Download Overview of emerging and new uses of the Ocean areas beyond

Overview of emerging and new uses of
the Ocean areas beyond national
jurisdiction
Takehiro Nakamura
Coordinator, Marine and Coastal
Ecosystems Unit, United Nations
Environment Programme
Marine Ecosystem Services for Human Benefits
• Biodiversity and ecosystems – provide ecosystem
services for human use and benefits
• The Economics of Ecosystem Services
and Biodiversity (TEEB) for Oceans
• “Green Economy in a Blue World” (UNEP, 2012)
– Small scale fishery and aquaculture, transportation,
marine-based renewable energy, nutrient management,
tourism, and deep water minerals
There are trade-offs between the use of a range
of ecosystem services.
Ocean ecosystem services
Provisioning
services
Regulating
services
Cultural services
Supporting
services
Capture fisheries
Air quality
regulation
Cultural diversity
Primary
production
Spiritual and
religious values
Nutrient cycling
Aquaculture
Genetic resources
Biochemicals,
natural medicines
and
pharmaceuticals
Renewable energy
Climate
regulation
Water
purification and
waste treatment
Natural hazard
regulation
Modified from Millennium
Ecosystem Assessment ,
2005
Education values
Aesthetic values
Recreation and
ecotourism
Water cycling
Other services
- Navigation
- Seabed mining
- Observatory
- Research
- Underwater cable
Marine Climate Engineering
Climate engineering
BMBF Scoping Study, 2011, provided by M. Lawrence
Ocean fertilisation
Ocean fertilization: any activity undertaken by humans with the
principal intention of stimulating primary productivity in the
oceans, not including conventional aquaculture, or mariculture,
or the creation of artificial reefs, LC-LP.1 (2008)
Ocean fertilisation involves large-scale fertilising of the ocean
with nutrients such as iron, nitrogen or phosphorus in an
attempt to produce massive phytoplankton blooms which may
assist in increasing absorption of CO2 from the atmosphere
(Rayfuse et al. 2008).
Ocean fertilisation
Biological pump
(left) and solubility
pump (right) (CBD
Technical Series
No.45)
Iron fertilisation
•
•
High-Nutrient, Low-Chlorophyll (HNLC) regions, where
sufficient N, P and Si, but a relatively low phytoplankton
biomass – 20% of world ocean.
Nutrient, trace elements, sunlight conditions differ in regions
and depending on the depth. Micro-nutrient such as Iron is a
limiting element.
Iron fertilisation – a number of
experiments of 12 meso-scale iron
fertilisations (1993-2007)
Synthesis of the Impacts
Fertilization on Marine
biodiversity, CBD
of Ocean
Technical Series
45, 2009
Impacts of iron fertilisation on marine ecosystems
Observed or possible impacts of iron fertislisation on marine biota/ecosystem
Organisms
Diatoms responded for some of the experiments. No evidence of
harmful algal blooms.
Nutrient field
Depletion of macro nutrients by algal blooms. Warming of surface layer
by absorption of solar radiation. Potential increase of re-mineralisation
and bacteria process, leading to oxygen depletion.
Climate gases
Some experiments saw increase in N2O production.
Ecosystems
An increase in amphipods – zooplankton predators, was observed in
Southern Ocean, which is the main food for squid and whales.
Summarised from CBD Technical Series No.45
Marine Litter and its Removal
Open Ocean pollution
Pollutants into the open oceans through
Atmospheric deposition or by sea-based
human activities.
Heavy metals, Volatile Organic Compounds,
Nutrients, CO2, SO2, NOx, POPs, CFCs
Sewage, Oil and chemical spills, PAHs,
Oil seepage, dumping
Noise, Marine litter, ballast water,
off-shore exploration and production.
Marine Litter or Marine Debris
Marine litter includes any form of
manufactured or processed material
discarded, disposed of or abandoned in
the marine environment. It consists of
items made or used by humans that
enter the seas, whether intentionally or
unintentionally, including transport of
these materials to the oceans by river,
drainage, sewage systems or by wind (Galgani et al., 2010).
Plastic are the predominant type
in the Pacific gyre (Gragory and Ryan, 1997).
