1998 Year of the Ocean Impacts of Global Climate Change 



both market and non-market impacts and, in some cases, adaptation costs. However, 

 the non market damages (e.g., human health, risk of human mortality, and damage to 

 ecosystems, etc.) are highly speculative and not comprehensive, and therefore are a 

 source of major uncertainty in assessing the implications of global climate change for 

 human welfare, hi general, more work needs to be done on environmental evaluation 

 techniques that accurately reflect the societal benefits of these so-called "non-market" 

 coastal resources. It is important to accurately quantify their benefits and account for 

 them properly in benefit-cost analysis in order to improve decision making. The U.S. 

 should play a strong role in the IPCC third assessment that is just beginning, and 

 particularly with regard to these quantification methods. 



3. Areas that require further scientific research and data include higher resolution of 

 current general circulation models to obtain local climate change estimates, because 

 the current GCM resolution is too low. In addition, sea-level rise alone is not an 

 exclusive feature of climate change in coastal areas. Therefore, climate change studies 

 need to be broader, combining the effects of sea-level rise, storminess, atmospheric 

 circulation change, precipitation, etc. The U.S. should support expanded studies of 

 this nature. 



4. A guidance document for local, state and regional offices of federal agencies should 

 be developed, along with a handbook on no-cost and low-cost ways to prepare for sea 

 level rise as part of ongoing coastal zone management activities, including wetland 

 permits, infrastructure, shoreline management, land use planning, and flood 

 insurance. 



5. Public access to the coast should be expanded, especially in estuarine shore areas that 

 may be eliminated by sea level rise, so that the public can appreciate the need to 

 protect them and build support for management measures. 



The scientific information generated from the first three above options for consideration 

 are particularly important to substantiate the education initiatives necessary to galvanize the 

 public support for management strategies. The coastal impacts of climate change need to be 

 placed in the context of all the other pressures on coastal resources. U.S. coastal areas represent 

 some of the most valuable assets that our nation possesses. Addressing sea level rise is but one 

 facet of the major challenge that the U.S. and other nations face today which is restoring, 

 maintaining, and enhancing the quality of coastal areas that are under the pressures of projected 

 population growth, coastal development, and consumption patterns. 



A major public education challenge is to convince individuals of the urgency of the 

 problem, the long-range implications of current actions on coastal resources and their 

 consequences for future generations. However, if people can be made to appreciate the 

 importance of coastal resources, the many threats to them, and why management strategies are 

 necessary, then the prospects for successfully implementing such strategies would be improved. 

 Therefore, recommendations for U.S. education efforts include: 



G-42 



