Abstract

Following a successful career in finance, Torsten Thiele devoted himself full-time to the challenging
cause of ocean conservation and stewardship. In August 2015, Thiele had already come a long way in
spearheading initiatives towards the protection of the ocean: from building meaningful connections, to
starting the non-profit Global Ocean Trust aiming to protect the ocean, and drafting a proposed system
for a Global Ocean Bank for Sustainability and Development (OBSD). But Thiele still struggled to identify
the best approach to advance the OBSD at the upcoming Conference of the Parties (COP21) meeting,
where he could finally get closer toward a legally-binding universal agreement for countries to
consciously protect the ocean.

Abstract

Torsten Thiele develops blue natural capital and innovative finance solutions to ocean and coastal
governance challenges. Torsten is Visiting Fellow at the LSE Institute of Global Affairs where he leads the
Blue Finance Initiative, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies and Founder of
Global Ocean Trust.

Torsten is an expert in the financing of infrastructure projects, with global experience in structuring and
funding debt and equity. He worked at leading financial institutions in London for over 20 years, both at
development banks such as the EBRD and at private sector firms such as JP Morgan and CIT. Till 2013
Torsten was Head of Telecoms Project Finance at Investec Bank plc.

Torsten consults widely with public, private and civil society organisations on ocean matters and coastal
natural ecosystem approaches. He sits on the Engagement Boards of the EU SenseOcean and AtlantOS
projects, the finance group of the International Partnership for Blue Carbon and is a member of the
IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas.

Torsten holds graduate degrees in law and in economics from Bonn University, an MPA from the
Harvard Kennedy School and an MPhil in Conservation Leadership from the University of Cambridge. He
was a 2014 Advanced Leadership Fellow at Harvard University.

Torsten Thiele and the Global Ocean Trust Case Study Solution & Analysis

In most courses studied at Harvard Business schools, students are provided with a case study. Major
HBR cases concerns on a whole industry, a whole organization or some part of organization; profitable
or non-profitable organizations. Student’s role is to analyze the case and diagnose the situation, identify
the problem and then give appropriate recommendations and steps to be taken.

To make a detailed case analysis, student should follow these steps:

STEP 1: Reading Up Harvard Case Study Method Guide:

Case study method guide is provided to students which determine the aspects of problem needed to be
considered while analyzing a case study. It is very important to have a thorough reading and
understanding of guidelines provided. However, poor guide reading will lead to misunderstanding of
case and failure of analyses. It is recommended to read guidelines before and after reading the case to
understand what is asked and how the questions are to be answered. Therefore, in-depth
understanding f case guidelines is very important.

Harvard Case Study Solutions

STEP 2: Reading The Torsten Thiele and the Global Ocean Trust Harvard Case Study:

To have a complete understanding of the case, one should focus on case reading. It is said that case
should be read two times. Initially, fast reading without taking notes and underlines should be done.
Initial reading is to get a rough idea of what information is provided for the analyses. Then, a very
careful reading should be done at second time reading of the case. This time, highlighting the important
point and mark the necessary information provided in the case. In addition, the quantitative data in
case, and its relations with other quantitative or qualitative variables should be given more importance.
Also, manipulating different data and combining with other information available will give a new insight.
However, all of the information provided is not reliable and relevant.

When having a fast reading, following points should be noted:

 Nature of organization

 Nature if industry in which organization operates.

 External environment that is effecting organization

 Problems being faced by management

 Identification of communication strategies.

 Any relevant strategy that can be added.

 Control and out-of-control situations.

When reading the case for second time, following points should be considered:

 Decisions needed to be made and the responsible Person to make decision.

 Objectives of the organization and key players in this case.

  The compatibility of objectives. if not, their reconciliations and necessary redefinition.

 Sources and constraints of organization from meeting its objectives.

After reading the case and guidelines thoroughly, reader should go forward and start the analyses of the
case.

STEP 3: Doing The Case Analysis Of Torsten Thiele and the Global Ocean Trust:

To make an appropriate case analyses, firstly, reader should mark the important problems that are
happening in the organization. There may be multiple problems that can be faced by any organization.
Secondly, after identifying problems in the company, identify the most concerned and important
problem that needed to be focused.

Firstly, the introduction is written. After having a clear idea of what is defined in the case, we deliver it
to the reader. It is better to start the introduction from any historical or social context. The challenging
diagnosis for Torsten Thiele and the Global Ocean Trust and the management of information is needed
to be provided. However, introduction should not be longer than 6-7 lines in a paragraph. As the most
important objective is to convey the most important message for to the reader.

