The Urban Ocean: A New Imperative For Coastal Resource Management Dr. Ronald C. Baird Director, NOAA...
Transcript of The Urban Ocean: A New Imperative For Coastal Resource Management Dr. Ronald C. Baird Director, NOAA...
The Urban Ocean: A New The Urban Ocean: A New Imperative For Coastal Imperative For Coastal Resource ManagementResource Management
Dr. Ronald C. BairdDirector,
NOAA National Sea Grant College Program
Plenary SessionOcean Research Conference
Honolulu, HawaiiFebruary 18, 2004
Place-Based ApproachesPlace-Based Approaches
Key WordsKey Words
Urban — Characteristics of cities
Imperative — Impossible to avoid
Just The FactsJust The Facts
Day-To-Day InvestmentsDay-To-Day Investments
Purpose:
Enhance Resource Management PerformanceManagement Performance
Spatial Attributes And…Spatial Attributes And…
Species
Distributions
Rapid Population GrowthRapid Population Growth
Spatial DistributionSpatial Distribution
Visible light from space shows net of urbanized land in the North America
Visible light from space shows net of urbanized land in the North America
Urbanization and Urbanization and InnovationInnovation
The PastThe Past
““The Past Ain’t What It Was”The Past Ain’t What It Was”
Environmental Consequences Environmental Consequences of Urbanizationof Urbanization
•
Environmental Consequences Environmental Consequences of Urbanizationof Urbanization
Water
Sanitation Clean Air
Urbanization…Urbanization…
The most dramatic and dynamic engine of human alteration to ecosystems
Urban Growth by 2050Urban Growth by 2050
• Increase from 50-80%
of human population
• Four billion more people
TrendsTrends
• One quarter all land in U.S. converted from rural to urban in last 15 years (size of Ohio)
• 68 million acres developed by 2025(size of Wyoming)
Ohio
Developed Land
Population
Rate of Land Development & Rate of Land Development & Population Growth Population Growth
Pew Oceans Commission
The DrawThe Draw
•
Coastal Regions Are GrowingCoastal Regions Are Growing
• Home to 54% of U.S. population and rising
• 14 of 20 largest cities are coastal
• U.S. growing at 3 million per year
By 2025, the nation’s top 20 oceanic and Great Lakes coastal metropolitan regions are likely to increase their ‘urban footprints’ by 46 percent
The is TickingThe is Ticking
15 M people13 M acres
5 Yrs. =
Indirect RepercussionsIndirect Repercussions
Socio-Economic ImpactsSocio-Economic Impacts
• Fragmented governance• Enviro. concerns low priority• Differing standards
compliance/enforcement• Diverse, hard-to-reach
audiences
• Concentration of ecosystem goods & services
• Population density & growth rate
• Inputs from land, sea & air converge
• Consequences: Impacts of natural
hazards, coastal erosion
HABS, hypoxia, invasive species, fish kills, disease/contamination
Habitats, biodiversity, fish yields & size
Urbanization and Coastal Urbanization and Coastal Resource HealthResource Health
Population Density
Dr. Tom Malone, Horn Point Laboratory
Urbanization and Coastal Urbanization and Coastal Resource HealthResource Health
• > 60%> 60% of coastal of coastal rivers and bays are rivers and bays are degradeddegraded by nutrient by nutrient runoffrunoff
• > 60%> 60% of coastal of coastal rivers and bays are rivers and bays are degradeddegraded by nutrient by nutrient runoffrunoff
Nitrogen ExportNitrogen Export
NRC
Wastewater Effluents
2.3 Trillion Gallons Per Day
• 51% of assessed estuaries were impaired
• 78% of assessed Great Lakes shoreline miles were impaired
• 58,500 acres per year of wetlands lost
Urbanization and Coastal Urbanization and Coastal Resource HealthResource Health
• > 20,000 acres of coastal habitat disappear each year
Urbanization and Coastal Urbanization and Coastal Resource HealthResource Health
Urbanization and Coastal Urbanization and Coastal Resource HealthResource Health
• Every 8 months an amount of oil equivalent to the Exxon Valdez spill enters coastal waters via runoff
Government of Alaska
Urbanization and Coastal Urbanization and Coastal Resource HealthResource Health
Pew Oceans Commission
The number of miles Americans have driven annually over the past 20 years has increased at four times the rate of population growth. Suburban development patterns have contributed to this trend.
