With inventive foreign policy needed to reassure the Indo-Pacific’s established powers and accommodate Chinese ambitions, this report proposes three complementary strategies: prolong US leadership; protect the territorial status quo; and pursue a policy of ‘strategic ambiguity’ vis-à-vis territorial disputes. Executive summary With the centre of global economic gravity shifting east towards Asia, the Indo-Pacific will...

The upper ocean is supersaturated with methane with respect to the atmosphere but its source remains unclear. The biogenic production of methane in the ocean occurs primarily by anaerobic methanogens and, to a lesser extent, by aerobic bacteria. The presence of supersaturated methane in the surface ocean has been termed the 'oceanic methane paradox' because...

Traditional and community-based marine resource management practices can enhance the effectiveness of contemporary environmental management models. These traditional management practices, which are based on knowledge of natural and cultural systems in specific areas, provide useful lessons from which contemporary resource managers can learn about the experiences of others. Fisheries management in traditional communities is well...

As the NSW government considers marine management reforms, this report finds that marine parks already provide significant economic benefits, but it is too early to judge their environmental effectiveness. This short paper presents compelling evidence that: NSW marine parks are already delivering clear and demonstrable economic benefits for local communities and businesses. The protected areas...

This paper presents a summary of the state of knowledge on ocean acidification. Summary of outcomes: