Annals of Global Health (Jul 2024)
Enhancing Human Health and Wellbeing through Sustainably and Equitably Unlocking a Healthy Ocean’s Potential
- Lora E. Fleming,
- Philip J. Landrigan,
- Oliver S. Ashford,
- Ella M. Whitman,
- Amy Swift,
- William H. Gerwick,
- Johanna J. Heymans,
- Christina C. Hicks,
- Karyn Morrissey,
- Mathew P. White,
- Lota Alcantara-Creencia,
- Karen A. Alexander,
- Thomas Astell-Burt,
- Roberto G. S. Berlinck,
- Philippa J. Cohen,
- Richard Hixson,
- Mohammad Mahmudul Islam,
- Arihiro Iwasaki,
- Radisti A. Praptiwi,
- Hervé Raps,
- Jan Yves Remy,
- Georgina Sowman,
- Eva Ternon,
- Torsten Thiele,
- Shakuntala H. Thilsted,
- Jacqueline Uku,
- Stephanie Ockenden,
- Pushpam Kumar
Affiliations
- Lora E. Fleming
- ORCiD
- European Centre for Environment and Human Health of the University of Exeter Medical School, Cornwall
- Philip J. Landrigan
- ORCiD
- Instituto de Quimica de Sao Carlos, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Carlos, SP
- Oliver S. Ashford
- ORCiD
- Ocean Program, at World Resources Institute, London
- Ella M. Whitman
- ORCiD
- Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good, Boston College, Boston, Massachusetts, USA and the Centre Scientifique de Monaco
- Amy Swift
- Ocean Program, at World Resources Institute, London
- William H. Gerwick
- ORCiD
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, San Diego
- Johanna J. Heymans
- ORCiD
- European Marine Board, Ostende
- Christina C. Hicks
- ORCiD
- Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster
- Karyn Morrissey
- ORCiD
- Department of Technology, Management and Economics, Technical University of Denmark
- Mathew P. White
- University of Vienna
- Lota Alcantara-Creencia
- College of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Western Philippines University, Palawan
- Karen A. Alexander
- ORCiD
- Marine Governance and Blue Economy at Heriot-Watt University, Orkney
- Thomas Astell-Burt
- ORCiD
- School of Architecture, Design and Planning, University of Sydney, Sydney
- Roberto G. S. Berlinck
- ORCiD
- Instituto de Quimica de Sao Carlos, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Carlos, SP
- Philippa J. Cohen
- ORCiD
- Small-Scale Fisheries Research Program World Fish, Penang
- Richard Hixson
- ORCiD
- Critical Care, County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, Darlington
- Mohammad Mahmudul Islam
- ORCiD
- Department of Coastal and Marine Fisheries, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet
- Arihiro Iwasaki
- ORCiD
- Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, Tokyo
- Radisti A. Praptiwi
- ORCiD
- Research Center for Ecology and Ethnobiology, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Jakarta
- Hervé Raps
- ORCiD
- Centre Scientifique de Monaco
- Jan Yves Remy
- Shridath Ramphal Centre, the University of the West Indies
- Georgina Sowman
- ORCiD
- Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield
- Eva Ternon
- ORCiD
- Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche at Sorbonne Université, Paris
- Torsten Thiele
- ORCiD
- Research Institute for Sustainability – Helmholtz Centre Potsdam (RIFS), Potsdam
- Shakuntala H. Thilsted
- ORCiD
- Nutrition, Health and Food Security Impact Area Platform Worldfish CGIAR, Penang
- Jacqueline Uku
- ORCiD
- Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, Mombasa
- Stephanie Ockenden
- Ocean Program, at World Resources Institute, London
- Pushpam Kumar
- ORCiD
- UNEP, Washington, DC
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.5334/aogh.4471
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 90,
no. 1
pp. 41 – 41
Abstract
A healthy ocean is essential for human health, and yet the links between the ocean and human health are often overlooked. By providing new medicines, technologies, energy, foods, recreation, and inspiration, the ocean has the potential to enhance human health and wellbeing. However, climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, and inequity threaten both ocean and human health. Sustainable realisation of the ocean’s health benefits will require overcoming these challenges through equitable partnerships, enforcement of laws and treaties, robust monitoring, and use of metrics that assess both the ocean’s natural capital and human wellbeing. Achieving this will require an explicit focus on human rights, equity, sustainability, and social justice. In addition to highlighting the potential unique role of the healthcare sector, we offer science-based recommendations to protect both ocean health and human health, and we highlight the unique potential of the healthcare sector tolead this effort.
Keywords
- biodiversity
- equity
- environmental justice
- marine protected areas (mpas)
- biotechnology
- natural products
- seafood
- blue economy
- blue health
