Download Oceans and Health

Oceans and Health:
A Prescription for the Future
Paul Sandifer
Chief Scientist, NOAA’s Oceans and
Human Health Initiative
Primary Drivers for Establishment
of a National OHH Initiative
• National Academy Reports:
– From Monsoons to Microbes: Understanding the Role of
the Oceans in Human Health
– Under the Weather: Climate, Ecology and Infectious
Disease
– Marine Biotechnology
– Grand Environmental Challenges
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U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy
Program Implementation by NSF & NIEHS
Congressional Appropriations
NOAA Strategic Plan
Oceans and Human Health Act of 2004
An
Ocean
Blueprint
for the
21st
Century
Human Threats to Ocean Health
• NPS pollution, stormwater runoff
• Coastal development, wetland loss
• Overfishing, ecosystem collapse
• Ballast water,
invasive species
Impacts of Coastal Development
on Ocean and Human Health
more impervious
surfaces
increased
flooding
bacterial/viral
contamination of
seafood &
beaches
decreased
biodiversity and
natural habitat
Ocean Threats to Human Health
Role of OHHI within NOAA
Historical
Focus of
NOAA
Focus of OHH
Initiative
NOAA OHHI Scientific Goals
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Support an ecosystems approach to
understanding causal relationships among humans,
ocean processes, marine ecosystem health, and
human health outcomes;
Predict ocean-related impacts on human health
and identify emerging marine-related human
health threats;
Promote the ecologically sound discovery of
marine organisms and bioactive agents for human
health benefit; and
Provide useful information for public health and
natural resource decision makers
NOAA Centers of Excellence
in Oceans & Human Health
• Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
(GLERL)
– predicting the formation of toxic algal blooms, beach
closings, and water quality
• Hollings Marine Laboratory (HML)
– quality and safety of coastal waters and seafood and
development of tools to characterize chemical and
microbial threats to marine ecosystems and humans.
• Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC)
– infectious diseases, toxins, and chemicals that directly
impact human health, and the use of marine organisms
as sentinel species.
OHHI Competitive External
Grants
• FY04: 104 proposals received, 17
grants awarded ($6.8 million)
• FY05: proposals under review (~$7
million, including continuing
projects): ~ 150 proposals received
Speakers
• Dr. Dan Baden, Director, Center for Marine Science,
University of NC at Wilmington
• Ms. Sarah Chasis, Director of Water and Coastal
Programs, Natural Resources Defense Council
• Dr. Lora Fleming, Professor, Rosenstiel School of
Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, University of
Miami
• Dr. Don Perkins, Director, Gulf of Maine Research
Institute
• Ms. Kathleen Frith, Director,Communications and
Outreach, Center for Health and the Global
Environment, Harvard Medical School