An index to assess the health and benefits of the global ocean.
The ocean plays a critical role in supporting human well-being, from providing food, livelihoods and recreational opportunities to regulating the global climate. Sustainable management aimed at maintaining the flow of a broad range of benefits from the ocean requires a comprehensive and quantitative method to measure and monitor the health of coupled human–ocean systems. We created an index comprising ten diverse public goals for a healthy coupled human–ocean system and calculated the index for every coastal country. Globally, the overall index score was 60 out of 100 (range 36–86), with developed countries generally performing better than developing countries, but with notable exceptions. Only 5% of countries scored higher than 70, whereas 32% scored lower than 50. The index provides a powerful tool to raise public awareness, direct resource management, improve policy and prioritize scientific research.
National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, 735 State St Suite 300, Santa Barbara, California 93101, USA. halpern@nceas.ucsb.edu
Benjamin S
BS
Halpern
Catherine
C
Longo
Darren
D
Hardy
Karen L
KL
McLeod
Jameal F
JF
Samhouri
Steven K
SK
Katona
Kristin
K
Kleisner
Sarah E
SE
Lester
Jennifer
J
O'Leary
Marla
M
Ranelletti
Andrew A
AA
Rosenberg
Courtney
C
Scarborough
Elizabeth R
ER
Selig
Benjamin D
BD
Best
Daniel R
DR
Brumbaugh
F Stuart
FS
Chapin
Larry B
LB
Crowder
Kendra L
KL
Daly
Scott C
SC
Doney
Cristiane
C
Elfes
Michael J
MJ
Fogarty
Steven D
SD
Gaines
Kelsey I
KI
Jacobsen
Leah Bunce
LB
Karrer
Heather M
HM
Leslie
Elizabeth
E
Neeley
Daniel
D
Pauly
Stephen
S
Polasky
Bud
B
Ris
Kevin
K
St Martin
Gregory S
GS
Stone
U Rashid
UR
Sumaila
Dirk
D
Zeller
D000818:Animals; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D058735:Environmental Policy; D005398:Fisheries; D005843:Geography; D006802:Human Activities / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D038622:Internationality; D008386:Marine Biology / Q000379:methods*; D009791:Oceanography / Q000379:methods*; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D011998:Recreation; D012623:Seawater; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000032:analysis