Microplastics and abandoned, lost or
otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG)
Micro beads included in the face/skin scrub
products, which cannot be captured by urban
wastewater treatment system
Picture provided by Plastic Soup Foundation
Marine Litter and accumulation in ocean gyres
ment of marine and coastal ecosystems.
GEF STAP information
document: Marine Debris as a
Global Environmental Problem,
November 2011)
Marine Litter impacts on marine biota
Indigestion and entanglement
Microplastics (less than 5 mm in diameter)
– Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and other
persistent, bio-accummulative and toxic
substances are adsorbed onto plastics and enter
into biota, leading to, e.g., endocrine disrupting
effects.
Marine litter providing new habitats
GEF STAP information document:
Marine Debris as a Global
Environmental Problem,
November 2011)
Marine Litter Removal
Some technologies that may be deployed:
Ship-based collection and removal;
Detection and information management
The Ocean systems in ABNJ function as the site of marine debris
accumulation, and possibly some litter could be removed from
water column.
Who would cover the cost of removal of marine litter? (e.g., Fishing
to Energy Programme in the United States)
Marine-based Renewable Energy
Marine-based Renewable Energy
• Wave energy;
• Tidal range;
• Tidal current;
• Ocean current;
• Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC);
• Salinity gradient;
• Marine biomass farming; and
• Submarine geothermal.
(IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate
Change Mitigation, 2011)
Off-shore wind power generation
Marine-based renewable energy: potential and costs
Green Economy in a Blue World
(UNEP, 2012)
Wave power level distribution
IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation, 2011
Ocean Temperature difference
IPCC Special Report
on Renewable
Energy Sources and
Climate Change
Mitigation, 2011
Producing energy from Oceans
Currently energy
production and
experimental operations
(UNEP, Green economy
in a Blue World 2012)
- Off shore wind energy
- Off shore wave energy
•
Marine-based Wind Power
• Global generation capacity increased ten fold from 2000 to reach 215,000 MW in
2011. More than 100 different technologies are under development.
• The potential range from 160 to 1,500 million
MW a year considering shallow water and
near-shore application, and greater potential
exists for deeper wager applications that may rely
on floating wind turbines.
• Development is capital intensive.
• Higher and consistent wind speed off shore. 20%
higher wind speed (less turbulent) in deeper water
installation may be possible.
• As of 2011, EU alone installed 69 wind farms.
Summary from Green Economy in a
Blue World (UNEP, 2012)
Other marine-based renewable energy options
Renewable
energy options
Status and trends
Tidal energy
A tidal range of 7 m is considered to be required for economical
operation.
Wave energy
Wave energy can be captured from surface waves or from
pressure fluctuations. Wave energy is predictable. Different
technologies (more than 50?) conceived but at pre-commercial
phase. Need o reduce capital costs of construction and to
withstand extreme weather conditions
Submarine
geothermal
Currently no technologies are in use to tap submarine geothermal
resources. Distance from the shore, and possible impacts on
marine life of hydrothermal vents
Algae-based
biofuel
Need to look for climatically favourable sites. Need for a high
initial capital investment. Co-production of foods and biofuel may
have potential to address these needs?
(UNEP, 2012: Green Economy in a Blue World; IPCC, 2011)
Other marine-based renewable energy options
Driving
Forces
Pressure
State
Impacts
Responses
Increased
demand for
renewable
energy,
including
marine-based
renewable
energy
Construction of
infrastructure
Changed
seabed
Noise pollution
Changed
hydrographic
and
sedimentological patters
Habitat loss/gain
Disturbance of
hunting/breedin
g grounds
Proactive
seascape planning
(avoid ecological
sensitive areas)
No fishing zones
Best practice
design,
construction,
operation and
decommissioning
Stakeholder
engagement
Electromagnetic
waves
Conflicts
between marine
users including
tourism,
fisheries,
shipping, etc.
Green Economy in a Blue World
(UNEP, 2012)
Acknowledgement of contributions:
Mark Lawrence (Institute of Advanced Sustainability Study, Germany)
Julien Rochette (Institut de Développement Durable et Relations
Internationales, France)
Heidi Savelli (UNEP GPA Coordination Office)
Lev Neretin (GEF STAP Secretariat)
Materials used: UNEP, IPPC, CBD, GEF STAP
UNEP materials: www.unep.org
Thank you.