Impact of Waste on the Sustainability of Marine Ecosystems
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Oceans".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 October 2026 | Viewed by 86
Special Issue Editors
Interests: environmental science; oceanography; coastal systems
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue aims to systematically examine the multidimensional impacts of various waste streams—particularly plastic debris, microplastics, chemical pollutants and emerging contaminants—on the structure, function and long-term sustainability of marine ecosystems. We focus on cross-scale ecological response mechanisms from nearshore to open-ocean environments, emphasizing the integration of field monitoring, geospatial analysis and socio-ecological perspectives to elucidate pollutant fate, bioaccumulation effects and the degradation of ecosystem services. The Special Issue will highlight evidence-based, interdisciplinary research to provide scientific underpinnings for marine conservation policies and sustainable management practices.
Topics Covered in the Special Issue
- Ecological Effects of Microplastics and Emerging Pollutants: Transport dynamics of microplastics in coastal and marine food webs, toxicity mechanisms and impacts on the physiology and reproduction of key species; combined pollution effects of nanoplastics and persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
- Monitoring Technologies and Spatial Analysis for Marine Debris: Applications of remote sensing, GIS and big data technologies in mapping marine debris distribution patterns, source-sink relationships and hotspot identification; spatiotemporal dynamic modeling of human–environment interactions.
- Coastal Resilience Management and Ecological Restoration: Impacts of waste pollution on coastal habitat connectivity, biodiversity and ecosystem resilience; implementation of nature-based solutions (NbS) for pollution mitigation and ecological restoration.
- Pollution Prevention and Sustainable Development Pathways: Marine plastic reduction strategies from a circular economy perspective; community-based participatory coastal governance models; environmental policy assessment and adaptive management frameworks.
- Spatial Equity and Environmental Justice: Disparities in coastal resource access rights and uneven distribution of pollution burdens; exposure assessment of vulnerable populations to marine pollution risks and inclusive governance mechanisms.
Dr. Dorothy Horn
Dr. Timnit Kefela
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- marine debris
- microplastics
- marine ecosystem sustainability
- coastal pollution
- spatial analysis
- environmental justice
- biodiversity conservation
- ecosystem services
- pollution monitoring
- resilient socio-ecological systems
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