Essential Stewardship

Can the world achieve balance between ocean restoration and economic prosperity? Blancpain believes the answer is “Yes”

- Jonathan Ho

The ocean covers over 70 per cent of the planet. It is primarily what sustains life on Earth amid the hostile vastness of the universe. Generating at least 50 per cent of the planet’s oxygen, it is home to vast biodiversity of marine life, which is an important source of protein for billions of people around the globe. Yet the ocean can be a deadly force to reckon with. So, when Dutch and German government scientists Sjoerd Groeskamp and Joakim Kjellsson debuted preparation plans for climate change mitigation, they focused on protecting civilization from rising sea levels. Their proposed super-structure is named the Northern European Enclosure Dam, with an acronym NEED that underscores urgency.

Since it is impossible to truly fathom the magnitude of the threat that rising sea levels pose, the scientists proposed building NEED to fence off the North Sea in order to defend Northern Europe from getting submerged. Costing £422 billion, spanning 295 miles, and requiring 51 billion tons of sand to build (the world’s entire annual sand budget for infrastructure and reclamation), the pair of dams could protect crucial European economic regions. But what about the rest of the world?

Diving In To Help Communities

With some 40 million people employed by ocean-based industries (by 2030), it must be acknowledged that the ocean is also an economic lifeline for many communities that depend on it, including those who work in the shipping industry.