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August 29, 2019 | Climate ChangeFisheriesEcologyIndigenousOceanographyEconomicsLaw and GovernanceBiodiversitySocial ResponsibilityCoastal

‘Predicting Future Oceans: Sustainability of Ocean and Human Systems Amidst Global Environmental Change’ is now available through Elsevier, and can be obtained here. Director (science) William Cheung (UBC), director (policy) Yoshitaka Ota (University of Washington) and program manager/research associate Andrés Cisneros-Montemayor (UBC) are editors, with many contributions from past and current Nereus Program research fellows, associates and Principal Investigators. The book contains both natural and social science perspectives, which are then integrated “to exhibit the changes in ecological conditions and their socioeconomic implications”.

According to the authors, key features of the book include the following:

  • Synthesizing our knowledge of the future state of the oceans
  • Recommendations on how to move forward
  • Highlighted key social aspects linked to ocean systems, including health, equity and sovereignty

For each chapter a contributor offers their perspective, which is then included in a synthesis for the overall section. The topics covered are extensive and diverse, including marine ecosystems and biodiversity, changing oceanic conditions under climate change, fisheries management, seafood supply, human rights associated with the seafood supply chain, indigenous peoples’ role in ocean governance, ocean pollution, blue economy, and many more. The sections of the book are:

1. Predicting future oceans – Rethinking oceans as coupled human-natural systems to achieve sustainability

2. Changing ocean systems

3. Changing marine ecosystems and biodiversity

4. Changing fisheries and seafood supply

5. Changing social world of the ocean

6. Governance and well-being in changing oceans

7. Ocean governance beyond boundaries

8. Conclusion – Future pathways for the oceans considering climate change and social equity

While the readership is aimed at scientists who are interested in “marine ecology and governance, resource management, climate change and ocean-related fields”, others who may benefit from reading it include policy makers, government practitioners, NGO program officers, and others involved in marine conservation organizations.

The above description was adapted from the Elsevier summary webpage.

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