Ocean Ecosystem Services and its aspects.

In one of our earlier articles, we had briefed about the Ocean Ecosystem & Ocean Ecosystem Accounts. A detailed insight of the subject matter, and relevant discussions with different stake holders, we hereby make a humble approach to the Ocean Ecosystem Services & aspects.

The broader objective of analysing ecosystem services is to describe the relationship between environment and the economy. Ocean Ecosystem services include ecosystem services and abiotic flows (e.g., mineral extraction and energy capture), alongwith many ocean ecosystem services including the provision of biomass (through wild fish and aquaculture), coastal protection and tidal surge mitigation, water purification, nursery population, habitat maintenance, recreation-related services and visual amenity services. Ocean ecosystems also play a pivotal role in regulating climate by absorbing and storing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and influencing global climate patterns. Recording of these services supplied by coastal and marine ecosystems in physical and monetary terms are essential for proper ocean governance and management.

The understanding & ascertaining ocean ecosystem services is essential for the sustainable management and conservation of oceans, since Ocean ecosystems provide tangible and intangible benefits to society, and they are increasingly being recognised in policy-making and economic assessments to ensure their preservation for future generations.

In our current study, several ecosystem services have been identified under different categories. In addition to the provisioning, regulating and cultural services, there are some supporting services of ocean such as shipping where oceans play a crucial role. Such services have also been considered in the current study. For the monetary valuations of ecosystem services, the directly observed values, which may be taken as basic price, are preferred. However, in the absence of requisite data on such values, methods prescribed by System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA) may be explored.

The System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA) is a statistical system that brings together economic and environmental information into a common framework to measure the condition of the environment, the contribution of the environment to the economy and the impact of the economy on the environment. The SEEA contains an internationally agreed set of standard concepts, definitions, classifications, accounting rules and tables to produce internationally comparable statistics. The SEEA however does not propose particular indicators, but is instead a holistic multi-purpose information system that can generate a wide range of statistics and indicators with varying potential analytical applications. The SEEA consists of three parts:

• The SEEA Central Framework was adopted by the UN Statistical Commission as the first international standard for environmental-economic accounting in 2012. It brings together, in a single measurement system, information on water, minerals, energy, timber, fish, soil, land and ecosystems, pollution and waste, etc. The SEEA Central Framework is made up of a number of different accounts, all of which are integrated and which draw information together into one coherent system. This is done by applying the same accounting concepts, structures, rules and principles to different sets of environmental information. Because these concepts are aligned with those of the System of National Accounts, this environmental information can then be integrated with economic information. 

•  The SEEA Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA) offers a synthesis of current knowledge in   ecosystem accounting. Today, ecosystem accounts have already been used to inform policy development in more than 34 countries. A key aspect of ecosystem accounting is that it allows the contributions of ecosystems to society to be expressed in monetary terms so those contributions to society’s well-being can be more easily compared to other goods and services we are more familiar with. Monetary estimates can provide information for decision-makers, for example for economic policy planning, cost-benefit analysis, and for raising awareness of the relative importance of nature to society.

•  The SEEA Applications and Extensions illustrates, the compilers and users of SEEA Central   Framework based accounts, how the information can be used in decision making, policy review and formulation, analysis and research. In particular, the focus in SEEA Applications and Extensions is on describing measurement and analysis at a broad, national level on topics such as resource use, environmental intensity, environmental protection activity, production of environmental goods and services and environmental assets.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are universal call to eradicate poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. A key component of the SDGs is the measurement of progress towards meeting various goals and targets through SDG indicators. The SEEA Applications and Extensions details how the SEEA can be integrated with other social, economic and environmental accounts (e.g., System of National Accounts) to provide a framework for producing SDG indicators.

Ocean Ecosystem: Extent and Condition Accounts – 

The fundamentals of any ecosystem accounting are the compilation of extent account which provides information on the spatial distribution and the extent of different ecosystem types within the accounting area and how it changes over the years. “SEEA EA” defines ‘Ecosystem Extent’ as the size of an ecosystem asset. Ecosystem extent accounts are intended to support decision-making by providing useful information regarding the location, size, and temporal variations of ecosystems to planners, policymakers, and other stakeholders.

After consolidating the data on the extent of an ecosystem, the next priority is to ascertain the condition of that ecosystem – whether the ecosystem is in a healthy state or is deteriorating over the years. Ecosystem condition accounts provide a structured approach to record and aggregate data describing the characteristics of ecosystem assets and how they have changed over a period. According to the “SEEA EA”, ecosystem condition is the quality of an ecosystem measured in terms of its abiotic and biotic characteristics. The measurement of ecosystem condition is pivotal in order to support environmental policy and decision making particularly related to protecting, maintaining and restoring the condition of ecosystems.

