An international panel of 27 marine experts from 18 organizations in 6 countries has published on the 20 of june a grave assessment of current threats for the oceans and they gave a stark conclusion about future risks to marine and human life. The high level international workshop convened by IPSO met at the University of Oxford.

The International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) was established by scientists with the aim of saving the Earth and all life on it. The world's ocean is at high risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history. [ photo  sciencedaily.com]

Dr. Alex Rogers, professor of Conservation Biology at the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford and Scientific Director of the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) which convened the workshop said: “ The findings are shocking. As we considered the cumulative effect of what human kind does to the ocean the implications became far worse than we had individually realized. This is a very serious situation demanding unequivcal action at every level.

We are looking at consequences for human Kind that will impact in our lifetime and worse our children's and generations beyond that”.

The effect of climate change coupled with other human induced impacts such as overfishing and nutrient run off from farming have already caused a dramatic decline in ocean health. Increasing hypoxia (low oxygen levels) and anoxia (absence of oxygen, knownas ocean dead zone) combined with warning of the ocean and acidification are the three factors which have beeb present in every mass extinction event in Earth's history.

The reports sets out a series of reccommendations and call on states, regional bodies and the United Nations to enact measures to better conserve ocean ecosystems, and in particular demands the urgent adoption of better governance of the largely unprotected high seas which make up the majority of the world's ocean.