After introduction, problem statement is defined. In the problem statement, the company’s most
important problem and constraints to solve these problems should be define clearly. However, the
problem should be concisely define in no more than a paragraph. After defining the problems and
constraints, analysis of the case study is begin.

STEP 4: SWOT Analysis of the Torsten Thiele and the Global Ocean Trust HBR Case Solution:

SWOT analysis helps the business to identify its strengths and weaknesses, as well as understanding of
opportunity that can be availed and the threat that the company is facing. SWOT for Torsten Thiele and
the Global Ocean Trust is a powerful tool of analysis as it provide a thought to uncover and exploit the
opportunities that can be used to increase and enhance company’s operations. In addition, it also
identifies the weaknesses of the organization that will help to be eliminated and manage the threats
that would catch the attention of the management.

This strategy helps the company to make any strategy that would differentiate the company from
competitors, so that the organization can compete successfully in the industry. The strengths and
weaknesses are obtained from internal organization. Whereas, the opportunities and threats are
generally related from external environment of organization. Moreover, it is also called Internal-External
Analysis.

STRENGTHS:

In the strengths, management should identify the following points exists in the organization:

 Advantages of the organization

  Activities of the company better than competitors.

 Unique resources and low cost resources company have.

 Activities and resources market sees as the company’s strength.

 Unique selling proposition of the company.

WEAKNESSES:

 Improvement that could be done.

 Activities that can be avoided for Torsten Thiele and the Global Ocean Trust.

 Activities that can be determined as your weakness in the market.

 Factors that can reduce the sales.

 Competitor’s activities that can be seen as your weakness.

OPPORTUNITIES:

 Good opportunities that can be spotted.

 Interesting trends of industry.

 Opportunities for Torsten Thiele and the Global Ocean Trust can be obtained from things such
as:

 Change in technology and market strategies

 Government policy changes that is related to the company’s field

 Changes in social patterns and lifestyles.

 Local events.

THREATS:

Following points can be identified as a threat to company:

 Company’s facing obstacles.

 Activities of competitors.

 Product and services quality standards

 Threat from changing technologies

 Financial/cash flow problems

  Weakness that threaten the business.

Following points should be considered when applying SWOT to the analysis:

 Precise and verifiable phrases should be sued.

 Prioritize the points under each head, so that management can identify which step has to be
taken first.

 Apply the analyses at proposed level. Clear yourself first that on what basis you have to apply
SWOT matrix.

 Make sure that points identified should carry itself with strategy formulation process.

 Use particular terms (like USP, Core Competencies Analyses etc.) to get a comprehensive picture
of analyses.

STEP 5: PESTEL/ PEST Analysis of Torsten Thiele and the Global Ocean Trust Case Solution:

Pest analyses is a widely used tool to analyze the Political, Economic, Socio-cultural, Technological,
Environmental and legal situations which can provide great and new opportunities to the company as
well as these factors can also threat the company, to be dangerous in future.

Pest analysis is very important and informative. It is used for the purpose of identifying business
opportunities and advance threat warning. Moreover, it also helps to the extent to which change is
useful for the company and also guide the direction for the change. In addition, it also helps to avoid
activities and actions that will be harmful for the company in future, including projects and strategies.

To analyze the business objective and its opportunities and threats, following steps should be
followed:

 Brainstorm and assumption the changes that should be made to organization. Answer the
necessary questions that are related to specific needs of organization

 Analyze the opportunities that would be happen due to the change.

 Analyze the threats and issues that would be caused due to change.

 Perform cost benefit analyses and take the appropriate action.

Pest analysis

PEST FACTORS:

POLITICAL:

 Next political elections and changes that will happen in the country due to these elections
  Strong and powerful political person, his point of view on business policies and their effect on
the organization.

 Strength of property rights and law rules. And its ratio with corruption and organized crimes.
Changes in these situation and its effects.

 Change in Legislation and taxation effects on the company

 Trend of regulations and deregulations. Effects of change in business regulations

 Timescale of legislative change.

 Other political factors likely to change for Torsten Thiele and the Global Ocean Trust.

ECONOMICAL:

 Position and current economy trend i.e. growing, stagnant or declining.

 Exchange rates fluctuations and its relation with company.

 Change in Level of customer’s disposable income and its effect.

 Fluctuation in unemployment rate and its effect on hiring of skilled employees

 Access to credit and loans. And its effects on company

 Effect of globalization on economic environment

 Considerations on other economic factors

SOCIO-CULTURAL:

 Change in population growth rate and age factors, and its impacts on organization.

