WCS 3-Sentence Science

Mapping Human Dependence on Marine Ecosystems

May 17, 2019

Photo credit: © Lill Haugen

Each year, Wildlife Conservation Society scientists publish more than 300 peer-reviewed studies and papers. “WCS 3-Sentence Science” is a regular tip-sheet — in bite sized helpings — of some of this published work.

Here we present the work of former WCS staff member Jane Carter Ingram on human dependence on marine ecosystems:

1. Researchers created a new conceptual model to map the degree of human dependence on marine ecosystems based on the magnitude of the benefit, susceptibility of people to a loss of that benefit, and the availability of alternatives.
2. They focused on mapping nutritional, economic, and coastal protection dependence, showing that dependence was highest for Pacific and Indian Ocean island nations and several West African countries with more than 775 million people living in areas with relatively high dependence scores.
3. By identifying where and how people are dependent on marine ecosystems, the framework can be used to design more effective large-scale management and policy interventions.

Study and Journal: “Mapping global human dependence on marine ecosystems” from Conservation Letters
WCS Co-Author(s): Jane Carter Ingram, formerly of WCS

For more information, contact: Stephen Sautner, 718–220–3682, ssautner@wcs.org.