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Currently Skimming:

10 Coastal Management and Policy by William M. Eichbaum
Pages 149-154

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From page 149...
... A number of papers discuss focused technical aspects of the coastal zone such as ocean circulation and coastal meteorology, and others deal with broader subjects such as coastal wetlands and coastal/nearshore littoral systems, land use and the coastal zone, and coastal pollution and waste management. The topic of this paper, "Coastal Management and Policy," inevitably touches on aspects of each of the others.
From page 150...
... For example, while the Environmental Protection Agency is clearly responsible for non-point- source-water quality issues and also manages the nation's national estuary program, the Department of Commerce, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Coastal Zone Management Act responsibilities, also has non-point source water quality functions, as does the Department of Agriculture, through the Soil Conservation Service. The blurring of authorities and responsibilities as one moves from the core function of one agency to that of another can have the disadvantage of diffusing authority.
From page 151...
... Even within that strengthened department, water-quality-management responsibility is geographically divided among a number of very strong regional water boards. And, coastal management per se is located in the separate Resources Department.
From page 152...
... This poses serious problems for policymakers seeking to allocate scarce resources as well as to the public, which is looking for the certainty of environmental protection. Finally, the inherent complexity of the marine environment and its relationship to land-based activities makes the problem of cumulative impacts especially severe.
From page 153...
... While serious, these are not the most important consequences of the current fragmentation of coastal governance. More important problems are · collective failure to identify the most important threats to the quality of the coastal environment; · failure to design a responsive management strategy that allocates scarce resources to the most critical problems; · occasional massive attention to a high-profile condition that, even when resolved, will still not solve the identified coastal problem; · an inability of public attention to focus on one political entity as responsible and accountable for the improvement of the coastal environment; and · a distortion of science in that initially clear, positive research studies result in confused conclusions.
From page 154...
... In brief, integrated coastal management is a methodology Mat identifies important scientific and human-value issues on an ecological basis, compares the risks posed, and develops risk management options that effectively allocate scarce resources to the most important problems. This dynamic process is action oriented and iterative with refinements being based on monitoring, research, and institutional responses.


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