 Effect on organization due to Change in attitudes and generational shifts.

 Standards of health, education and social mobility levels. Its changes and effects on company.

 Employment patterns, job market trend and attitude towards work according to different age
groups.

case study solutions

 Social attitudes and social trends, change in socio culture an dits effects.

 Religious believers and life styles and its effects on organization

 Other socio culture factors and its impacts.

TECHNOLOGICAL:
  Any new technology that company is using

 Any new technology in market that could affect the work, organization or industry

 Access of competitors to the new technologies and its impact on their product
development/better services.

 Research areas of government and education institutes in which the company can make any
efforts

 Changes in infra-structure and its effects on work flow

 Existing technology that can facilitate the company

 Other technological factors and their impacts on company and industry

These headings and analyses would help the company to consider these factors and make a “big
picture” of company’s characteristics. This will help the manager to take the decision and drawing
conclusion about the forces that would create a big impact on company and its resources.

STEP 6: Porter’s Five Forces/ Strategic Analysis Of The Torsten Thiele and the Global Ocean Trust Case
Study:

To analyze the structure of a company and its corporate strategy, Porter’s five forces model is used. In
this model, five forces have been identified which play an important part in shaping the market and
industry. These forces are used to measure competition intensity and profitability of an industry and
market.

porter’s five forces model

These forces refers to micro environment and the company ability to serve its customers and make a
profit. These five forces includes three forces from horizontal competition and two forces from vertical
competition. The five forces are discussed below:

THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS:

 as the industry have high profits, many new entrants will try to enter into the market. However,
the new entrants will eventually cause decrease in overall industry profits. Therefore, it is
necessary to block the new entrants in the industry. following factors is describing the level of
threat to new entrants:

 Barriers to entry that includes copy rights and patents.

 High capital requirement

 Government restricted policies

 Switching cost
 Access to suppliers and distributions

 Customer loyalty to established brands.

THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES:

 this describes the threat to company. If the goods and services are not up to the standard,
consumers can use substitutes and alternatives that do not need any extra effort and do not
make a major difference. For example, using Aquafina in substitution of tap water, Pepsi in
alternative of Coca Cola. The potential factors that made customer shift to substitutes are as
follows:

 Price performance of substitute

 Switching costs of buyer

 Products substitute available in the market

 Reduction of quality

 Close substitution are available

DEGREE OF INDUSTRY RIVALRY:

 the lesser money and resources are required to enter into any industry, the higher there will be
new competitors and be an effective competitor. It will also weaken the company’s position.
Following are the potential factors that will influence the company’s competition:

 Competitive advantage

 Continuous innovation

 Sustainable position in competitive advantage

 Level of advertising

 Competitive strategy

BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS:

 it deals with the ability of customers to take down the prices. It mainly consists the importance
of a customer and the level of cost if a customer will switch from one product to another. The
buyer power is high if there are too many alternatives available. And the buyer power is low if
there are lesser options of alternatives and switching. Following factors will influence the buying
power of customers:

 Bargaining leverage
  Switching cost of a buyer

 Buyer price sensitivity

 Competitive advantage of company’s product

BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS:

 this refers to the supplier’s ability of increasing and decreasing prices. If there are few
alternatives o supplier available, this will threat the company and it would have to purchase its
raw material in supplier’s terms. However, if there are many suppliers alternative, suppliers
have low bargaining power and company do not have to face high switching cost. The potential
factors that effects bargaining power of suppliers are the following:

 Input differentiation

 Impact of cost on differentiation

 Strength of distribution centers

 Input substitute’s availability.

STEP 7: VRIO Analysis of Torsten Thiele and the Global Ocean Trust:

