Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Saving our oceans: Why marine life needs us

This review examined the major threats to marine ecosystems including overfishing, pollution, climate change, and habitat destruction, and argued that protecting ocean biodiversity is essential for the ecosystem services that billions of people depend on for food, oxygen, and climate stability.

2025 International Journal of Advanced Biochemistry Research
Article Tier 2

Transformative Governance for Ocean Biodiversity

This review examines transformative governance approaches needed to protect ocean biodiversity, analyzing how existing international frameworks, policies, and institutions can be restructured to meet the scale of threats facing marine ecosystems. The authors assess the barriers and opportunities for achieving systemic change in ocean management toward more effective biodiversity conservation.

2022 Cambridge University Press eBooks 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Valuing biodiversity and ecosystem services: a useful way to manage and conserve marine resources?

This review examines whether assigning monetary values to marine biodiversity and ecosystem services effectively supports ocean conservation and management. The authors find that while ecosystem valuation is an established approach on land, its use in marine environments lags behind due to the practical challenges of ocean research and complex governance structures.

2016 Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences 51 citations
Article Tier 2

The right incentives enable ocean sustainability successes and provide hope for the future

This paper examined cases where ocean management and conservation efforts have succeeded, arguing that the right incentive structures and governance frameworks can drive meaningful improvements in ocean sustainability.

2016 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 143 citations
Article Tier 2

Global Ocean Governance and Ecological Civilization

This study examines global ocean governance frameworks and argues that achieving 'ecological civilization' requires coordinated international responses to mounting threats including climate change, ocean acidification, microplastic pollution, and overexploitation of marine resources.

2023
Article Tier 2

A Comprehensive Review of Climatic Threats and Adaptation of Marine Biodiversity

This comprehensive review examines how climate change threatens marine biodiversity through rising ocean temperatures, acidification, and habitat loss. Among the many environmental stressors discussed, microplastic pollution is highlighted as an additional threat that compounds the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems. The paper evaluates adaptation strategies like marine protected areas and habitat restoration that could help protect the ocean ecosystems humans depend on for food.

2024 Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Global Ocean Governance and Ecological Civilization: Building a Sustainable Ocean Economy for China

This paper argues that healthy oceans are essential for human survival — regulating climate, producing oxygen, and absorbing carbon dioxide — and calls for stronger global governance frameworks for ocean sustainability.

2022 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Marine top predators as climate and ecosystem sentinels

This review examines how marine apex predators such as whales, seals, and seabirds can serve as sentinel species for monitoring ocean ecosystem health and climate change. Researchers argue that because these animals move across ocean basins and integrate information from multiple levels of the food chain, they provide uniquely valuable signals about environmental shifts. The study proposes a framework for using networks of marine predator sentinels to improve ocean management and early detection of ecosystem changes.

2019 Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 393 citations
Article Tier 2

Implications of Microplastic Pollution for the Conservation of Marine Protected Areas Authors

This study examines the implications of microplastic pollution for the conservation effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas, investigating whether the presence of microplastics undermines the environmental protection goals of these designated conservation zones.

2024 FIU Undergraduate Research Journal
Article Tier 2

A bibliometric review on marine ecological environment governance: Development and prospects (1990–2022)

Researchers conducted a bibliometric analysis of 32 years of marine environmental governance research, finding a surge in publications since 2013 with growing focus on microplastic pollution in marine sediments, ecosystem restoration in protected areas, and the development of comprehensive global strategies to protect ocean health.

2024 Environmental and Sustainability Indicators 9 citations
Article Tier 2

A global snapshot of microplastic contamination in sediments and biota of marine protected areas

A global snapshot of microplastic contamination in sediments and biota across marine protected areas (MPAs) found that microplastics are ubiquitous even in these conservation zones, undermining their protective function. The review synthesizes occurrence data and calls for microplastic monitoring to be integrated into MPA management plans.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 61 citations
Article Tier 2

Climate Change, Ocean Pollution, and Acidification: The Application of Integrated Management Strategies within the Framework of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science

This study reviewed the impacts of climate change, ocean pollution, and acidification on marine ecosystems within the framework of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030. Integrated management strategies combining scientific research, technological innovation, and international governance were identified as essential for addressing these interconnected threats to ocean health.

