Sustaining the World's Large Marine Ecosystems

In 2007, the LME Program Office and the GEF supported UNDP International
Waters Learn project produced a DVD, “Turning the Tide—Sustaining Earth’s
Large Marine Ecosystems,” which describes the uncontrolled use of the oceans
and counters this message by describing the GEF-LME global movement
supporting an upward spiral of actions aimed at recovery and sustainability of
ocean resources.
The DVD delivers a description of the LME approach. The narration states that,
around the world, Large Marine Ecosystems provide over 80% of the marine fish
that humans consume. The uncontrolled use of large-scale industrialized vessels
has put nine of the World’s seventeen major fishing grounds in serious decline.
The demand for marine protein has devastated marine resources. Nitrogen
overenrichment of LMEs is increasing. Marine mammals are in trouble, and coral
reefs are threatened. However, there is hope for a common global
understanding of how to address the world wide crisis of marine life degradation.
Pioneering work by lead scientists has identified 64 Large Marine Ecosystems
(LMEs) determined by ecological functionality and physical parameters rather
than political boundaries. The Large Marine Ecosystem approach blends science
and stewardship to reduce coastal pollution, restore damaged habitats, and
recover depleted fisheries.
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) assists developing countries working
together in planning and implementing LME projects. The DVD includes
comments by Dr. Alfred Duda, Senior Advisor for the International Waters focal
area of the GEF, Dr. Kenneth Sherman on Large Marine Ecosystems, and Dr.
Biliana Cicin-Sain, Director of the Global Forum on Oceans, Coasts and Islands,
and footage of the Benguela Current, Antarctic, Agulhas and Somali Currents,
Humboldt Current, and Baltic Sea LMEs.
The DVD has been screened in elementary, middle and high school classrooms
on the American continent and in Africa. The following quotes are taken from
student comments.
“I already knew that the oceans were in trouble, but the movie still taught me a lot.
I learned about different types of pollution. I didn’t know about the GEF. I think it’s a
great program, because thanks to your movie, I saw how the group is saving the world.
“In the movie ‘Turning the Tide’, I liked how the videography started out very peacefully,
and beautifully, gets to the less beautiful clips toward the middle, and by the end, the
videography became peaceful and beautiful. I liked how the videography went in that
order because: since it didn’t begin with the less beautiful, pollution parts, it didn’t lead
the watchers to thinking the entire video would show only those clips. If you ended with
the pollution parts, it would lead the reader to remembering those parts most. The order
was brilliant. “All in all, I loved the movie. It was the best science movie I have ever
seen.” (school student, Wakefield, Rhode Island, USA).
“This movie taught me a lot and that’s quite a bit to say because my dad is a
fisherman and one of my two brothers adores everything that’s alive and protecting
those things. He knows very much about them. One thing I learned from “Turning the
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