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5 - The Marine Debris Nexus

Plastic, Climate Change, Biodiversity, and Human Health

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 June 2021

By
Peter Stoett  and
Joanna Vince
Edited by
Riyanti Djalante  and
Bernd Siebenhüner
Riyanti Djalante
Affiliation:
United Nations University, Tokyo
Bernd Siebenhüner
Affiliation:
Carl V. Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Germany
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Summary

This chapter describes the threats posed by the abundance of marine plastic pollution and links it to broader concerns about climate change, biodiversity conservation, and human health. While evidence remains inconclusive there are indications that microplastic pollution in the oceans, in particular, poses grave threats, and this presents not only collective action problems but environmental justice concerns as well. Responding to the crisis generated by the nexus of these issues is a form of collective adaptation that the international community cannot ignore, moving toward the Sustainable Development Goals. Will the climate, biodiversity, and health agendas adapt to the presence of the microplastic pollution issue? Some policy suggestions are discussed along with pertinent knowledge gaps and future marine concerns.

Keywords

plasticclimate changemarine debrispollutionbiodiversityhuman health
Type
Chapter
Information
Adaptiveness: Changing Earth System Governance , pp. 83 - 101
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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