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Population growth and development along the coast bring a tangle of connected problems. Coastal zone management exists to hold competing needs in balance — the environment, the economy, human health and human activity — and in the United States it rests on one law, passed in 1972.
The San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, part of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System. Credit: NOAA.
A young field with a clear cause
Coastal zone management grew out of the need to tackle a set of interconnected problems that came with population growth and development along the nation's coasts.
The law behind it
The Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), passed in 1972 and administered by NOAA, gave those efforts a formal structure. It recognizes that clean water and healthy ecosystems — the foundation of a thriving coastal economy — depend on combining science, technology and public policy. Its goals, in its own words, are to "preserve, protect, develop, enhance, and restore where possible, the coastal resources."
Two programs at its core
| Program | What it does |
|---|---|
| National Coastal Zone Management Program | encourages coastal states and territories to work with the federal government on local programs consistent with the CZMA; 34 of the 35 eligible coastal and Great Lakes states and territories have joined this voluntary partnership |
| National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) | a network of 29 protected areas set up for long-term research, education and coastal stewardship |
What it has made possible
Because of the CZMA and the success of its programs, coastal communities are better able to handle continued economic development while managing their natural resources — keeping the coast healthy and stable, environmentally and economically, for the long term.
Sources
Based on "What is coastal zone management?" from NOAA's National Ocean Service, a work of the United States government in the public domain.
Licens: CC0 1.0 (offentligt eje) · Bearbejdet efter oceanservice.noaa.gov
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