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Managing Coastal Environments UN Headquarters, Conference Room 7 (agenda and further details to be added as they are available) The coastal marine environment provides enormous value in fishery and other products and in ecosystem services including coastal protection, water purification, and appropriate locations for ports, harbors, urban centers, tourist destinations, and numerous recreational pursuits. Coastal environments can also cleanse the soul, stimulate the mind, and restore the body. But 40% of all people live within 50km of a coast, and our enthusiasm for coastal living is creating ever more environmental damage. "Current management practices are ineffective and to continue them will endanger coastal economies and ecosystems that support over one half of the world’s population. The trend for coastal marine ecosystems over recent decades has been for progressive decline in the face of growing human populations, growing demand for coastal marine resources, and growing use of the coastal environment. Now climate change is starting to add to the pressures on the coastal marine environment, further stressing ecosystems there." |
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