Ecosystem Services Valuation for supporting Sustainable Life Below Water

The significance of the SDGs lies in their holistic, global and interdisciplinary nature. But this nature at the same time poses significant challenges, as it is difficult to bridge the environmental with the socio-economic aspects of SDGs, in theory, practical application and policymaking. SDG14 on “life below water” consists of these aspects, as it refers to a natural/environmental system, supporting several economic activities and values, and associated with strong social and cultural characteristics. The main challenges for the achievement of a sustainable life below water are analyzed, and ways forward are discussed. Holistic and well-coordinated approaches based on systems thinking are necessary. Moreover, we argue on the role of environmental economics, as tools that can bridge environmental and socio-economic aspects, towards more accurate and insightful sustainability reporting. In particular, the potential of environmental valuation as a means to better inform SDG policies, is discussed, using the example of SDG14. The currently established frameworks for Country’s Sustainability Reporting, lack metrics focusing on the economic impact of the environment and the ecosystem services’ degradation or restoration rates, including ocean and marine ecosystems. Acknowledging and quantifying the costs and the benefits of ocean and marine ecosystems can lead to more effective interventions (ocean pollution prevention, climate change mitigation, fishing exploitation, biodiversity and coral reefs preservation), and to a better understanding of the human-environmental dynamics strengthening thus coordinated management and cooperation.