How One California Aquarium is Developing an Ocean Conservation Strategy with Global Impact

This article discusses the ways in which the Monterey Bay Aquarium is pursuing its mission “to inspire conservation of the ocean”—including and beyond its visitor programs and education initiatives. The Aquarium is reshaping the global seafood supply chain by integrating its scientific research with the Aquarium’s growing influence in ocean policy. With the world’s life-sustaining aquatic ecosystems in decline, there is no time to lose

Public International Law: Environmental Law

Noteworthy international activity relating to the environment occurred in a wide variety of fora in 2000. This chapter provides brief updates on some of the most significant developments. Though by no means a comprehensive review, the chapter reflects the wide sweep of issues and large number of entities now involved in the development of international environmental law, at the start of this new century. It also reflects how critical and complex this international work is, and how much remains to be done

Solutions for Recovering and Sustaining the Bounty of the Ocean Combining Fishery Reforms, Rights-Based Fisheries Management, and Marine Reserves

Food security, economic opportunities, and other benefits provided by a healthy ocean are in jeopardy because of years of overexploitation of many fisheries, and the challenges will intensify in many locales as climate and the environment continue to change. The good news is that solutions are gaining traction. Mandates to end overfishing that use scientifically determined catch limits and rights-based approaches to fishery management have produced impressive results in ending overfishing and recovering depleted stocks. Similarly, spatial protections, such as fully protected marine reserves, are increasing the diversity, size, and abundance of species within reserves; some of that bounty reaches fished areas outside of them. We review the effects of combining catch limits, rights-based fisheries approaches, and establishment of marine reserves and discuss additional advantages of these combined solutions in securing sustainable and profitable fisheries, community goals, and healthy ecosystems. This paper highlights the contribution of emerging science-based solutions and the steps needed to replicate and scale these successes. Triple-wins for the environment, the economy, and society can be achieved through integrated fisheries management and protection as conscious steps toward reversing the current degradation of our ocean’s living resources.This manuscript is based on a keynote lecture given by Jane Lubchenco at One Planet, One Ocean: The 2nd International Ocean Research Conference, Barcelona, Spain, November 17–21, 2014. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the Oceanography Society and can be found at: http://www.tos.org/oceanography/archive/28-2_barner.htm

Research Priorities for Achieving Healthy Marine Ecosystems and Human Communities in a Changing Climate

ABSTRACT: The health of coastal human communities and marine ecosystems are at risk from a host of anthropogenic stressors, in particular, climate change. Because ecological health and human well-being are inextricably connected, effective and positive responses to current risks require multidisciplinary solutions. Yet, the complexity of coupled social-ecological systems has left many potential solutions unidentified or insufficiently explored. The urgent need to achieve positive social and ecological outcomes across local and global scales necessitates rapid and targeted multidisciplinary research to identify solutions that have the greatest chance of promoting benefits for both people and nature. To address these challenges, we conducted a forecasting exercise with a diverse, multidisciplinary team to identify priority research questions needed to promote sustainable and just marine social-ecological systems now and into the future, within the context of climate change and population growth. In contrast to the traditional reactive cycle of science and management, we aimed to generate questions that focus on what we need to know, before we need to know it. Participants were presented with the question, "If we were managing oceans in 2050 and looking back, what research, primary or synthetic, would wish we had invested in today?" We first identified major social and ecological events over the past 60 years that shaped current human relationships with coasts and oceans. We then used a modified Delphi approach to identify nine priority research areas and 46 questions focused on increasing sustainability and well-being in marine social-ecological systems. The research areas we identified include relationships between ecological and human health, access to resources, equity, governance, economics, resilience, and technology. Most questions require increased collaboration across traditionally distinct disciplines and sectors for successful study and implementation. By identifying these questions, we hope to facilitate the discourse, research, and policies needed to rapidly promote healthy marine ecosystems and the human communities that depend upon them

