Disasters spotlight need to rescue our coasts

Our country appears to have learned a great deal from Hurricane Katrina. We were able to mobilize and respond more effectively to Rita, whose satellite images resembled a bad science-fiction movie.

What we should also learn from these horrific natural disasters is that we must pay attention to the health and well-being of our oceans and coastal areas. We have to begin to address the mismanagement of this immense resource.

Even before the double whammy of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita brought water, wind and earth together in back-to-back cataclysmic clashes, trouble of vast dimensions had been brewing on our nation's oceans, coasts and Great Lakes, making us more vulnerable to disasters.

A year ago, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy released a sweeping report revealing that America's oceans are in serious trouble and recommending reforms needed to reverse the decline. One section dealt specifically with the Gulf Coast. Echoing earlier warnings, the report cautioned that sea-level rise, coastal storms and the loss of more than 1 million acres of wetlands in Louisiana put the state's 2 million residents at increasing risk, and could result in billions of dollars of property loss and thousands of deaths by drowning. We all mourn the realization of these predictions.

The recommendations make it clear that efforts to restore our coasts and build bigger and stronger levees to protect New Orleans must go hand in hand with a plan to restore the entire 27 million acres of coastal wetlands and marshes that remain in the lower 48 states. These buffers serve as nature's flood-control system, reducing storm surges and absorbing wind and wave energy.

And while reversing the land loss and restoring these important wetlands are absolutely fundamental to any plan to help secure our coasts from future storms, they comprise just one of several urgent issues. Population and poorly planned development are rising along the coasts, increasing the vulnerability of people and property to storm surges. Global fisheries are significantly depleted in many areas of the world, including along our coasts. Most coastal waters are in poor condition due to runoff of pollutants from land and air. The list could go on.

To address these dangerous trends, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and the privately funded Pew Oceans Commission have joined forces in a new effort, the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative. This initiative, drawing on recommendations from reports of both commissions, is proposing a new approach based on "ecosystem-based management." This means viewing our oceans as an interconnected network of animals, plants and people, and taking into account how change in one area sends ripple effects across another.

The reports strongly emphasize a regional approach to facilitate more coordinated and collaborative approaches to issues such as restoring threatened species of salmon, a particular concern here in the Pacific Northwest. Engaging citizens and ensuring full state, territorial, tribal and local participation in ocean policy development and implementation are critical elements.

The commissions also recommended significantly enhancing our scientific and monitoring capabilities, a move that will allow us to better predict and prepare for impacts associated with changing natural processes, such as climate warming and events such as Hurricanes Rita and Katrina.

There has been some progress. The president set a course with his U.S. Ocean Action Plan late last year. The Senate has responded by passing a series of bills, including legislation to further monitor the oceans and coasts and to deal with the mounting problem of plastics and other garbage that are dumped in the ocean. The House is also working on ocean-related legislation, and there is still an opportunity to get some crucial bills passed and sent to the president before this session of Congress ends.

Yet more must be done — quickly — to address our oceans' faltering health. We need a comprehensive approach that combines the principles of sustainability, stewardship and sound science that will take us deep into the 21st century. This will require leadership and an ongoing commitment across party lines from both Congress and the White House. The plan that emerges must be fully funded. Without additional resources to support this effort, nothing will change.

As made clear by the devastation from Katrina, the value of the nation's coasts and oceans cannot be overstated. Protecting our ocean and coastal resources must be a far-greater priority. This will require a profound change in the way we humans interact with our oceans, one of nature's greatest gifts to us. It's time we invested in that change.