Oceans & Human Health

The emergence of Planetary Health as a discipline aimed at preserving and improving human health in the face of major environmental challenges, has identified several crucial research priorities, mainly dealing with restricted scope and comparability of studies, lack of transdisciplinary research, and limited funding. Investigating threats to human health associated with the disruption of natural systems, including climate change, becomes particularly challenging when addressing the links between ocean health and human health. Despite numerous gaps and uncertainties in our understanding, both ocean and human health are undeniably impacted by the triple crisis encompasses the intertwined challenges of climate change, pollution and loss of biodiversity insisting on marine ecosystems, coastal waters, high seas, and the vast expanses of the deep seabed. Changes include water warming, acidification, sea level rise, changes in salinity, persistent water contamination and are exacerbated by complex synergies that intensify the effects of already unsustainable direct and indirect anthropogenic pressures, impacting on economic and social systems as well as on health. An understanding of these complex and interdependent relationships is crucial to inform policy and promote sound and effective action towards sustainability and health​