Plasma fibronectin supports hemostasis and regulates thrombosis

Plasma fibronectin (pFn) has long been suspected to be involved in hemostasis; however, direct evidence has been lacking. Here, we demonstrated that pFn is vital to control bleeding in fibrinogen-deficient mice and in WT mice given anticoagulants. At the site of vessel injury, pFn was rapidly deposited and initiated hemostasis, even before platelet accumulation, which is considered the first wave of hemostasis. This pFn deposition was independent of fibrinogen, von Willebrand factor, β3 integrin, and platelets. Confocal and scanning electron microscopy revealed pFn integration into fibrin, which increased fibrin fiber diameter and enhanced the mechanical strength of clots, as determined by thromboelastography. Interestingly, pFn promoted platelet aggregation when linked with fibrin but inhibited this process when fibrin was absent. Therefore, pFn may gradually switch from supporting hemostasis to inhibiting thrombosis and vessel occlusion following the fibrin gradient that decreases farther from the injured endothelium. Our data indicate that pFn is a supportive factor in hemostasis, which is vital under both genetic and therapeutic conditions of coagulation deficiency. By interacting with fibrin and platelet β3 integrin, pFn plays a self-limiting regulatory role in thrombosis, suggesting pFn transfusion may be a potential therapy for bleeding disorders, particularly in association with anticoagulant therapy

The Lancet Countdown on health and plastics

Plastics are a grave, growing, and under-recognised danger to human and planetary health. Plastics cause disease and death from infancy to old age and are responsible for health-related economic losses exceeding US$1·5 trillion annually. These impacts fall disproportionately upon low-income and at-risk populations. The principal driver of this crisis is accelerating growth in plastic production-from 2 megatonnes (Mt) in 1950, to 475 Mt in 2022 that is projected to be 1200 Mt by 2060. Plastic pollution has also worsened, and 8000 Mt of plastic waste now pollute the planet. Less than 10% of plastic is recycled. Yet, continued worsening of plastics' harms is not inevitable. Similar to air pollution and lead, plastics' harms can be mitigated cost-effectively by evidence-based, transparently tracked, effectively implemented, and adequately financed laws and policies. To address plastics' harms globally, UN member states unanimously resolved in 2022 to develop a comprehensive, legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, namely the Global Plastics Treaty covering the full lifecycle of plastic. Coincident with the expected finalisation of this treaty, we are launching an independent, indicator-based global monitoring system: the Lancet Countdown on health and plastics. This Countdown will identify, track, and regularly report on a suite of geographically and temporally representative indicators that monitor progress toward reducing plastic exposures and mitigating plastics' harms to human and planetary health

Chikungunya Outbreak Risks after the 2014 Outbreak, Dominican Republic.

The 2014 chikungunya outbreak in the Dominican Republic resulted in intense local transmission, with high postoutbreak seroprevalence. The resulting population immunity will likely minimize risk for another large outbreak through 2035, but changes in population behavior or environmental conditions or emergence of different virus strains could lead to increased transmission

Research Priorities for Achieving Healthy Marine Ecosystems and Human Communities in a Changing Climate

The health of coastal human communities and marine ecosystems are at risk from a host of anthropogenic stressors, in particular, climate change. Because ecological health and human well-being are inextricably connected, effective and positive responses to current risks require multidisciplinary solutions. Yet, the complexity of coupled social–ecological systems has left many potential solutions unidentified or insufficiently explored. The urgent need to achieve positive social and ecological outcomes across local and global scales necessitates rapid and targeted multidisciplinary research to identify solutions that have the greatest chance of promoting benefits for both people and nature. To address these challenges, we conducted a forecasting exercise with a diverse, multidisciplinary team to identify priority research questions needed to promote sustainable and just marine social–ecological systems now and into the future, within the context of climate change and population growth. In contrast to the traditional reactive cycle of science and management, we aimed to generate questions that focus on what we need to know, before we need to know it. Participants were presented with the question, “If we were managing oceans in 2050 and looking back, what research, primary or synthetic, would wish we had invested in today?” We first identified major social and ecological events over the past 60 years that shaped current human relationships with coasts and oceans. We then used a modified Delphi approach to identify nine priority research areas and 46 questions focused on increasing sustainability and well-being in marine social–ecological systems. The research areas we identified include relationships between ecological and human health, access to resources, equity, governance, economics, resilience, and technology. Most questions require increased collaboration across traditionally distinct disciplines and sectors for successful study and implementation. By identifying these questions, we hope to facilitate the discourse, research, and policies needed to rapidly promote healthy marine ecosystems and the human communities that depend upon them

Correction: The Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health

This article details a correction to: Landrigan PJ, Raps H, Cropper M, et al. The Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health. Annals of Global Health. 2023; 89(1): 23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/aogh.4056