Vrio analysis for Torsten Thiele and the Global Ocean Trust case study identified the four main attributes
which helps the organization to gain a competitive advantages. The author of this theory suggests that
firm must be valuable, rare, imperfectly imitable and perfectly non sustainable. Therefore there must be
some resources and capabilities in an organization that can facilitate the competitive advantage to
company. The four components of VRIO analysis are described below:
VALUABLE: the company must have some resources or strategies that can exploit opportunities and
defend the company from major threats. If the company holds some value then answer is yes.
Resources are also valuable if they provide customer satisfaction and increase customer value. This
value may create by increasing differentiation in existing product or decrease its price. Is these
conditions are not met, company may lead to competitive disadvantage. Therefore, it is necessary to
continually review the Torsten Thiele and the Global Ocean Trust company’s activities and resources
values.
RARE: the resources of the Torsten Thiele and the Global Ocean Trust company that are not used by any
other company are known as rare. Rare and valuable resources grant much competitive advantages to
the firm. However, when more than one few companies uses the same resources and provide
competitive parity are also known as rare resources. Even, the competitive parity is not desired position,
but the company should not lose its valuable resources, even they are common.
COSTLY TO IMITATE: the resources are costly to imitate, if other organizations cannot imitate it.
However, imitation is done in two ways. One is duplicating that is direct imitation and the other one is
substituting that is indirect imitation.
Any firm who has valuable and rare resources, and these resources are costly to imitate, have achieved
their competitive advantage. However, resources should also be perfectly non sustainable. The reasons
that resource imitation is costly are historical conditions, casual ambiguity and social complexity.
ORGANIZED TO CAPTURE VALUE: resources, itself, cannot provide advantages to organization until it is
organized and exploit to do so. A firm (like Torsten Thiele and the Global Ocean Trust) must organize its
management systems, processes, policies and strategies to fully utilize the resource’s potential to be
valuable, rare and costly to imitate.

STEP 8: Generating Alternatives For Torsten Thiele and the Global Ocean Trust Case Solution:

After completing the analyses of the company, its opportunities and threats, it is important to generate
a solution of the problem and the alternatives a company can apply in order to solve its problems. To
generate the alternative of problem, following things must to be kept in mind:

 Realistic solution should be identified that can be operated in the company, with all its
constraints and opportunities.

 as the problem and its solution cannot occur at the same time, it should be described as
mutually exclusive

 it is not possible for a company to not to take any action, therefore, the alternative of doing
nothing is not viable.

 Student should provide more than one decent solution. Providing two undesirable alternatives
to make the other one attractive is not acceptable.

Once the alternatives have been generated, student should evaluate the options and select the
appropriate and viable solution for the company.

STEP 9: Selection Of Alternatives For Torsten Thiele and the Global Ocean Trust Case Solution:

It is very important to select the alternatives and then evaluate the best one as the company have
limited choices and constraints. Therefore to select the best alternative, there are many factors that is
needed to be kept in mind. The criteria’s on which business decisions are to be selected areas under:

 Improve profitability

 Increase sales, market shares, return on investments

 Customer satisfaction

 Brand image

 Corporate mission, vision and strategy

 Resources and capabilities

Alternatives should be measures that which alternative will perform better than other one and the valid
reasons. In addition, alternatives should be related to the problem statements and issues described in
the case study.

STEP 10: Evaluation Of Alternatives For Torsten Thiele and the Global Ocean Trust Case Solution:

If the selected alternative is fulfilling the above criteria, the decision should be taken straightforwardly.
Best alternative should be selected must be the best when evaluating it on the decision criteria. Another
method used to evaluate the alternatives are the list of pros and cons of each alternative and one who
has more pros than cons and can be workable under organizational constraints.

STEP 11: Recommendations For Torsten Thiele and the Global Ocean Trust Case Study (Solution):

There should be only one recommendation to enhance the company’s operations and its growth or
solving its problems. The decision that is being taken should be justified and viable for solving the
problems.

Following a successful career in finance, Torsten Thiele devoted himself full-time to the
challenging cause of ocean conservation and stewardship. In August 2015, Thiele had already
come a long way in spearheading initiatives towards the protection of the ocean: from building
meaningful connections, to starting the non-profit Global Ocean Trust aiming to protect the
ocean, and drafting a proposed system for a Global Ocean Bank for Sustainability and
Development (OBSD). But Thiele still struggled to identify the best approach to advance the
OBSD at the upcoming Conference of the Parties (COP21) meeting, where he could finally get
closer toward a legally-binding universal agreement for countries to consciously protect the
ocean.

How do we protect the Ocean?

Sponsored feature

A focus purely on economics must not overrule the long-term future of the ocean

by Prospect Team / June 8, 2017 / Leave a comment

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In partnership with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Prospect convened a discussion last week on
“How do we protect the Ocean?”. The event took place ahead of the first ever dedicated UN Ocean
Conference which was held from June 5th to 9th to consider the solutions and policies needed to
conserve and sustainably develop our ocean and marine resources, in line with SDG goal 14. The event
drew from research from the FrameWorks Institute which sets out recommendations aimed to facilitate
communication and foster understanding about the ocean.

