1998 Year of the Ocean Perspectives on Marine Environmental Quality 



numerous studies of specific systems during the past four decades (e.g., estuarine or wetland 

 systems), the resuhing knowledge of the fundamental properties and processes of this nation's 

 coastal ecosystems suffers from the fragmented regional nature of these studies. For example, the 

 impacts of air deposition on coastal and marine waters and the range of transport are just 

 beginning to be understood. 



Watershed Protection and Community-Based Protection Programs 



The problems facing the nation's coastal waters are scientifically complex, are caused by 

 a diverse array of factors, and involve resource intensive solutions. These coastal problems 

 cannot be addressed through traditional regulatory approaches, although this is still a component 

 of the solution. The new paradigm for the 1990s and into the next century is the need to look 

 holistically at the entire resource being protected and to examine all of the contributing factors to 

 the resource's degradation within the watershed. Linked with this comprehensive examination is 

 the critical need to involve the community in the identification of problems and the 

 implementation of solutions. One example of this approach is the National Estuary Program 

 which is designed to protect and restore estuaries of national significance through partnerships 

 between government agencies, industry, and the people who depend on those resources for their 

 livelihood and quality of life. The National Estuary Program was established because 

 conventional pollution control programs were not adequate for dealing with complex estuary 

 problems. Management conferences of the established NEPs do not have regulatory authority, 

 therefore, recommendations reached by consensus must be implemented by existing authorities 

 at the federal, state, and local levels or through voluntary action. Another example is the Florida 

 Keys National Marine Sanctuary Program, which developed a comprehensive water quality 

 protection plan through a comprehensive examination of the entire "watershed, " and through 

 communication with a broad array of stakeholders. 



Clean Water Action Plan 



Federal agencies are coordinating efforts to develop a comprehensive Clean Water Action 

 Plan that builds on the successes of the Clean Water Act over the past 25 years and addresses 

 three major goals: (1) enhanced protection from public health threats posed by water pollution; 

 (2) more effective control of polluted runoff; and (3) promotion of water quality protection on a 

 watershed basis (White House, 1997). 



CONCLUSION 



The ocean plays a critical role in sustaining the life of this planet. Every activity, whether 

 natural or anthropogenic, has far reaching impacts on the world at large. For example, excessive 

 emissions of greenhouse gases may contribute to an increase the sea level, and cause potential 

 flooding or an increase in storm frequency; this flooding can reduce wetland acreage and increase 

 sediment and nutrient flows into the Gulf of Mexico, causing adverse impacts on water quality 



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