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Coastal Development
Coastal areas are among the most important places in the world to live and locate industry. The Gulf of Mexico is seeing a lot of coastal development along its shores because of its rich natural resources. In the United States, the Census Bureau estimates a 72 percent increase in the population of the five Gulf Coast states between 1995 from a total of 44.2 million to an estimated 61.4 million in 2025. Similar growth is being reported in the Gulf States in Mexico and in Cuba. Even though the development of the Gulf’s coast is greatly boosting the economic growth of the region, the high density of people and industry is also a potential threat to the ecological condition of the Gulf’s coastal environment. Coastal waters are productive and diverse, including estuaries, coastal wetlands, coral reefs, mangrove forests and upwelling areas. Critical coastal habitats provide spawning grounds, nurseries, shelter and food for shellfish, birds and other wildlife. The Gulf of Mexico coast provides an important nesting, resting and feeding habitat for most of the waterfowl and migratory birds in North America. Coastal developments have made wetlands in the Gulf vulnerable to land based sources of pollutant discharges and other human activities. In southern Louisiana alone, coastal erosion consumes an estimated 25 to 30 square miles of wetlands each year, or as much as a football field every half-hour partly because of manmade canals dug to allow the movement of people and products needed for offshore drilling. These activities have put the Gulf’s coastal and ocean resources under increasing pressure from population growth and development. Governments in the region have realized the need to control and manage coastal development in the Gulf. The National Coastal Management Program in the United States is authorized under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to manage the nation’s coastal resources, ensuring their protection for future generations while balancing competing national economic, cultural and environmental interests. The Gulf of Mexico Program in the United States provides direct technical and financial assistance to the Gulf States and local institutions to help assess status and trends in coastal resources and address crucial coastal problems affecting the region. Non-profit organizations such as The Coast Alliance is working to increase public awareness of the coast's immense value, encouraging groups across the country to work to protect valuable coastal resources, and federal, state and local governments to strengthen policies and programs to protect coastal ecosystems and habitats. References: Environmental Protection Agency - National Coastal Condition Report. Viewed on the web on March 3, 2004 at: http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/nccr/index.html Naplenews.com. Viewed on the web on March 3, 2004 at: http://web.naplesnews.com/03/10/naples/e1666a.htm Additional Information: Coastal America Gulf Restoration Network Keywords: Coastal, Development, Estuary, Wetland, Pollution |
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GulfBase is a project of the
Harte
Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.
To give proper credit to the original authors, please cite information taken from GulfBase by the original source as displayed. 
To cite GulfBase, use:
F. Moretzsohn, J.A. Sánchez Chávez,
and J.W. Tunnell, Jr., Editors. 2010.
GulfBase: Resource Database for Gulf of Mexico Research.
World Wide
Web electronic publication. http://www.gulfbase.org, 07 September 2010. |
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