6 Introduction
The majority of Australians live within 50 km of the coastline, highlighting the importance of the ocean to people. The ocean contributes significantly to the economy and provides essential services for life on earth. Ecosystem services are those that provide benefits to humans and can include things like carbon sequestration, harvestable foods, nutrient cycling, and health and wellbeing benefits. Pressure on these resources has often led to destruction of habitats and biodiversity loss. Chapter 2 focuses on ecosystem services and the blue economy as well as the challenges, solutions and opportunities for achieving a sustainable blue economy through an environmental, social and economic perspective.
Learning Goals
By the end of this chapter you should:
- Be able to define the blue economy
- Understand what ecosystem services are and how they are beneficial from an environmental, social and economic perspective
- Identify and evaluate challenges to achieving a sustainable blue economy
- Understand the complexity involved in achieving a sustainable blue economy and propose solutions to one or more of the identified challenges
- Understand the environmental, social and economic benefits of achieving a sustainable blue economy