Duncan Weldon, who chaired the discussion, noted that it was striking that discussions about the
climate were much more present in the public consciousness when compared to how the ocean was
spoken about. Bringing forward the example of the rain-forest, “there’s quite a high level in public
discourse, media discourse and political discourse concerning the rain-forest but we don’t really get that
with the ocean”.

Kenneth Johnson, Researcher and Head of Division of Earth Sciences at the Natural History Museum,
noted that this was not necessarily the case for all aspects of the ocean. Citing the example of coral
reefs, he argued that “there are some systems in the ocean that are charismatic enough that people do
have knowledge about it”.

Torsten Thiele, Founder of the Global Oceans Trust, stated that “some people say that the ocean is the
new climate. I say that the ocean is the old climate”. The important role of the ocean was commented
upon by multiple participants. Many of which referred to the fact that every second breath we take
comes from the ocean. A key point that emerged early in the discussion was that the way we all engage
with the ocean needs to be examined and potentially re-evaluated to create a successful call to action
for governments and different actors, including private and public institutions, businesses and
individuals.

Mercedes Rosello, Director of the House of Ocean, argued that the historical representation of the
ocean merited further examination within the context of this discussion. “For many centuries, there
was no need to understand it. It supported and fed humanity for many centuries and, in just a very short
space of time, our technological advancements have been vast.” She went on to state that, due to a
legal system “that supports exploitation, we now find ourselves in a position where we now need to
very rapidly develop a different approach”.
Lucy Woodall, representing the High Seas Alliance, also noted the importance of technological advances.
“It’s just really important that we come back to the aspect of technology. After advances in research it’s
amazing just how much now understand that we don’t know about the ocean.” The erroneous concept
that the ocean was “too big to fail” was invoked on multiple occasions. Yet Pen Hadow, Director of the
North Pole High Seas Project, went on to state that “If you wait until it is obvious to every person that
we have a crisis, it is already lost”.

Adrian Gahan, Managing Director at Sancroft, argued that “we only save what we love and we only love
what we know”. Directly citing the research from the FrameWorks Institute that was commissioned by
the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, he went on to note “that if we become disconnected from the
ocean then we don’t understand the full range of its services”. As a result, the ocean suffers from a
global commons problem since ocean governance crosses over departments and national boundaries

Rodney Anderson, Advisor to North Sea Marine Cluster, also noted the importance of public perception
when he reflected on his work on the Marine and Coastal Access Act of 2009. “One of the issues about
the UK is that the sea is not very attractive, nor are the things that are in there and it’s a real problem”.
This required a concerted effort to find “pretty things” around the UK coastline in order to establish that
this was an issue worth addressing.

When asked, what were the key measures which were needed to be taken to preserve ocean health?
Lucy responded that it was “important that we not get caught up in the idea that we need to know
everything before we can act”. Louisa Hooper, from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, added that “if
you focus purely on economic value it undermines the fact that the ocean is a long-term sustainer of
life”.

Increased public engagement was seen by many as being fundamental. Matt Frost, Deputy Director of
the Marine Biological Association stated that it is important that “we communicate the importance of
the ocean to all stakeholders whether it’s industry or the media”. Yet he went on to note that long-term
change would need to be done through education and that the importance of a “syllabus aimed at the
younger generations” could not be neglected.

In the closing remarks of the discussion, Adrian offered up a self-admitted contrarian view. “we don’t
need a public tipping point. What we need is a policymaker’s tipping point- politicians don’t like talking
about the problem unless they know what the solution is.” As a key take-away, Rodney stressed the
importance of transparency in fostering an understanding of what is going on. While there may be policy
procedures and tick boxes in place “none of us can say, including the regulators, how effective they are
in achieving our goals”.
Torsten argued that a strong economic narrative could act as “the tipping point for policy-makers –
[since] we can spend money more effectively in that space than in another space” while Lucy noted that
“if you focus purely on the economics then that undermines wider questions about the ocean as a long-
term sustainer of life and you need to use these messages quite carefully”.

