Leveraging Microbes for Sustainable Development Goal 14 Progress

Area of Science:

• Marine biology
• Environmental microbiology
• Oceanography

Background:

• The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14) targets ocean health, facing threats like pollution, habitat degradation, overfishing, and acidification.
• Innovative, scalable solutions are crucial for achieving SDG 14 by 2030, as current progress is insufficient.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize current microbial technologies applicable to SDG 14 targets.
• To highlight the potential of microbial metabolic versatility for ocean sustainability.
• To identify requirements for the global implementation of microbial solutions for ocean health.

Main Methods:

• Review and synthesis of existing scientific literature on microbial applications for SDG 14.
• Identification of microbial groups and their functions related to plastic degradation, nutrient removal, coastal restoration, and aquaculture.
• Analysis of challenges and requirements for upscaling microbial technologies.

Main Results:

• Microbial technologies can address key SDG 14 targets, including plastic reduction (14.1), nutrient removal (14.1), coastal restoration (14.2), and sustainable aquaculture (14.7).
• Diverse microbes like plastic-degrading bacteria, denitrifying communities, and photosynthetic microorganisms are involved.
• Successful implementation requires mechanistic understanding, environmental testing, and infrastructure development.

Conclusions:

• Microbial solutions offer a promising pathway to accelerate progress towards SDG 14.
• Protecting microbial biodiversity is essential for maintaining ecosystem services vital for SDG 14 outcomes.
• Integrating microbial applications into ocean management policies is a key strategy for global ocean sustainability.