Philanthropy Cortés Solari, the group belon- climate policies, according to the experts, who are
ging to the MERI Foundation. It has become apparent drawing attention to this key lever for tackling the
that, along with food security, blue carbon should be a challenge of food security and carbon mitigation.
crucial element in boosting blue growth and achieving Furthermore, an emerging solution is being promoted
sustainable development goals. which involves making MPAs investable through in-
novative financial mechanisms, such as an effective
partnership between the public and private sectors
and scientifically supervised investment in blue car-
bon credits.

3. Arneth et al., 2023.