1. The world's growing population, together with intensified industrial- 

 ization and urban concentration, has sharply increased the demand for 

 food, energy, and minerals, enlarged worldwide ocean-borne resources dis- 

 tribution networks, and increased the quantity of waste products deposited 

 in the ocean, thus threatening the environment, especially of inshore areas. 



2. New marine technology is making possible increased operations in 

 the sea, once inaccessible because of the ocean's hostile environment, thus 

 opening possibilities for greater use of ocean resources. 



3. More than 100 independent nations face the sea, and many hope 

 that new developments in ocean technology will enable them to obtain 

 greater benefits from ocean resources.- This heightened international interest 

 has increased the possibility of overlapping interests between nations and 

 depletion of marine resources, and has spurred consideration of seaward 

 extensions of national jurisdiction.^ 



Benefits of the Decade 



The knowledge which will evolve during the Decade will assist nations 

 individually to plan ocean related investments and collectively to develop 

 arrangements for managing ocean resources, to establish baselines as a step 

 toward preserving the quality of the oceanic environment, and to improve 

 forecasting of ocean and weather conditions. Because of the global character 

 of the oceans and the scope of the work to be done, international cost 

 sharing by cooperative exploration and data exchange can benefit all 

 participating nations. 



The enhanced ocean uses and resource potential can provide benefits to 

 developing nations. Unused fishery resources and fuel mineral deposits 

 exist off the coasts of a number of developing countries. Many are dependent 

 upon maritime transportation to link coastal communities and provide the 

 basis for foreign trade. The Expanded Program will give special emphasis 

 to broadening the opportunities for developing nations to participate in the 

 use of the oceans and its resources through encouraging them, for example, 

 to map selected areas of the Continental Shelves, survey coastal fishery 

 resources, and obtain training and experience in marine sciences and 

 engineering. 



With regard to ocean resources, the ultimate development of worldwide 

 petroleum and solid mineral potential to benefit all nations depends in large 

 measure on the extent of seabed exploration, and on the soundness of na- 

 tional and international resource management policies which should be 

 based on knowledge of the character of the resources. Oflf shore petroleum 

 and gas in 1985 is expected to meet 30 percent of the world's total energy 

 demand. 



The oceans contain large unused fishery resources and fisheries oflfer an 

 opportunity to assist in closing the protein gap with many latent fisheries 

 lying within easy access of nations plagued by serious protein deficiencies. 



* Ch. XIII discusses a number of developments in 1969 which reflect the growing 

 international interest and activity. 



198 



