CHAPTER 8. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 

 General Summary 



The Nation's estuarine and coastal resources today are seriously 

 impaired and, in some cases, have suffered impairment which is irre- 

 versible. Fundamentally, this loss is the result of unwillingness or 

 inability of the governments sharing responsibility and authority for 

 their management to do the things necessary to protect these resources 

 for all beneficial uses today and to conserve or preserve their maxi- 

 mum future usefulness. 



The reasons for this unwillingness or inability are various and 

 highly complex. Most basic, perhaps, are four reasons : 



(1) Shortsighted, imbalanced, or otherwise inadequate public 

 policies governing the use of these resources up to now necessarily 

 have reflected the dominant values of the American people. These 

 traditionally have given a high priority to economic growth and 

 technological development without adequately considering the 

 adverse effects upon the estuarine and coastal environment. 



(2) Another reason, undoubtedly, is ignorance concerning the 

 sometimes fragile and always interdependent nature of the com- 

 plex of resources found in the estuarine and coastal zone. 



(3) Fragmentation and conflicts among governmental pro- 

 grams charged with the management of these resources have 

 handicapped sound management. Closely related are, on the one 

 hand, the limited use of plans which in fact coordinate the frag- 

 mented activities of the numerous agencies and governments 

 involved in the management of these resources ; and, on the other 

 hand, the limited effectiveness of institutional arrangements now 

 in being which were intended to overcome this fragmentation 

 through interagency and/or intergovernmental review and con- 

 sultation or through joint or cooperative action. Also a contribut- 

 ing factor is the absence in these programs of policies and 

 organization focusing specifically on the resources of the estuarine 

 and coastal zone. 



(4) Although governments in the more recent period have 

 moved to establish essential programs to conserve or preserve 

 these resources, inadequate funding has prevented these programs 

 from adequately accomplishing their mission. 



General Conclusions 



The national estuarine management program must achieve, first, 

 the determination, in and out of government, to manage the use of 

 these resources so as to protect them for as many beneficial uses as 

 possible both now and in the future ; and, second, the capability at all 

 levels of government to do so. 



(480) 