2024 International Journal of Marine Science
Article Tier 2

Ocean governance for human health and the role of the social sciences

This paper examines the interdependence of ocean health and human health, arguing that effective ocean governance must involve the social sciences to address the complex human behaviors and institutions driving marine degradation. Managing plastic pollution entering the ocean requires governance frameworks that integrate scientific and social knowledge.

2018 The Lancet Planetary Health 4 citations
Article Tier 2

How Carbon Immobilization from Restored Marine Forests May Help Climate Change Mitigation Plans?

This review examines the potential for restored marine forest ecosystems including coral reefs, seagrasses, seaweeds, and sponge grounds to contribute to climate change mitigation through carbon immobilization, situating marine forests within the broader Blue Carbon framework and evaluating restoration strategies as nature-based climate solutions.

2022 Arquivos de Ciências do Mar 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Ocean Sustainability

This editorial overview of ocean sustainability research highlights how interconnected threats — climate change, overfishing, chemical pollution, and microplastics, which have now reached the deepest ocean trenches — are pushing marine ecosystems toward collapse. It calls for research spanning the full range of ocean science, from ecosystem mapping to policy solutions, emphasizing that actions on land directly drive damage in the sea.

2024 Cell Reports Sustainability
Article Tier 2

International legal system: Marine pollution

This review analyzes the international legal framework governing marine pollution, examining the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and related instruments while identifying gaps and limitations in current regulations for protecting marine biodiversity and ecosystem health.

2023 SHS Web of Conferences
Article Tier 2

The Environmental Rule of Law for Oceans

This chapter surveys the legal principles and frameworks that govern ocean protection, including rules addressing microplastic pollution, noise, and chemical contamination. It argues that effective ocean governance requires strengthening the rule of environmental law at both national and international levels.

2023 Cambridge University Press eBooks 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Legal Approaches to Reduce Plastic Marine Pollution: Challenges and Global Governance

This review examined legal approaches to reducing marine plastic pollution and found that while international frameworks like the International Maritime Organization's MARPOL Annex V and regional agreements provide useful foundations, significant governance gaps and enforcement challenges remain in addressing the global scale of marine plastic contamination.

2021 ANNALS OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND PERSPECTIVE 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Economic and International Legal Aspects of the Protection of the Marine Environment from Pollution

This review examines the economic and international legal frameworks governing protection of the marine environment from pollution, focusing on areas beyond national sovereignty where enforcement of sustainable development goals remains challenging. The authors analyzed how international law approaches marine pollution control across states with varying national-level regulatory capacities.

2025 Baltic Journal of Economic Studies
Article Tier 2

Marine monitoring in Europe: is it adequate to address environmental threats and pressures?

A review of European coastal monitoring programs found significant gaps in detecting and tracking environmental threats, including microplastic pollution. The study calls for better integration of monitoring networks to provide the data needed for effective ocean management and pollution control.

2020 Ocean science 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Trends and Evolution in the Concept of Marine Ecosystem Services: An Overview

This overview reviews the evolution of the marine ecosystem services concept, examining how human activities increasingly pressure ocean environments. Researchers found that pollution, including plastic and microplastic contamination, is among the growing threats to the marine ecosystem services that support food production, climate regulation, and coastal protection. The study emphasizes the need for effective management strategies to balance human use with ocean health.

2021 Water 83 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic contamination in seawater across global marine protected areas boundaries

Researchers conducted a comprehensive assessment of microplastic contamination across global Marine Protected Areas, finding that these conservation zones are not immune to plastic pollution and highlighting the need for targeted mitigation strategies.

2022 Environmental Pollution 109 citations
Article Tier 2

A 50-year reflection on global ocean governance for protection of the marine environment

This review chapter reflects on five decades of global ocean governance, finding that despite increasing international agreements, longstanding threats like pollution and overfishing remain unresolved while new challenges such as marine plastic litter and illegal fishing have emerged, requiring urgent and innovative governance responses.

2023 Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks
Article Tier 2

Towards a meaningful assessment of marine ecological impacts in life cycle assessment (LCA)

Researchers reviewed how life cycle assessment (LCA) methods — used to quantify industrial environmental impact — currently lack adequate indicators for marine biodiversity loss, and identified pathways to build quantitative cause-effect models for seven major ocean stressors including plastic debris, ocean acidification, and seabed damage.

2016 Environment International 128 citations