Cost-effective Conservation of Marine Ecosystems

An ecosystem consists of the living organisms, the habitat they live in, non-living structures and the circumstances on which they influence each other. A marine ecosystem is found in or near salt water that can be a sandy beach or even the deepest parts of the ocean. Marine ecosystems are important for the overall benefits of both marine and terrestrial environment as, they account for about one-third of marine biological productivity. But we all are aware that the level of CO2 in the atmosphere is increasing that is causing acidification of sea water; as a result oceans tend to absorb more carbon and form carbonic acid. The Australian Research Council Centre for Excellence in Environmental Decisions study and the University of Queensland discussed how to best benefit coastal marine ecosystems using limited available budgets and help managers. Coastal ecosystems like sea-grass, coral and mangroves provide easy access to the marine world as they occupy the narrow fringe of sea between the land and the ocean and make the coastal ecosystems vulnerable to human activities. By implementing marine preserved areas or reducing land-based threats, marine conservation can be done. We can also reduce onshore pollutants that contribute to algal blooms and hypoxia and try to increase adaptability of marine creatures. Thus we can say that marine restoration is much cost-effective than protecting them from human activities, as per the new study.

By: Anita Aishvarya

Content: www.sciencedaily.com