Urbanization and Coastal Urbanization and Coastal Resource HealthResource Health
Take Home MessagesTake Home Messages
1. Increases in human aggregation & intensity of activity are inevitable
2. Must be dealt with in an ecological context and sustainability framework
3. Solutions dependent on science4. Avoidance not an option
5. Thresholds, stock collapses & regime shifts are realities.
Take Home MessagesTake Home Messages
More rapid & effective management responses
are paramount
The Good NewsThe Good News
Cod Recovery Plan Common Fisheries Policy: European Commission
•Resilience
•Mitigation and Regulation
•Research/literature and University Investment
Streams with and without riparian buffers
The Bad NewsThe Bad News
Time
R e s o u r c e s
Complexity
Fragmentation
Ecosystem-Based Ecosystem-Based ManagementManagement
A NOAA Sea Grant Priority
NOAA Sea Grant RationaleNOAA Sea Grant Rationale
• Human ecology — urban aggregations• Unique urban ecological issues• Focus on critical problems &
mitigation/prevention — now• Priority to mgmt. practices & best
technologies• Scenarios and models utilized in planning• Good holistic indicators and monitoring
NOAA Sea Grant RationaleNOAA Sea Grant Rationale
• Outreach is critical• Focus on understanding human-
dominated ecosystems (risks/cost-benefit)
• Partnerships are critical (public/private, local/regional)
• Place-based, management-critical solutions
NOAA Sea Grant NOAA Sea Grant Theme AreasTheme Areas
““The Urban Coast”The Urban Coast”
Four Areas1. Solving uniquely urban dilemmas2. Reducing non-point source
pollution3. Enhancing port and harbor
operations4. Improving coastal resource
management practice
““Coastal Communities”Coastal Communities”
Three Areas1. Educating land-use planners2. Stimulating integrated coastal
management3. Developing decision-support
systems useful to planners/regulators
Reducing Non-Point Reducing Non-Point Source PollutionSource Pollution
• Storm Water Retention/Zoning Ordinances
• Toxic Chemicals/Urban Runoff• Non-Point Source Education For
Municipal Officials (NEMO)• Molecular Probes For Detecting Harmful
Microbes In Sea Water
Ports and Harbor Ports and Harbor OperationsOperations
• Two National Ports Specialists Appointed
• EPA Partnership—NY/NJ Harbor Estuary Program
• Marina and Recreational Boating Management Guidelines
• Boston Harbor Cleanup
Ports & Harbors
Specialist, Jim Kruse
Managing Coastal Managing Coastal ResourcesResources
• Beach Management• Sea Level Rise and Impacts of
Climate Change• Brown Fields and Neighborhood
Community Partnerships and Urban Renewal
• Circulation, Nutrients and Contamination Models for Municipal/State Regulators
• Urban Watersheds/Impervious Surfaces
Near TermNear Term
Building Leadership
Demonstrable Results
Impacts
ObjectiveObjective
Ecosystems are highly complex, dynamic and often fragile
We Must:
•Build/Reshape Institutions
•Study Our Complex, Evolving Cities
NOW
Evolving Entities:Evolving Entities:Chesapeake BayChesapeake Bay
1960 1980 2000
Parting Words…Parting Words…
“Good judgment comes from experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.”
- Will Rogers
Parting Words…Parting Words…
“…Déjà Vu All Over Again.”
- Yogi Berra
It’s Not Too LateIt’s Not Too Late
Hanauma Bay, Hawaii
Thank You