Marine Biotechnology Enabling Solutions For Ocean Productivity And Sustainability

This report considers the potential of marine biotechnology to contribute to economic and social prosperity by making use of recent advances in science and technology.

This book serves as essential reading for research scientists and biotechnologists from both academia and industry working in marine biotechnology and related disciplines. The book discusses recent advances and challenges in terms of science, technology, innovation, and policy for the development of the field; and how marine biotechnology may provide new solutions to some of the grand challenges faced by our society. Written in an accessible language, the book is also recommended as a reference text for decision-makers in government and non-governmental organizations in their efforts to foster the development of a global blue economy. With less than 5 % of the vast and rich marine environment explored, our seas and oceans represent a virtually unexplored resource for the discovery of novel product, processes, and development of bio-inspired synthetic drugs with biotechnological potential. As such, the marine environment has been considered Earth's last frontier of exploration. Recent advances in molecular techniques are providing the necessary tools to access on a larger scale the still-untapped ocean resources and, consequently, unveil the promise of the blue biotechnology. Governments are recognizing the potential of marine biotechnology to provide solutions to some of the Grand Challenges of the 21st Century such as sustainable energy and food sources, identification of novel drugs for improved health treatments, and providing new industrial materials and processes. For this reason, advances in marine biotechnology may foster the much-needed source of innovation and economic growth in many countries, and pave the way towards the development of a global blue economy, i.e. a new economic model based on the sustainable exploration of our ocean ecosystems.

Dramatic developments in understanding the fundamental underpinnings of life have provided exciting opportunities to make marine bioproducts an important part of the U.S. economy. Several marine based pharmaceuticals are under active commercial development, ecosystem health is high on the public's list of concerns, and aquaculture is providing an ever greater proportion of the seafood on our tables. Nevertheless, marine biotechnology has not yet caught the public's, or investor's, attention. Two workshops, held in October 1999 and November 2001 at the National Academies, were successful in highlighting new developments and opportunities in environmental and biomedical applications of marine biotechnology, and also in identifying factors that are impeding commercial exploitation of these products. This report includes a synthesis of the 2001 sessions addressing drug discovery and development, applications of genomics and proteomics to marine biotechnology, biomaterials and bioengineering, and public policy and essays contributed by the workshop speakers.

This 2-day workshop is the culmination of a study of the status and future of marine biotechnology. The overall goal of this workshop is to examine what was initially called "Opportunities for Marine Biotechnology in the United States," to consider where we are now in this field of "Environmental Marine Biotechnology," to envision the field in the future, and to discuss any impediments that might be encountered along the way. Opportunities for Environmental Applications of Marine Biotechnology: Proceedings of the October 5-6, 1999, Workshop addresses the question of where the federal government should invest its limited funds and what future initiatives should be planned.

Throughout the world there is evidence of mounting interest in marine resources and new maritime industries to create jobs, economic growth and to help in the provision of energy and food security. Expanding populations, insecurity of traditional sources of supply and the effects of climate change add urgency to a perceived need to address and overcome the serious challenges of working in the maritime environment. Four promising areas of activity for ‘Blue Growth’ have been identified at European Union policy level including Aquaculture; Renewable Energy (offshore wind, wave and tide); Seabed Mining; and Blue Biotechnology. Work has started to raise the technological and investment readiness levels (TRLs and IRLs) of these prospective industries drawing on the experience of established maritime industries such as Offshore Oil and Gas; Shipping; Fisheries and Tourism. An accord has to be struck between policy makers and regulators on the one hand, anxious to direct research and business incentives in effective and efficient directions, and developers, investors and businesses on the other, anxious to reduce the risks of such potentially profitable but innovative investments.The EU H2020 MARIBE (Marine Investment for the Blue Economy) funded project was designed to identify the key technical and non-technical challenges facing maritime industries and to place them into the social and economic context of the coastal and ocean economy. MARIBE went on to examine with companies, real projects for the combination of marine industry sectors into multi-use platforms (MUPs). The purpose of this book is to publish the detailed analysis of each prospective and established maritime business sector. Sector experts working to a common template explain what these industries are, how they work, their prospects to create wealth and employment, and where they currently stand in terms of innovation, trends and their lifecycle. The book goes on to describe progress with the changing regulatory and planning regimes in the European Sea Basins including the Caribbean where there are significant European interests. The book includes:• Experienced chapter authors from a truly multidisciplinary team of sector specialisms• First extensive study to compare and contrast traditional Blue Economy with Blue Growth• Complementary to EU and National policies for multi-use of maritime space

