人类社会依靠自然生态系统服务和生物多样性来提供食物，衣物，住所，药品以及净化我们的空气，水和适度的气候，然而，仍有70亿人类的活动以损害其提供能力的方式改变了自然系统。这些关键的生态系统服务。这些变化不是未来的预测，而是现实。对于海洋生态系统而言尤其如此，海洋生态系统占地球表面的70％，拥有地球上绝大多数的生命形式，并吸收和缓冲过度收获，污染，栖息地破坏和全球变化的许多后果。
Human societies are dependent on natural ecosystem services and biodiversity to provide food, clothing, shelter, medicines, and to purify our air and water and moderate climate, yet the activities of 7 billion humans are changing natural systems in ways that compromise their ability to provide these critical ecosystem services. These changes are not future predictions, they are present realities. This is especially true for ocean ecosystems, which comprise 70% of the Earth's surface, hold a vast majority of Earth's live forms, and absorb and buffer many consequences of over harvesting, pollution, habitat destruction, and global change.