THE 21ST CENTURY COAST GUARD (continued)
Steward of the Marine Environment
The Nation’s waters and their ecosystems are vital to the health, well-being, and economy of America. Heightened national expectations for a clean and sustainable environment come at a time of increasing stress on the marine environment. The Coast Guard, with skilled people and strategically positioned units, will aggressively work to preserve healthy stocks of fish and other living marine resources and to keep the Nation’s waters free of oil, chemicals, other marine pollution, and invasive species. Stewardship of the marine environment entails a broad spectrum of activities, including education, surveillance, inspection, enforcement, response, and investigation. The Coast Guard will strengthen its partnerships with government agencies, academia, interest groups, private industry, and international organizations to carry out these critical tasks. Coordinated management of the marine environment will improve the quality of American life for generations.
Prevention strategies will be foremost among the Coast Guard ’s environmental initiatives. Moreover, solutions must be comprehensive and global. As international regimes are created to husband scarce marine resources, the Coast Guard will actively participate to ensure policy objectives are enforceable and achievable. Recognized expertise, especially in international negotiations, will prompt other nations increasingly to seek technical assistance from the Coast Guard. In all operations, the Coast Guard will be a model of environmental excellence that others will follow.
Governmental policies affect the competitiveness of the U.S. maritime industry at home and abroad. The Coast Guard will streamline environmental regulations to ensure fairness, relevance, and minimal cost while maximizing environmental protection. Domestic guidelines will incorporate international standards as appropriate. The Coast Guard will use a mix of incentive-based approaches to stimulate industry’s participation in designing the best environmental policies. Research and development, tied to authoritative scientific data, will underpin prevention and response plans. Consultations with stakeholders and experts will enable the Coast Guard to pursue environmental goals that yield the greatest public value.
Greater domestic marine traffic and coastal development will threaten habitats. Specially designated sanctuaries and zones to protect marine life will require closer Coast Guard monitoring of coastal areas. Some trends will require Coast Guard attention away from shore. Shifts in offshore fishing will necessitate surveillance over greater distances. Enforcement of international agreements on highly migratory species and U.S. distant-water fishing will extend air and sea patrols farther from traditional fishing grounds and beyond the 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone. The Coast Guard will harness promising new methods, cooperative partners, and advanced technologies to meet these challenges.
The Coast Guard will respond immediately to mishaps that threaten the marine environment. Marine pollution incidents may be less frequent, but potentially more severe because of the increased volumes and broader array of hazardous materials carried by ships. The Coast Guard will improve disaster response through integrated contingency planning, use of automated decision-support systems, and better interoperability with partner organizations. The Coast Guard will share marine information to facilitate risk evaluation, planning, and mitigation when disaster strikes, and will serve as the focal point for coordinated action.
America’s waters are truly a national treasure. The Coast Guard will be an unfailing Steward of the Marine Environment.
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Contact rkutz@comdt.uscg.mil
Created: August
1998