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Healthy Lives, Human Well-being and
Sustainable Industrialization
SDG3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being
for all at all ages
SDG9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote
inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster
innovation
As discussed above, marine and coastal ecosystems help
ensuring healthy lives by providing high-value protein and
essential micronutrients, minerals and fatty acids to people’s
diets, often at very significant levels.
Recreation and Relaxation
Marine and coastal habitats also promote well-being (SDG3
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages)
through opportunities for recreation and relaxation distinct
to coastal and marine ecosystems. Recreation improves
physical and mental health, and there is evidence that people
who immerse themselves in natural areas enjoy a variety of
psychological, emotional and mental health benefits, reduced
stress and increased quality of life (UKNEA, 2011).
Raw Materials and Future Innovation
A range of natural marine compounds have been found to
have important properties (e.g. anti-oxidant, anti-fungal, anti-
viral, anti-biotic, anti-cancer, anti-degenerative) that may be
useful in a wide number of medical and cosmetic applications
(SDG9
promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and
foster innovation
). Marine compounds are already used in the
treatment of HIV, herpes, and cancer (Arico and Salpin 2005;
Leary 2008; Lloyd-Evans 2005 a,b). Marine genes are used,
among other applications, in the production of ethanol from corn
(Vierros and Arico, 2011), in detergent, and in the tenderisation
of meat (Arrieta et al 2010). The number of marine compounds
and genes discovered is increasing extremely rapidly, as are
their associated industries.
20 000
15 000
10 000
5 000
0
1980
1990
2000
2010
6 000
4 000
2 000
0
Year
natural
products
described
distinct
sequences
patented
Human health
Agriculture and aquaculture
Food industry
Cosmetics
Environment
Biotechnologies
Bioremediation
Biofuel
Genetic engineering
Molecular and cell biology
0
20
40
60
%of patents
Accumulated number of
marine natural products
Accumulated number of unique
gene sequences of marine origin
Source: Arrieta, Arnaud-Haond & Duarte,
What lies underneath: Conserving the oceans’
genetic resources
, 2010
Marine genetic diversity
and human health