The discussion was chaired by Duncan Weldon, Head of Research at the Resolution Group. We would
like to thank our participants for taking the time to share their insights and contribute to this
informative discussion: Rodney Anderson, Independent Consultant and Advisor to North Sea Marine
Cluster; Dr Matt Frost, Deputy Director, The Marine Biological Association; Adrian Gahan, Managing
Director, Sancroft; Chiara Vitali, Sea Change Campaign Manager; Pen Haddow, Director, North Pole High
Seas Project Ltd.; Alice Puritz, Lawyer- Biodiversity, Client Earth; Lucy Holmes, Senior Programme
Manager, International Sustainability Unit; Louisa Hooper, Environment Programme Manager, CGF; Dr
Kenneth Johnson, Researcher and Head of Division – Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum; Nicola
Pollock, Director, John Ellerman Foundation; Fiona Llewellyn, Marine Reserves Coalition Coordinator,
ZSL/One Less Campaign; Mirella Von Lindenfels, Director, Communications Inc. Ltd; Torsten Thiele,
Founder, Global Oceans Trust; Dr Lucy Woodall, Ocean Research and Conservation Group, Oxford
University; Mercedes Rosello, Director, House of Ocean; Louis Mackay, Maritime Foundation; and Tony
Long, Director – Ending Illegal Fishing Project, The Pew Charitable Trusts.

10 Things You Can Do to Save the Ocean

PUBLISHED APRIL 27, 2010

1. Mind Your Carbon Footprint and Reduce Energy Consumption

Reduce the effects of climate change on the ocean by leaving the car at home when you can and being
conscious of your energy use at home and work. A few things you can do to get started today: Switch to
compact fluorescent light bulbs, take the stairs, and bundle up or use a fan to avoid oversetting your
thermostat.

2. Make Safe, Sustainable Seafood Choices

Global fish populations are rapidly being depleted due to demand, loss of habitat, and unsustainable
fishing practices. When shopping or dining out, help reduce the demand for overexploited species by
choosing seafood that is both healthful and sustainable.

3. Use Fewer Plastic Products

Plastics that end up as ocean debris contribute to habitat destruction and entangle and kill tens of
thousands of marine animals each year. To limit your impact, carry a reusable water bottle, store food in
nondisposable containers, bring your own cloth tote or other reusable bag when shopping, and recycle
whenever possible.

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4. Help Take Care of the Beach

Whether you enjoy diving, surfing, or relaxing on the beach, always clean up after yourself. Explore and
appreciate the ocean without interfering with wildlife or removing rocks and coral. Go even further by
encouraging others to respect the marine environment or by participating in local beach cleanups.

5. Don't Purchase Items That Exploit Marine Life

Certain products contribute to the harming of fragile coral reefs and marine populations. Avoid
purchasing items such as coral jewelry, tortoiseshell hair accessories (made from hawksbill turtles), and
shark products.
6. Be an Ocean-Friendly Pet Owner

Read pet food labels and consider seafood sustainability when choosing a diet for your pet. Never flush
cat litter, which can contain pathogens harmful to marine life. Avoid stocking your aquarium with wild-
caught saltwater fish, and never release any aquarium fish into the ocean or other bodies of water, a
practice that can introduce non-native species harmful to the existing ecosystem.

7. Support Organizations Working to Protect the Ocean

Many institutes and organizations are fighting to protect ocean habitats and marine wildlife. Find a
national organization and consider giving financial support or volunteering for hands-on work or
advocacy. If you live near the coast, join up with a local branch or group and get involved in projects
close to home.

8. Influence Change in Your Community

Research the ocean policies of public officials before you vote or contact your local representatives to
let them know you support marine conservation projects. Consider patronizing restaurants and grocery
stores that offer only sustainable seafood, and speak up about your concerns if you spot a threatened
species on the menu or at the seafood counter.

9. Travel the Ocean Responsibly

Practice responsible boating, kayaking, and other recreational activities on the water. Never throw
anything overboard, and be aware of marine life in the waters around you. If you’re set on taking a
cruise for your next vacation, do some research to find the most eco-friendly option.

10. Educate Yourself About Oceans and Marine Life

All life on Earth is connected to the ocean and its inhabitants. The more you learn about the issues
facing this vital system, the more you’ll want to help ensure its health—then share that knowledge to
educate and inspire others.
INTEGRATED OCEAN MANAGEMENT?

Integrated ocean management ensures key ecoystems are protected through the most appropriate
measures, enhancing ecological connectivity that is so critical for marine species to thrive and important
ocean processes to happen, while ensuring local communities and economies can continue counting on
the ocean for subsistence and sustainable growth.

With those measures in place, effectively managed and enforced, we can boost the health of
ecosystems and even turn around the current downward trend in marine biodiversity.

We are helping governments to meet their ocean protection commitments

In the last decade, the voice in favour of ocean protection has grown globally, and governments are
responding.

In 2010, Governments at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity meeting agreed to a biodiversity

rescue plan, that includes marine protected areas covering at least 10% of our ocean by 2020.

