The importance of estimating the contribution of the oceans to national economies

The oceans are in trouble. Poorly understood and unprecedented environmental and economic changes are underway in our world\u27s oceans that will significantly affect life in the sea as well as on land. Only in the last thirty years has the contribution of the ocean sector to the economy been measured. An examination of these studies has exposed definitional, conceptual and methodological differences in measuring marine-related economic activity in the economy, making comparisons difficult. Both the ocean and the coastal economies face a world of volatile changes. In the ocean economy marine transport faces unpredictable fuel costs. Coastal tourism also faces losses from climate change impacts and sea level rise. Finally, a warming ocean and increasing acidification of the oceans from greenhouse gases is already affecting coral reefs and a range of fish stocks. Economic measures are important to predict these impacts, as are economic measures of the resilience of different areas of the ocean and coastal economies. This article demonstrates how knowledge of both the ocean, coastal and national economies can help governments address the future impacts and demands posed by nature and human populations on our coasts and oceans

GEOPOLITICS OF THE SATELLITE INDUSTRY

This paper situates the international satellite industry within three lines of contemporary geographic thought. Second, it reviews the industry's Cold War origins. Third, it explains changing international regulatory structures of satellites, particularly Intelsat, which control access to and use of the technology. Fourth, it summarises the changing role of satellites in the post-Cold War era, including the impacts of deregulation, rising competition between Intelsat and national and commercial providers, and the heated rivalry between satellites and fibre optic carriers. Throughout, it emphasises the ways in which terrestrial power relations alter access and applications to this sector. Copyright (c) 2007 by the Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG.