The ocean is undergoing rapid change as a result of climate change and increasing human activities. To protect ocean ecosystems, decision-makers need approaches that can identify when pressures are approaching levels that could undermine ecosystem health and resilience. OceanSOS will develop a regional Safe Operating Space (SOS) approach to help guide proactive and precautionary ocean management in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ).

The Safe Operating Space concept builds on the Planetary Boundaries (PB) framework, which identifies nine critical Earth system processes that help maintain a stable environment for human societies and ecosystems. These boundaries represent limits within which natural systems can continue to function effectively. While this approach has helped improve understanding of global environmental change, applying it to the ocean requires new approaches that account for the complexity and regional differences of marine ecosystems.

Ocean ecosystems do not respond to individual pressures in isolation. Climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, resource extraction, and other human activities can interact and create cumulative impacts that affect ecosystem functioning. A regional SOS approach will help identify how these combined pressures influence key ocean processes and determine what levels of change can be considered safe.

A major focus will be developing ways to measure the health and resilience of ocean food webs. This includes understanding changes in bentho-pelagic coupling, the exchange of energy, nutrients, organisms, and carbon between the seafloor and the open ocean; the biological carbon pump, which transfers carbon from surface waters into the deep ocean; and the structure and functioning of marine food webs. Together, these processes provide important indicators of whether ocean ecosystems are maintaining their ability to support biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Developing a practical SOS framework requires bringing together different types of knowledge. Scientific data, models, threat assessments, visualisation tools, and expert knowledge generated across OceanSOS will be combined to understand how emerging pressures may affect ocean ecosystems over short-, medium-, and long-term timescales. Regional expertise and engagement with stakeholders will ensure that the approach reflects the realities of different ocean regions and governance contexts.

The SOS approach will be developed and tested across three OceanSOS regions, helping to identify how global environmental limits can be translated into practical regional guidance. This process will consider how human activities create pressures on ocean systems, how those pressures affect ecosystem responses, and which management actions can reduce risks before critical thresholds are crossed.

A key goal is to strengthen implementation of the precautionary approach in ocean management. While precaution is widely recognised in international environmental policy, applying it in practice can be challenging because decision-makers often lack clear information about safe limits and future risks. By providing evidence-based indicators and thresholds, the SOS framework will support earlier action to prevent irreversible ecosystem change.

Working with regional and international authorities, the SOS approach will provide a foundation for science-based decision-making in ABNJ. It will support the development of management strategies, including area-based management tools and environmental impact assessments, helping to safeguard ocean integrity while balancing ecological, social, and economic considerations.

Ultimately, this work will transform scientific understanding of ocean change into practical guidance for protecting marine ecosystems. By identifying pathways that keep ocean systems within a safe operating space, it will support sustainable ocean governance for current and future generations.

OceanSOS’ work on the safe operating space framework is led by Ms. Debbie Hembury at the OSPAR Commission, supported by Dr. Robert Blasiak at the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University.