In 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to develop a legally-binding treaty for the
conservation of marine life beyond national territorial waters–that area of the ocean shared by all.

To help government meet their commitments and ensure the ocean continues to provide food and
livelihoods for millions of people, the WWF Global Marine Programme:

helps governments and local communities identify and manage those critical places that are in urgent
need for protection in order to secure food security and livelihoods.

works with fishermen, local communities, and business sectors to implement best practices and
sustainable use of marine and coastal resources.

take part in the global debate around ocean conservation and uses its decades of experience on the
water and in policy fora to influence decisions at the highest level.

Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) swimming in the water in front of an iceberg, Beaufort Sea, Arctic ...
10 Things You Can Do to Save the Oceans

Oceana has compiled a list of suggestions for green – dare we say blue? – lifestyle choices that can help
preserve the oceans for future generations.

1. Join Oceana

More than 550,000 members and e-activists in over 200 countries have already joined Oceana - the
largest international organization focused 100 percent on ocean conservation

2. Vote responsibly. Contact your representative.

Electing the right public officials is essential to good ocean policy. Do your research and make an
informed decision. Exercise your right to vote and stay involved after Election Day. If you have concerns
or questions, contact your representative

3. Eat sustainable seafood.

Global fisheries are on the verge of collapse. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO), three quarters of the world’s fisheries are now overexploited, fully exploited, significantly
depleted or recovering from overexploitation. Carry a sustainable seafood card and ask your seafood
restaurant or fish market to buy from sustainable fisheries. Look for special terms like "line caught",
"diver caught", "sustainably caught" or "sustainably harvested.

4. Reduce energy use.

Carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels is making our oceans more acidic. One consequence could be
the loss of corals on a global scale, as their calcium skeletons are weakened by the increasing acidity of
the water. There are many simple ways you can reduce your energy use. Ride a bike, walk or use public
transportation. Use high efficiency appliances in your home. Turn off appliances when they aren’t in use.
Turn up your thermostat a few degrees in the summer and down a few degrees in the winter. Use
compact fluorescent light bulbs in your house. For more information, see
http://www.oceana.org/climate

5. Use reusable plastic products.

Plastic debris in the ocean degrades marine habitats and contributes to the deaths of many marine
animals. Because floating plastic often resembles food to many marine birds, sea turtles and marine
mammals, they can choke or starve because their digestive systems get blocked when they eat it. Help
prevent these unnecessary deaths—use cloth grocery bags and reusable water bottles.
6. Properly dispose of hazardous materials.

Motor oil and other hazardous materials often end up washing into coastal areas because they aren’t
disposed of properly. This pollutes the water and hurts the overall health of our oceans. Be sure to
dispose of hazardous waste in an environmentally safe way.

7. Use less fertilizer.

When fertilizers are used in gardening and agriculture, the excess eventually ends up in the ocean. One
result is a “dead zone” — an area with very low levels of oxygen in the water — the size of New Jersey in
the Gulf of Mexico during the spring and summer. Since all marine life requires oxygen to live, including
fish and shrimp, they must flee the area or die. Many other coastal areas are at risk too. So, use fertilizer
sparingly and remember more is usually not better.

8. Pick up garbage and litter near beaches.

Much of the plastic and debris found in the ocean has its beginnings in beach litter. As beach crowds
increase, so does the amount of trash left behind. Don’t let your day at the beach contribute to the
destruction of our oceans. Bring a trash bag with you for your garbage and volunteer for beach clean-
ups.

9. Buy ocean-friendly products.

Avoid products produced through unsustainable or environmentally harmful methods. For example,
avoid cosmetics containing shark squalene and jewelry made of coral or sea turtle shell. These products
are directly linked to unsustainable fishing methods and the destruction of entire ecosystems.

10. Share with a friend.

Tell people what’s going on with the world’s oceans and what they can do to make a difference. Spread
the word and join the conversation with us on Facebook and Twitter.

Cut Carbon

When we burn fossil fuels (like oil, gas, or coal) to power our homes, businesses, and cars, we are adding
the gas carbon dioxide to the air. The blanket of carbon dioxide we've been building for over a hundred
years acts like a greenhouse, trapping more of the sun's heat. More heat means a warmer ocean, which
is taking its toll on marine life. It also causes the ocean to become more acidic, which makes it hard for
organisms like corals and clams to build their skeletons and shells. You can help slow global warming
and ocean acidification by reducing your "carbon footprint"—the amount of carbon dioxide released as
you go about your daily activities.

