The Importance of The Coastal Zone and The Need For Management
The dynamic processes that occur within the coastal zones produce diverse and productive ecosystems which have been of great importance historically for human populations. Coastal margins equate to only 8% of the worlds surface area but provide 25% of global productivity. Stress on this environment comes with approximately 70% of the world’s population being within a day’s walk of the coast. Two-thirds of the world’s cities occur on the coast.
Valuable resources such as fish and minerals are considered to be common property and are in high demand for coastal dwellers for subsistence use, recreation and economic development. Through the perception of common property, these resources have been subjected to intensive and specific exploitation. For example; 90% of the world’s fish harvest comes from within national exclusive economic zones, most of which are within the sight of shore. This type of practice has led to a problem that has cumulative effects. The addition of other activities adds to the strain placed on this environment. As a whole, human activity in the coastal zone generally degrades the systems by taking unsustainable quantities of resources. The effects are further exacerbated with the input of pollutant wastes. This provides the need for management. Due to the complex nature of human activity in this zone a holistic approach is required to obtain a sustainable outcome.
Read more about this topic: Integrated Coastal Zone Management
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