Where Valuation of Ecosystem Services May Be Useful

Pollution and contaminants include:

• Chemical pollution such as nutrient runoff (nitrogen, phosphorus → eutrophication); pesticide runoff from agriculture, industrial effluents (heavy metals, petrochemicals); oil spills and hydrocarbon leaks
• Plastic and solid waste including macroplastics (bottles, bags, fishing gear); microplastics (from cosmetics, synthetic textiles, degraded plastics); ghost nets and abandoned fishing gear
• Wastewater and sewage including untreated or poorly treated urban sewage; pharmaceutical residues (antibiotics, hormones); pathogens (e.g., E. coli, cholera bacteria)
• Marine debris (Non-plastic) such as construction debris; ship waste; abandoned vessels

Overexploitation of resource include:

• Overfishing such as unsustainable commercial fishing (e.g. trawling, longlining); illegal, unreported ; unregulated (IUU) fishing; targeting of threatened/endangered species
• Bycatch and discards including incidental capture of non-target species (e.g., dolphins, turtles); juvenile fish mortality
• Habitat-depleting practices such as bottom trawling damaging seabeds; dynamite fishing and cyanide poisoning (in coral reef areas)

Physical habitat destruction include:

• Coral reef destruction (by boats, tourism, or fishing gear)
• Coastal development and land reclamation
• Mangrove deforestation
• Dredging of ports and shipping lanes
• Sand mining and seabed mining

Climate change and oceanographic changes include:

• Ocean acidification (due to CO₂ absorption)
• Sea-level rise (affecting estuaries, mangroves, wetlands)
• Coral bleaching (thermal stress)
• Ocean warming (shifting species distributions, altering currents)
• Changes in ocean stratification and productivity
• Loss of sea ice and Arctic habitat

Invasive species and biosecurity include:

• Ballast water discharge introducing alien species
• Spread of invasive marine plants (e.g. Caulerpa taxifolia)
• Genetic pollution from escaped aquaculture or privately owned species

Shipping and maritime industry impacts include:

• Ballast water and hull fouling
• Noise pollution (affecting whales, dolphins)
• Ship strikes (marine mammals)
• Underwater light pollution
• Port construction impacts

Aquaculture impacts include:

• Water pollution from feed, fish waste, and chemical use
• Habitat degradation from converting mangroves or seagrass beds for aquaculture ponds
• Disease transmission from farmed to wild populations
• Genetic pollution from escaped farmed fish to wild populations
• Resource competition with fisheries, tourism, and conservation areas

Governance and institutional failures include:

• Weak enforcement of regulations
• Fragmented institutional responsibilities
• Lack of integrated coastal zone management (ICZM)
• Limited stakeholder participation i.e. local communities may be excluded from decision-making processes
• Poor data and monitoring systems
• Short-term political priorities
• Insufficient funding and resources
• Lack of legal frameworks