Power down: Making little changes in the way we live can go a long way to reducing energy use—and
carbon emissions. Try drying laundry on a clothesline or rack instead of in the dryer. Walk, bike, take the
bus, or carpool to work or school. Replace light bulbs and older appliances with newer, more efficient
models.

Switch sources: Not all energy comes from burning fossil fuels. Clean, unlimited energy can come from
the sun, wind, or heat deep in the Earth (called geothermal). Call your power company or visit the
Department of Energy's Buying Green Power page to find alternative energy programs near you.

10 reasons why we should protect our oceans

The ocean is what makes our planet habitable for all life. Without it, neither us, nor the trees tentree
plants, would have anything to live off of. Here’s ten reasons why we need to save our oceans.

1. oceans affect the weather

The oceans are the planet’s thermostat. While the sun heats the equator all year round, the circulation
of this heated water keeps other parts of the world warm. Like the Gulf stream warms Europe, the
ocean cools the centre of the planet and warms the extremities, creating even heat distribution. This is
exactly why Vancouver gets barely any snow and we all want to move there.

2. the ocean is home to species we have yet to discover

Earth is mostly water, and amongst that water you’ll find between 700, 000 to a million different
species. More than half of these have yet to be identified, named or described. Losing our oceans means
losing life on earth that hasn't even been discovered yet.

3. the ocean reduces carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

While our carbon dioxide output has increased drastically over the last hundred years, the oceans have
been trying very hard to reduce what we’ve been pumping into the atmosphere. We know that the
plants on land absorb about a third of what’s emitted, but what most don’t know is that the ocean
absorbs another third. This carbon dioxide is filtered to the deepest depths of the ocean to be
reabsorbed into the rocky bottom. It takes nearly 100 years for this CO2 to be recycled and as the water
absorbs it, it becomes increasingly acidic. So as the emissions increase, the ocean loses it’s ability to
absorb it, and this CO2 is left in the atmosphere as the final third. This CO2 increases the temperature in
the atmosphere, leaving us like a dog locked in a car on a sunny day.

4. the water cycle provides water for all life on earth

Even the cactus, the only plant capable of living in the desert, needs a yearly downpour to survive. When
water evaporates from the ocean and the clouds come in toward land, fresh rain falls and gives life to
everything around us. This water creates forests, plants, fruits and vegetables. We’ve all taken a science
class in our lives and learned that sunlight and water are what create sustainable life on earth.

5. fewer natural disasters

Currently, we’re emitting CO2 faster than the oceans or plants can absorb it. This will lead to rising
temperatures, melting ice caps and a rising sea levels. While temperatures rise, more water is
evaporated, greater clouds are formed and higher winds blow. All of these factors increase the
hurricanes and typhoons happening all over the world. However, the more trees that are planted, the
more CO2 can be recycled into oxygen and the less acidic our oceans become.

6. the ocean is a great source of food

Fish is often used as a resource for many countries to feed their people and grow their economy.
Although we don't often think of the hundreds of people involved in getting the wide selection of fish in
our grocery stores onto the shelves, without this industry thousands of people would lose their jobs.
Fish keeps roofs over many heads and food in many bellies.

Marine life is mostly a mystery to the humane race. It will take hundreds of years for humanity to
discover the species and ecosystem that lays beneath the surface of the oceans. Yet, we could devastate
the ocean before we have a chance to discover the mysteries that lay within it. Not to mention, our
future generation might live a very difficult life due to not having any ocean.

7. drinking water for dry countries

In some part of the world where fresh water isn’t available, they rely solely on desalination, the process
of removing salt from saltwater, for drinking water. This isn’t the most sustainable practice, but water is
so critically important in every person’s life that these countries need to do what’s necessary to survive;
the oceans make this possible.

8. the ocean provides people with an income

Many cities attract tourists through their beautiful coast lines, like the Maritimes for example. Places
that rely on tourism to survive would lose this source of income and many would subsequently lose their
jobs if the oceans were no longer healthy. Keeping our shorelines clean and our water swimmable keeps
our coastal cities afloat.

9. the ocean inspires leisure activities

Lastly, we can’t forget the fun we have exploring the oceans. Whether it’s sailing or snorkeling on our
vacation days or going crazy on a polar bear swim, the oceans are a great source of joy.

The ocean is part of our humanity. It brings us serenity and peace, fun with friends and family, or just a
de-stressing day on the sand. Without it we would not be here, and this is why each of us needs to do
what we can to reduce our carbon footprint.

https://www.nap.edu/read/5992/chapter/8#328