NOAA head urges changes in ocean management
Shlomit Auciello
Village Soup
07/24/2009
BOSTON (July 24): Saying she wanted "to draw attention to the untold story of oceans in the climate dialogue," Dr. Jane Lubchenco, undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, spoke in Boston on Monday, laying out what she called "a grand challenge for the nation."
That challenge, according to Lubchenco, is to reverse the decline along the nation's coastlines and in the oceans, and restore them to a healthy, productive and resilient state.
"Too much is at stake to continue on our present path," she said of the dependence of the fisheries in the United States on actions taken in the coming decade. "Too much is at risk if we ignore either oceans or climate change."
"As an ecologist, I’m interested in connections," she said. "Connections in the patterns of nature, connections between people and nature, connections across space and through time." She said these interactions also include the ways in which different generations respond to daunting challenges.
Quoting President John F. Kennedy, Lubchenco told those assembled Monday for the Coastal Zone 2009 Conference, “It is an interesting biological fact that all of us have, in our veins, the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it, we are going back from whence we came.”
President Barack Obama issued a proclamation last month laying out his vision for oceans in which he spoke of the country's “stewardship responsibility to maintain healthy, resilient, and sustainable oceans and coasts … for the benefit of this and future generations." The president also established an Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, led by his Council on Environmental Quality.
Lubchenco said the task force, along with NOAA and 17 other departments and agencies, would develop recommendations for a national policy for oceans, coastal and Great Lakes ecosystems, a framework for policy coordination, and an implementation strategy that identifies ways to meet the objectives of the national policy.
"There is an ever increasing demand for human uses of the ocean, and with that demand comes greater potential for damage to fragile habitats and loss of ecosystem services and integrity, as well as competition and conflicts among user groups," Lubchenco said. "One of the responsibilities of the task force is to prepare recommendations for a framework on comprehensive coastal and marine spatial planning that will help address this issue."
She said marine spatial planning would ensure healthy, productive, and resilient ocean and coastal ecosystems and support coastal communities and economies.
"Decisions should be informed by science with the goal of sustaining human uses while protecting or restoring ocean ecosystems," she said. She invited comments and suggestions at oceancomments@ceq.eop.gov.
Lubchenco called climate change "a huge threat multiplier," and said it amplifies other stresses on life in oceans, such as nutrient runoff, chemical pollution, marine debris, overfishing, and the introduction of invasive species and habitat destruction.
"Last month the administration released a landmark report: Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States," she said. "It describes in plain language the climate change impacts that have been documented in various regions around the country. Along the coasts, sea level is rising, the oceans are warming, and corals are bleaching. However, the report also makes the critically important point that decisions now will determine whether climate change will result in big changes or smaller ones."
"We should manage and prepare to adapt with the expectation that there will be surprises," Lubchenco said, referring to a number of recent reports that show rapid and unanticipated impacts from climate change. "We must have policies that are flexible and responsive to changes."
"Like the wonderful Indian fable of an elephant being described by blind men touching its component parts, oceans often represent different things to different users," she said, adding that seven specific themes have emerged as Americans express their needs and expectations in regard to ocean ecosystems.
"Americans want and expect clean beaches, healthy seafood, stable fisheries, good jobs, abundant wildlife, vibrant coastal communities and clean energy," she said.
Introducing the new National Climate Service, Lubchenco said NOAA is working toward integrating its modeling, monitoring, observation and mapping capabilities with its diverse place-based management experience to create an integrated service that can deliver climate-relevant information to inform decision making in a time of rapid change. She said the new service has the "potential to be an invaluable source of information to citizens, businesses, cities and states, and national leaders."
Citing the demand for greater opportunities to restore degraded habitats in coastal states, Lubchenco described the allocation, through the American Recovery and Restoration Act of 2009, of $167 million to NOAA for job-creating projects that would restore coastal habitats.
"NOAA announced an open competition for these funds," she said. "We received 814 project proposals totaling $3 billion. In New England, $16.7 million was awarded for seven projects in five coastal states."
Two of those awards were for projects in Maine. One, called Maine Atlantic Salmon Habitat Restoration, will replace impassable culverts at road crossings and decommission unneeded commercial roads in the Machias River watershed, opening 66 miles of river and reconnecting 57 square miles of upper watershed to the lower watershed.
In another project, the Great Works Dam will be removed as part of a broader initiative to restore and open more than 1,000 miles of the Penobscot River and reconnect inland endangered Atlantic salmon habitat to the Gulf of Maine.
"This project will help lead to the restoration of the full assemblage of 11 native migratory fish species to the river, and provide benefits for wildlife, tribal culture, and the Gulf of Maine, as well as spur community and economic development in New England’s second largest watershed," Lubchenco said.