This volume defines and analyzes the Blue Economy, a system that encompasses all the economic activities which are happening in and around the ocean within a sustainable development framework, with focus on countries in Asia. This work is timely, as Blue Economy activities account for a significant share of GDPs in the island and coastal economies in the Asia region, sustaining the livelihoods of one of the largest sections of the world's population. This book, therefore, assesses how the Blue Economy contributes to these livelihoods from economic and ecological perspectives and analyzes the various types of ecosystem services provided, and how these services are regulated and maintained. While most studies of the Blue Economy focus only on the economic aspects, this book provides ample statistical data to demonstrate why ecosystem services should additionally be considered for the estimation and valuation of the Blue economy. The book is primarily meant for researchers, students, and teachers in the fields of environmental and ocean economics, sustainable development, and ecosystem services, and will be of further interest to policymakers and government officials working in matters related to the Blue Economy and sustainability policy.

Traditionally, the ocean economy is viewed solely as a mechanism for economic growth. In this business-as-usual approach, large-scale industrial economies have developed the ocean economy through the exploitation of maritime and marine resources, often without consideration of how those activities impact the future health or productivity of those same resources. This has led to aquatic ecosystems being viewed and treated as limitless resources; the marine environment becoming a dumping ground for waste; overfishing diminishing fishing stocks; ocean habitats being degraded from coastal developments; sea-level rise impacting coastal communities and infrastructure; increasing ocean acidification; and the marginalisation of poor coastal communities. Recognising the failings of the traditional ocean economy, there is a transition underway around the world towards the Blue Economy. This concept moves beyond the business-as-usual approach with economic development and ocean health complementary to one another. In the Blue Economy, the environmental risks of and ecological degradation from economic activity are mitigated or significantly reduced. Therefore, economic activity is in balance with the long-term capacity of the ocean ecosystems to support this activity and remain healthy and resilient. This book will provide an overview of the various technologies used to promote cross-sectoral and multi-scalar collaboration, facilitate the integrated management of sectors and resources, foster partnerships between governments and industry, encourage R&D in new technologies in resource use and management, and scale-up innovative financing mechanisms in the development of a Blue Economy. Also, the book will contain in-depth case studies that illustrate how locations, of differing climates, lifestyles and income levels, have implemented technologies to facilitate the development of the Blue Economy. Developing the Blue Economy will provide an accessible resource for practitioners and researchers working in the field on the various innovative technologies being implemented around the world to create a Blue Economy.

This circular stems from a study carried out for FAO projects “Sustainable Fisheries Management and Biodiversity Conservation of Deep-Sea Living Marine Resources and Ecosystems in the Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction” (GCP/GLO/366/GFF) and “Deep-Sea Sponge Grounds Ecosystems of the North Atlantic: An Integrated Approach Towards their Preservation and Sustainable Exploitation” (GCP/GLO/679/EC). These projects included outputs related to the economic valuation of goods and services provided by the deep seas in areas beyond national jurisdiction. This study compiled an estimate of the total economic value (TEV) of the deep seas, which considered the provision of deep-water fish, the harvest of precious corals, the use of substances of marine origin as pharmaceuticals, the extraction of deep and ultra-deep oil and the potential mining of mineral resources from the seafloor, carbon sequestration carried out by the deep seas, the importance of scientific research in the deep seas, and touristic activities with submersibles to visit sites such as the Titanic shipwreck. Comprehensively, the TEV assessed for the deep-sea ecosystem as a whole is estimated at USD 267 billion per year. Ninety two percent of the economic value originates from abiotic resources (oil and minerals), 5 percent from biotic resources (fish, corals and pharmaceuticals of marine origin), 2 percent from cultural services (scientific research and tourism/recreation), and 1 percent from carbon sequestration.