THE 



SOCIETY: 



THE WHOLE 

 IS GREATER 

 THAN THE SUM 

 OF ITS PARTS 



By Pam Smith 



w 



hen it comes to The Coastal 

 Society, the whole is greater than the 

 sum of its parts, according to Walter 

 Clark. 



North Carolina Sea Grant's coastal 

 law and policy specialist, Clark is at the 

 helm of the international organization 

 founded 25 years ago to address 

 emerging marine and coastal issues. 



The strength of TCS, he believes, 

 rests with its 300-plus members — 

 a diverse group of professionals 

 representing academia, government, the 

 nonprofit arena and the private sector. In 

 other words, the dedicated women and 

 men who are "in the trenches" dealing 

 with coastal change on a daily basis. 



'TCS is small enough to be 

 effective, but large enough to have a 

 voice that can be heard above the 

 confusion of issues," Clark maintains. 



Perhaps, TCS is more relevant and 

 more important today than ever before, 

 he says. "In the past 25 years, the 

 pressure on the coastal and marine 

 environment did nothing but increase. 

 A huge percentage of the world's 

 population is clustered in coastal zones. 

 With that goes increased resource 

 pressures and increased user conflicts. 

 And, with that also goes a necessity for 

 collaboration among citizens, agencies, 

 local governments and nations." 



