Environmental problems such as global climate change, ozone depletion, ocean and air pollution, and resource degradation-respect no border and threaten the health, prosperity, and jobs of all Americans. The world faces a unique set of challenges related to the sustainability of coastal areas over the next millennium, and the National Ocean Service is making a renewed commitment to form international partnerships for global coastal stewardship. It will actively seek opportunities to exchange its knowledge and experience on coastal science and integrated coastal management with governments and institutions throughout the world. A new NOS International Programs Office will be created to coordinate these activities.
Coastal areas represent some of the most valuable assets that nations possess.
A major challenge that the U.S. and other nations face today is restoring, maintaining, and enhancing the quality of coastal areas under the pressures of projected population growth, coastal development, and consumption patterns. The difficulties of achieving this goal, associated with the intrinsic complexities of the natural and human systems that converge in coastal areas, is a management and scientific challenge as complex as any facing the U.S. today. The challenge is applicable to all coastal nations. The scope and scale of many coastal problems require international, as well and national and local, partnerships and solutions. The effects of climate change on coastal areas, the world-wide loss of marine biodiversity and essential habitat, the ubiquitous nature of coastal pollution and its impact on public health and global tourism, are only a few examples.