Members of a community are more willing to help sustain and protect ocean and coastal resources when they understand the importance of those resources to both the environment and the economy. This takes on even more importance as population pressures continue to build along the California coast. Key examples of community based approaches include watershed management programs, coastal cleanups, and fishery enhancement projects. A number of speakers indicated that it is critical to build consensus among stakeholders, which encourages collaborative partnerships, improved compliance with regulations, and improved resource management. Integrative strategies and programs must also be able to adapt to changing needs, shifting ecological conditions, and improved scientific understanding of natural processes.
Integration plays an important role in managing nonpoint source pollution.
Increased research at the state and federal levels to achieve more science-based policy decisions was consistently urged, including the need for continued investigation of nearshore oceanographic processes, harvest Refugia, wetlands restoration, fisheries management, and alternative energy technologies. While there needs to be adequate scientific information, there must also be an acknowledgement that there are currently flaws in monitoring, research, and current knowledge, requiring a certain amount of flexibility over time as new methods and information become available. This is especially true in the case of water quality monitoring where multiple sources of data across the State often cannot be integrated because monitoring methods and data are not standardized. Inadequate scientific information and flawed methods also require a rather precautionary approach to management decisions. Consequences of management decisions are often difficult to predict in highly complex systems.