Soul of the Sea In the Age of the Algorithm ─ How Tech Startups Can Heal Our Oceans

SOUL OF THE SEA IN THE AGE OF THE ALGORITHM draws upon the fields of science, economics and business strategy to chart the future of humankind’s relationship to the ocean. The underlying principle is that a healthy ocean provides the basis for a prosperous world, and that oceans have been largely ignored as a driver of human well-being until now. Ocean health has been in an serious state of decline for the past 100 years from a range of pressures including human population growth, energy consumption and use of natural resources. We will exceed our planetary boundaries, the resources and environmental conditions we need to exist, within the next century if we do not change. This message is not new. What is new about this book is that the solutions lie not only in traditional resource conservation management, but in new fields of technology, governance and innovation.

Nishan Degnarain is an economist with a strong background in both the public and private sectors. He co-leads the World Economic Forum’s Special Initiative on Oceans together with Greg Stone. Since 2013, Nishan has chaired the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Oceans. He has worked with leading technology companies in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Satellite technologies, Autonomous vessels, Bio-technology, FinTech, on innovative new solutions to address the decline in ocean health and will be leading this special initiative from the WEF’s new office in the heart of San Francisco. He advises Governments and major global companies on their ocean strategy. He is a regular speaker at various international summits, including Davos, and has worked with a range of international organisations such as the UN and World Bank on the Sustainable Development Goal on Oceans. He has advised Governments and companies around the world on new models of economic growth, particularly in emerging markets. He currently sits on the China Council’s CCICED, an international advisory body to the Chinese Government, on their ocean strategy. He was appointed by the Cabinet of Mauritius to the National Ocean Council of Mauritius that advises the newly created Ministry of Oceans in Mauritius, as well as the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Mauritius, a term he served for five years. He previously worked at the leading consulting firm McKinsey and Company and the UK Prime Minister’s Office. He began his career at the BBC. Nishan holds undergraduate degrees in Geography and Economics from the University of Cambridge, and a postgraduate degree in International Development from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Gregory S. Stone is Executive Vice President and Chief Scientist for Oceans at Conservation International (CI). He pioneered research in Antarctica on marine mammals and later ice ecology and has given a TED talk and lectured throughout the world. Greg is widely published in scientific literature, National Geographic Magazine, and authored three award-winning books (the most recent, 2012, UNDERWATER EDEN, University of Chicago Press). He is a specialist in undersea technology and exploration and has logged thousands of hours SCUBA diving in all five oceans. His numerous accolades and professional associations include being named a National Fellow of the Explorers Club, awarded the Pew Fellowship for Marine Conservation, and the National Science Foundation/U.S. Navy Antarctic Service medal for his research in Antarctica. He is also a recipient of the 2013 Wyland ICON Award. He’s been named one of the five ?Bostonians of the Year” by the Boston Globe in 2008. Today, his work with CI focuses on global solutions for the oceans which include a metric for measuring ocean health, fisheries management, and ocean stewardship.