Oceans and the Future of the Human Race

We have lived with the Oceans and utilized its services since time immemorial. We are drawn to the sea, for the coasts offer many benefits to local communities. Indeed we don’t need to live near the beach to be connected to the Ocean. Oceans, a critical player in the basic elements we need to survive, affect our lives every day in various ways, around the world. Ocean plants produce half of the world’s oxygen we breathe. The single Ocean (with its many named parts) harbors an enormous amount of the planet’s biodiversity; it’s the largest habitat on Earth, yet we know so little about it. The Oceans cover 71 per cent of the Earth’s surface and contain 97 per cent of the planet’s water. Logically, our planet is misnamed ? it should be called Planet Ocean and not Planet Earth. No matter what we say about it, there is always that which we can’t. The influence of the vast Oceans on the Human Race is a fascinating subject for analysis and insights derived from intellectual inquiry. This diverse and complex subject necessarily requires a blending of knowledge from different disciplines. Human wellbeing as it relates to the condition of the Oceans spread across the globe and its nexus with social issues is very much part of the Human Race. Very basic and simple concerns relate to food and nutrition that are derived on a large scale from the Ocean resources. The history of the world has itself been shaped essentially by the ability of the Human Race to master transportation across the Oceans and the ability to access and utilize a range of resources from marine structures, including hydrocarbons, minerals and a wealth of other resources, which in a variety ways have become a part of daily human existence. Oceans can also take lives. Coastal civilizations can be wiped out as is witnessed in many ancient parables, myths and religions. It means, Oceans are, at the same time, both master and servant to the Human Race. Unfortunately, today we are also altering, at an unprecedented rate, the relatively stable relationships that we have lived with in relation to the Oceans. Serious threats to all forms of life have also been imposed by other human actions that have led to serious problems of pollution. What the great majority of people do not understand is that it threatens the survival and thus the future of the entire Human Race. We are also running out of time. How can a balance be achieved between conservation and exploitation of marine resources? Is development towards sustainable use of marine resources possible? Our security, our economy, our very survival ? all require healthy Oceans. We must look after Oceans if we are to look after humanity. This book is written in a lucid and very readable style, and provides a wealth of knowledge and insightful analysis, which is a rare amalgam of multidisciplinary perspectives and unique lines of intellectual inquiry. The only aim of the author is to direct the world attention to the Oceans. As land creatures we tend to think primarily in terms of land; Oceans remain out of sight, out of mind. In most national capital cities where decisions are made, Oceans do not figure in daytoday activities so funding is much harder to come by. In this respect this book is of great value, and it will appeal as much to a nonspecialist reader as it would to specialists in the diverse but interconnected subjects covered by this volume.