The concept of ecological debt emerges from the recognition that human societies, particularly industrialized nations, have historically and disproportionately exploited natural resources and environmental capacities beyond sustainable limits. In the context of climate change, ecological debt represents the cumulative environmental degradation and greenhouse gas emissions for which wealthy countries bear the greatest responsibility, often leaving poorer nations to cope with the consequences. When considering aquatic ecosystems, this concept becomes particularly salient because water bodies, both freshwater and marine, act as crucial regulators of global climate systems and as reservoirs for biodiversity, yet they are extremely vulnerable to anthropogenic stressors amplified by climate change. Ecological debt in aquatic systems can be traced to historical overexploitation of fisheries, deforestation affecting river basins, wetland degradation, and industrial pollution. For instance, the overfishing of oceans by developed nations has led to the depletion of fish stocks in many regions, undermining the food security and livelihoods of communities in developing countries. This overexploitation not only represents a direct ecological debt but also exacerbates climate change impacts, as healthy fish populations play a role in carbon sequestration through trophic cascades. Similarly, the destruction of mangroves and wetlands in tropical and subtropical regions, often for aquaculture or urban expansion driven by global markets, has reduced the capacity of these ecosystems to absorb carbon and buffer coastal areas from extreme weather events, contributing to climate vulnerability. In these ways, ecological debt is not simply an abstract ethical concept but manifests concretely in the degradation of aquatic ecosystems that are critical for climate regulation. Climate change intensifies the manifestation of ecological debt through processes such as sea-level rise, ocean acidification, and altered hydrological cycles. Aquatic ecosystems, including coral reefs, estuaries, and freshwater lakes, are highly sensitive to temperature shifts and changes in precipitation patterns. Developed nations, responsible for the majority of historic carbon emissions, have indirectly imposed disproportionate environmental burdens on developing nations by altering these ecosystems. For example, the warming of ocean waters due to greenhouse gas emissions has led to widespread coral bleaching in the Great Barrier Reef and the reefs of the Caribbean and Southeast Asia. These ecosystems provide not only biodiversity value but also fisheries and coastal protection, making their decline a form of ecological debt owed to dependent human populations. The unequal distribution of this environmental damage reflects historical patterns of industrialization and resource extraction, where the benefits accrued to some regions while the costs—climatic and ecological—were borne disproportionately by others. Freshwater ecosystems provide another compelling lens through which to examine ecological debt. Rivers, lakes, and wetlands have been heavily exploited for agriculture, industry, and energy production, often with little regard for downstream impacts in other regions or nations. The diversion of rivers for irrigation or dam construction in one country can reduce water availability and degrade aquatic habitats in neighboring countries, effectively externalizing environmental costs. Coupled with climate change, which alters rainfall patterns and exacerbates droughts and floods, these impacts create a debt owed to both human populations and the natural systems upon which they depend. For example, the overuse and pollution of transboundary rivers like the Mekong, Nile, and Ganges have intensified climate-induced stresses on freshwater ecosystems, making downstream nations vulnerable to both ecological and social disruptions. This demonstrates that ecological debt is embedded not only in historical emissions but also in ongoing patterns of resource exploitation that fail to account for the interconnectedness of aquatic ecosystems. The concept of ecological debt also intersects with issues of environmental