While discussing about the framework for Ocean Ecosystem Extent and Condition Accounts, the Ocean Ecosystems for India are as follows alongwith the corresponding International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Global Ecosystem Typology (GET):

1. Mangroves create structurally complex and productive ecosystems in the intertidal zone of depositional coasts, around tropical and warm temperate regions. The iota includes aquatic and terrestrial species, and intertidal specialists. Large volumes of mangrove leaves and twigs are decomposed by fungi and bacteria, mobilising carbon and nutrients for invertebrates such as crabs, worms and snails. Shellfish and juvenile fish are protected from desiccation and predators amongst mangrove roots. Mangrove canopies support many terrestrial species, particularly birds. These forests are important carbon sinks, retaining organic matter in sediments and living biomass.

• Coral Reefs are slow growing biogenic structures, formed by the calcium carbonate skeletons of certain coral species that depend on symbiotic relationships with algae. They occur in warm, shallow, low-nutrient waters and provide complex three-dimensional habitat for a highly diverse community across all trophic levels, from algae to sharks, along with other characteristic sessile organisms like coralline algae and sponges. Niche habitats produce specialist behaviours and diets, like the symbiotic relationship between clown fish and anemones. Storms and marine heat waves drive cycles of reef destruction and renewal.

• Seagrass are shallow, subtidal systems, the only marine ecosystems with an abundance of flowering plants. They are typically found mostly on soft, sandy or muddy substrates around relatively sheltered coastlines. Extent is limited in the shallows by wave action and tidal exposure, and at depth by light availability. Productive ecosystems, their three-dimensional structure provides shelter for juvenile fish, invertebrates and epiphytic algae. Diverse organisms live in and around seagrass beds including many grazers, from tiny invertebrates to megafauna such as dugongs.

• Estuaries – These coastal ecosystems shift the mosaics of different habitats, depending on the shape of the local coast, and proportional inflow of freshwater and seawater. Combined nutrients from marine, freshwater and land-based sources support very high productivity. Transient large animals like dugongs, dolphins, turtles and shorebirds feed on abundant fish, invertebrates and plant life. They commonly serve as sheltered nursery areas for fish. Many organisms are adapted to large variations in salinity.

• Lagoons are coastal water bodies having high spatial and temporal variability in structure and function, which depends largely on the status of the lagoonal entrance (open or closed). Communities have low species richness compared to those of permanently open estuaries. Lagoonal entrance closure prevents the entry of marine organisms and resident biota must tolerate significant variation in salinity, inundation, dissolved oxygen, and nutrient concentrations. Resident communities are dominated by opportunists with short lifecycles.

• Sandy shorelines include beaches, sand bars, and spits. They all are exposed to waves and tides on moderate-high energy coasts, and they rely on drift seaweed and surf-zone phytoplankton for nutrients. Polychaete worms, bivalve shellfish and a range of smaller invertebrate’s burrow in the shifting sediments, while larger vertebrate animals like seabirds, egg-laying turtles and scavenging foxes can also be found at various times. Storm tides and waves periodically restructure the sediments and profoundly influence the traits of the organisms living in these

highly dynamic systems.

• Coastal Ocean Waters – The epipelagic or euphotic zone of the open ocean is the uppermost layer that is penetrated by enough light to support photosynthesis. This uppermost ocean layer (0-200m depth) is the most influenced by the atmosphere, and is defined and structured by light availability. Photosynthesis in these ecosystems account for half of all global carbon fixation. That productivity supports diverse marine life, including many visual predators, like tuna, that rely on the high light environment. Migration is a common life history trait across all groups: either vertical – rising from the depths to feed at the surface at night to evade daytime predators; or horizontal – between breeding and feeding grounds. Detritus from this zone is an important nutrient source for lower oceanic layers.

• Mudflats occur on low-energy coastlines. Mud and silt, often from nearby rivers, protect the burrowing organisms living in these ecosystems from common shoreline stressors (e.g. high temperatures and desiccation) and predatory shorebirds, crabs and fish. These shorelines are critical stopovers and foraging grounds for migratory shorebirds. Primary productivity is mostly from diatoms (single-celled algae) that rely on tides. Oxygen can be low where sediments are very fine or burrowing or other disturbance is limited.

There are many more coastal and marine ecosystems which are contributing to the benefits derived by societies and economies to a great extent. One such ecosystem is the ‘Atoll Ecosystem’. India hosts a unique atoll ecosystem in the Lakshadweep archipelago, which has been maintained in its pristine condition till date. The uniqueness of atoll ecosystems lies in their formation, biodiversity, adaptations to isolation, complex ecological interactions, sensitivity to environmental changes, and cultural significance. Protecting these ecosystems is crucial for maintaining their biodiversity and the benefits they provide to human societies.

The coastal regions are unique because of their position at the interface of atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere. This interaction creates a wide variety of complex habitats, which host a rich biodiversity, energy and mineral resources. Ocean Ecosystems provide important ecological and economical services in the form of coastal protection, fisheries and other living and non-living resources. This has made the coastal areas centre of human activity for millennia. However, the services provided by the ocean are much dependent on the health of the oceans.

Team Maverick