A Blueprint for Ocean and Coastal Sustainability

Sustainable development is defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the

ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Sustainable development is the approach recognized by the

international community to deal with environmental, social and economic issues the world has faced in the past 20

years. Now that the oceans are in threats, coastal communities were still unable to cope with existing and emerging

issues, and all levels of government were also unable to make an outcome with the institutional change required to

address these issues. Problems including the fact that very little of the world’s seas and oceans are being monitored or

protected, coastal habitats continue to be lost or degraded; invasive species are expanding; hypoxic zones are

increasing; the ocean is acidifying; sea level is rising. Also, the impact of climate change and technological advances in

addition to the increased intensification of human development have driven major increases with the scale of challenges

that the ocean and coastal areas facing.

The climate change and its impacts on sea level rise, ocean warming and stratification, and increased susceptibility to

natural hazards expose coastal areas to increased risk and increasingly threaten biodiversity and ocean ecosystem

services. Sea-level rise from climate change is also projected to cause the loss of habitat and livelihood for people. Rising

sea levels could make entire areas, even nations, uninhabitable or much more vulnerable. Coastal communities are
prone to natural disasters including tsunamis, floods, and tropical cyclones causing their homes, property and livelihoods

to lose. Most of them suffer from food insecurity and become vulnerable to malnutrition and disease. Given that over a

third of the world’s population lives in coastal zones within 100 kilometers of the shore, the effects of coastal flooding

on human settlements could be highly disruptive. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC),

many millions more people are projected to be flooded every year due to sea-level rise by the 2080s. The significant

challenge for this century is how to both mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change since such impacts are

now inevitable even if aggressive action is taken in the near term to mitigate.

In order to mitigate the continued degradation of the seas and oceans, key sectors and governments must begin a

transition towards a Green Economy, creating a viable socio-economic framework that generates jobs, assists in poverty

alleviation, adapts to and mitigates climate change and other existing and emerging challenges, and embraces integrated

environmental management.

Blue-Green Economy as a Key to Sustainable Future

This concept has arisen in recent years as a widely accepted shift from traditional thinking about environmental

protection and management being separate from economic development to fact that future economic

development is inextricably linked with both social considerations and the environment. This concept is arguably
even more important in coastal and ocean areas than on land, as the interlinkages among economic sectors (such

as fisheries and aquaculture, water and waste management, renewable ocean based energy, and tourism),

human impacts, and all aspects of environmental health are at the same time very strong, yet challenging to

manage.

The key dimensions of the Blue-Green Economy purposes includes:

 Protection and restoration of ocean ecosystems and biodiversity, including beyond national jurisdictions;

 Development of blue carbon markets;

 Active sea-floor management (including oil and gas, mining, and cables) both within and outside national

jurisdictions;

 Change in fisheries and aquaculture management regimes at regional and national levels toward,

equitable, non-subsidized, and sustainable practices;

 Adaptation to sea level rise and climate change;

 Integrated coastal management;

 Increasing sustainable use of bio-resources, including biotechnology;

 Recognition and adoption of ocean and coastal carbon sinks and the creation of a market for trading
  Dramatically enhanced recycling of major ocean pollutants such as nutrients through market mechanisms

 Greater adoption of renewable energy from the ocean.

Philippines Coastal Resource Management

Due to the rapid growth of the population, overexploitation of fisheries, degradation of coastal ecosystems and climate

change, coastal communities worldwide are being subjected to changes in the coastal zone. These changes are placing

communities at increasing risk from coastal hazards including tsunamis, severe storms, and shoreline erosion.

Responding to growing demand for coastal services, Tetra Tech has gained impressive experience in building the

capacity of national and local governments and communities in coastal management in the United States and globally.

Tetra Tech is a leading provider of consulting and engineering services. The Company supports government and

commercial clients by providing innovative solutions focused on water, environment, infrastructure, resource

management, energy, and international development.

The significant outcomes from Tetra Tech’s work helped establish 70 new marine sanctuaries covering 1,500 hectares of

coral reef and seagrass habitat as well as assisting government agencies with coastal communities to reduce overfishing

through the fisheries adopting registration and licensing programs, habitat protection, and increased enforcement. They
also established a monitoring and evaluation system for government agencies that provides a framework for planning,

evaluating, and improving coastal resource management strategies.

The Coastal Resource Management-Philippines

Coastal Resource Management Philippines (CRMP) provided technical assistance and training to coastal communities,

local government units (LGUs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and national government agencies (NGAs) to

improved management of coastal resources in the Philippines. CRMP was funded by the United State Agency for

International Development (USAID)

CRMP was designed to develop strategic and innovative approaches to address new models in coastal resource

management in the Philippines while building on tested approaches mainly those that were community-based

beforehand. Their key objective was to develop coastal resource management from pilot-scale community-based

projects into a strategic that spread that cut across an extensive range of coastal stakeholders. It focuses on the

municipal waters, fisherfolk who used these resources and the local governments that held administrative control over

them. The original project design brought out a seven-year implementation strategy that focused on community-based
coastal resource management, training, resource monitoring, policy development, alternative enterprise development,

and information and education. To increase the LGUs awareness of their order, to promote a shift in their perspective so

they would begin coastal crisis and solve the problem through training, education and information communication, to

have the participation of the government and make it the essential part of their daily development and policy functions,

to encourage and enhance local level management initiatives by establishing higher-order mechanisms through a

national or regional incentive system policy reform, to create an essential relation to bring together the players and

stakeholders into a unified system of management geared toward maximizing the sustainability of coastal resources are

the main thrusts of Coastal Resource Management-Philippines wants to achieve.

A Blueprint for Ocean and Coastal Sustainability (2011) Retrieved October 3, 2018 from

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/rio20

Philippines Coastal Resource Management (2018) Retrieved October 4, 2018 from

http://www.tetratech.com/en/projects/philippines-coastal-resource-management

CRMP (2004) Completion Report: The Coastal Resource Management Project-Philippines 1996-2004 Coastal Resource

Management Project of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Cebu City, Philippines, 179 pp.