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