A Global Map of Human Impact on Marine Ecosystems

TLDR

The management and conservation of the world's oceans require synthesis of spatial data on the distribution and intensity of human activities and the overlap of their impacts on marine ecosystems. The study provides flexible maps to guide conservation resource allocation, ecosystem‑based management, and marine spatial planning. We developed an ecosystem‑specific, multiscale spatial model that synthesizes 17 global data sets of anthropogenic drivers for 20 marine ecosystems. The analysis reveals that every marine area is impacted by human activity, 41 % is strongly affected by multiple drivers, but large polar regions remain relatively undisturbed.

Abstract

The management and conservation of the world's oceans require synthesis of spatial data on the distribution and intensity of human activities and the overlap of their impacts on marine ecosystems. We developed an ecosystem-specific, multiscale spatial model to synthesize 17 global data sets of anthropogenic drivers of ecological change for 20 marine ecosystems. Our analysis indicates that no area is unaffected by human influence and that a large fraction (41%) is strongly affected by multiple drivers. However, large areas of relatively little human impact remain, particularly near the poles. The analytical process and resulting maps provide flexible tools for regional and global efforts to allocate conservation resources; to implement ecosystem-based management; and to inform marine spatial planning, education, and basic research.