Coastal ecosystems, found along continental margins, are regions of remarkable biological productivity. Also highly accessible to human travelers, the world's coasts have been centers of human activity for millennia. Coastal ecosystems provide a wide array of goods and services, producing most of the fish, shellfish and seaweed that humans and animals consume. These ecosystems are a major source of fertilizer, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, household products and construction materials. Shoreline ecosystems store and cycle nutrients, filter pollutants from inland freshwater systems, and help to protect shorelines from erosion and storms.
People gravitate to coastal regions to live, work and play.
After the well was controlled in 1980, about 140 million gallons of oil had spilled, making it 2nd only to the Gulf War as the largest oil spill in history. Almost 30 percent of the land area in the world's coastal ecosystems has already been extensively altered or destroyed by growing demands for housing, industry and recreation, the report finds. The team analyzed the condition of coastal areas, defined as the current and future capacity of these ecosystems to provide the full range of goods and services needed or valued by humans. Many of the abundance and quality of these goods and services are already severely degraded, the World Resources Institute researchers found. Conservationists in Florida restore coastal mangroves.