A healthy ocean will allow better ecosystems resilience to climate change, and consequently a reinforcement of ecosystem services crucial to the planet’s viability. In light of growing pressure on the ocean, which has to include the development of new human activities, political issues must combine CO2 emissions reduction with biodiversity conservation issues. Out of 10,000 Marine Protected Areas worldwide, many only exist on paper. Twenty maritime countries cover 80% of the surface of all Marine Protected Areas. Governance and joint management between public stakeholders, professionals and sea users are major obstacles for MPA networks operations. In order to ensure a viable climate for humanity, international and governmental policies should acquire an adaptation and mitigation logic, and include the ocean as a nature-based solution against climate change.
The concept of ecosystem services (ES) refers to the multiple benefits humans gain from maintaining ecosystem health and functions. This notion has theoretical and practical implications because it frames scientific findings into economic terms to raise awareness of the value of functional ecosystems. It follows that environmental management that incorporates the ecosystem service approach is economically efficient and sustainable. The ES approach is particularly useful for coastal and marine ecosystems because they traditionally lack spatial planning and protective regulation. Moreover, the concept of ecosystem services emphasizes the ocean’s function as a climate regulator, and its crucial role for mitigation and adaptation to climate change. Regional implementation of integrated management already exists in the European Union. The next step now is to apply the ES approach to other, threatened regions such as the Mediterranean in order to ensure ecosystem resilience and service provision.