3 January 2013: The UN Educational, Scientific and Educational Organization (UNESCO) has reported on the release of a paper, published in Biogeosciences, which addresses nutrient over-enrichment and oxygen depletion from land-based pollution of coastal waters.

The paper was published within the framework of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) project on “Global Foundations for reducing nutrient enrichment and oxygen depletion from land based pollution in support of global nutrient cycle.” The GEF project focuses on coastal waters in Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs).

According to UNESCO, human activities have led to very large increases in the amount of nutrients in the environment, in particular in the marine environment. In coastal waters nutrient over-enrichment causes eutrophication and hypoxia, leading to declining coastal water quality and associated human health impacts, damage to biodiversity such as sea-grasses and coral reefs, and fish kills. Over-enrichment in nutrients of coastal areas undermines the resilience of marine and coastal ecosystems, affecting their ability to support coastal livelihoods, as well as their potential role in climate change adaptation and mitigation.

The Biogeosciences paper, titled “Nutrient dynamics, transfer and retention along the aquatic continuum from land to ocean: towards integration of ecological and biogeochemical models,” proposes integrated model approaches that encompass both aquatic and terrestrial components in heterogeneous landscapes, and that assess both nutrient and sediment delivery, and nutrient in-stream retention.

The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO is an executing partner of the GEF project, which is coordinated by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). [Publication: Nutrient Dynamics, Transfer and Retention Along the Aquatic Continuum from Land to Ocean: Towards Integration of Ecological and Biogeochemical Models] [GEF Project Document] [UNESCO Press Release]