Co-Convenors:
Shang Chen (China)
Sebastian Villasante (Spain/ICES)
Minling Pan (USA)
Ian Perry (Canada)
Keith Criddle (USA)
Mitsutaku Makino (Japan)
Invited Speaker:
Daniel K. Lew (NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, USA)
Marine ecosystem services (MES) are benefits people obtain from the seas and oceans. Marine ecosystems provide ecological products and services, such as seafood, regulation of climate, reduction of storm disasters, waste purification, recreation and leisure, and biodiversity maintenance. Assessing the value of MES has become an emerging and somewhat challenging subject in the scientific world and is receiving increasing attention from politicians. The United Nations’ Millennium Ecosystem Assessment reports published in 2005 focused on discovering changes in global ecosystem status and services. The ongoing World Ocean Assessment program has an urgent need for knowledge on MES. The United Nations Environmental Program formed the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) in 2012. The IPBES aims to develop and use knowledge on ecosystem services and biodiversity to improve national, regional, and global ecosystem management. The goals of this session are: (1) to provide marine scientists, economists, and ecologists with a venue to exchange results from research on MES, on the economics of marine ecological resources, and on the contribution of the marine environment to the marine and coastal economy, and (2) to provide scientists around the North Pacific a chance to discuss collaboration on scientific projects.
