Wastewater Pollution

Wastewater pollution is a growing threat to people and coral reefs. Marine managers can be confronted with several challenges in protecting coral reefs from wastewater pollution, which can include funding and data gaps, a lack of attention to the topic, a lack of jurisdiction and appropriate policies, and ineffectiveness of traditional conservation strategies to address wastewater pollution. ref

To help marine managers understand the topic of wastewater pollution and begin to address some of these challenges, this Wastewater Pollution Toolkit provides information about how wastewater pollution threatens ocean and human health, how it is managed, and how management can be improved to protect coastal environments. Specifically, the information and strategies presented are intended to provide reef managers with an introduction to ocean wastewater pollution to help them consider what monitoring and management strategies will work best for their site and begin to engage stakeholders, decision makers, and other sectors to mitigate wastewater pollution in the ocean.

In addition to these web pages, explore case studies highlighting relevant management strategies, journal article summaries of the latest science, a self-paced online course, and the Ocean Sewage Series—webinars and online events to discuss and demystify the massive issue of wastewater pollution and the innovative approaches addressing it.

Also, check out the resource library from our partner, the Ocean Sewage Alliance, a collective of organizations and scientists committed to reducing the threat of sewage and other types of wastewater pollution in our oceans. This library contains briefs, databases, publications, tools, videos, and more.

If you have ideas for new content to feature in any of our resource formats (e.g., case studies, journal articles, webinars, online course, or this toolkit), please share them with resilience@tnc.org.