Oceans and Human Health Implications for Society and Wellbeing

About this book

It is increasingly clear that a broader and deeper understanding of the global environment in general, and the global ocean in particular, can provide essential insights into the health and well-being of humankind. Climate change may be the most publicly debated of these relationships; however, the general interconnections between environmental change and humans are even more complex and challenging. To acquire the capacity to manage environmentally induced risks and to ensure access to the social benefits offered by natural systems requires a new, more integrated view of human development and environmental change. Recognition of that need is evolving. Most notably the emerging discipline of "Ocean and Human Health" provides an excellent example for improved assessment, greater understanding and directed action.

Oceans and Human Health: Society and Human Well Being is an essential contribution to this interdisciplinary integration. It will extend the "Risks and Remedies" themes to include both the socio-economic challenges of human health risks, and the social benefits of sustainable coastal development and resource use – both of which are insufficiently explored in the existing literature. These socio-economic themes are often addressed and assessed in different ways in different countries. The proposed volume is, therefore, designed to include multiple international and interdisciplinary authors, ensuring a more comprehensive and multinational perspective. In particular, it will be possible to compare and contrast North American and European perspectives, while being of value to a broad global audience.

Contents

Section One: Coastal Seas, Human Health, and Well-Being: Setting the Stage
1 Influences of the Oceans on Human Health and Well-Being
2 Integrating Frameworks to Assess Human Health and Well-Being in Marine Environmental Systems

Section Two: Anthropogenic Drivers/Pressures and the State of Coastal Seas
3 Coastal Demography: Distribution, Composition, and Dynamics
4 The Seas, Ecosystem Services, and Human Well-Being
5 Measuring Social Value and Human Well-Being

Section Three: Impacts on Coastal Environments
6 The Impact of Climate Change on Coastal Ecosystems
7 Coastal Systems and Access to Safe and Potable Water

Section Four: Responses
8 Management-Driven Assessments of the Coastal Oceans
9 Globalization and Human Health: Regulatory Response and the Potential for Reform

Section Five: Common Conclusions and Horizon Scanning
10 Emerging Issues in Oceans and Human Health: Managing Uncertainty and New Knowledge
11 Final Thoughts and Future Actions

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