Event details

York Environment Lectures

Human impacts on the oceans have increased dramatically in the last half century. The intensity and breadth of these changes is imperilling marine life and biodiversity is dwindling at an alarming rate. In our favour in addressing this challenge is the fact that human impacts in the sea lag those on land by a hundred years or more and while many terrestrial species have gone extinct, most marine species are still with us. There is still hope of changing course and saving them. But we face stiff headwinds in this effort. The fishing industry is a powerful lobby that often opposes protection. How do we protect species when we don’t know where they are or even that they exist? How do we protect life in a realm that is hostile to most of the conservation methods used on land? In this talk, drawing on thirty years’ experience studying the sea and its protection, and working with governments and international bodies, Callum Roberts will try to answer these questions.

Other lectures in this series:

• The importance of talking to you about complex environmental issues: Insights from research with the public on nuclear power, low carbon transitions and climate engineering
• The planet and the public: Communicating geo-environmental science to non-technical audiences
• Sustainability dilemmas: Short-term political expediency versus long-term planetary exigency