Coastal Action

Coastal Action
Name	Coastal Action
Established	1990s
Type	Non-profit environmental organization
Purpose	Coastal conservation, habitat restoration, community engagement
Headquarters	Regional offices
Region served	Coastal zones and estuaries
Leader title	Executive Director

Coastal Action is a non-profit organization focused on conservation, restoration, and stewardship of coastal and estuarine environments. It implements habitat protection, species monitoring, community outreach, and policy advocacy across regional shorelines, working with academic, governmental, and private stakeholders. The organization engages in scientific research, education, and on-the-ground restoration to address erosion, biodiversity loss, and water quality issues.

Definition and Scope

Coastal Action operates at the intersection of marine ecology, watershed management, and community development, engaging with entities such as World Wildlife Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, The Nature Conservancy, Wetlands International, International Union for Conservation of Nature, BirdLife International, United Nations Environment Programme, Convention on Biological Diversity, Ramsar Convention, and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Its scope includes estuaries, salt marshes, mangroves, dunes, rocky shores, and nearshore waters, collaborating with institutions like Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Institution, and Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Coastal Action’s activities often intersect with agencies such as Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Fisheries and Oceans (Canada), Marine Scotland, and regional bodies like European Environment Agency and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. It engages communities near landmarks like Chesapeake Bay, San Francisco Bay, Bay of Fundy, Great Barrier Reef, and Baltic Sea.

History and Origins

Origins trace to late 20th-century coastal movements influenced by organizations including Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Conservation International, and regional NGOs responding to events like the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Amoco Cadiz oil spill, and Torrey Canyon oil spill. Founders drew on research traditions from Marine Biological Association, Duke University Marine Laboratory, and policies emerging from conferences such as the Earth Summit and meetings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Early projects paralleled efforts led by Rachel Carson’s legacy agencies and initiatives inspired by the Ramsar Convention on wetlands, aligning with coastal restoration models from Restoration Ecology pioneers and habitat banking pilots in the United Kingdom and United States. Networks formed with universities like University of British Columbia, Dalhousie University, University of California, Santa Cruz, University of Miami, and University of Cape Town.

Objectives and Activities

Primary objectives encompass biodiversity conservation, erosion mitigation, pollution reduction, and climate adaptation. Activities include habitat restoration with techniques shared by European Centre for Nature Conservation, invasive species control modeled after programs by New Zealand Department of Conservation, and citizen science campaigns akin to Ocean Conservancy’s initiatives and iNaturalist projects. Monitoring employs protocols from Marine Stewardship Council certification, genetic methods used at Wellcome Sanger Institute, and remote sensing approaches from European Space Agency and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Education and outreach occur via partnerships with museums such as Royal Ontario Museum, aquaria like Monterey Bay Aquarium and New England Aquarium, and schools linked to programs by UNESCO's associated schools network.

Governance and Partnerships

Governance typically follows non-profit board structures with advisory input from academic partners including University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, McGill University, King's College London, and Stockholm University. Strategic partnerships involve regional planning bodies like Coastal Zone Management Act implementers, transnational collaborations with European Commission directorates, and joint projects alongside World Bank and Asian Development Bank coastal resilience programs. Collaborations include conservation trusts such as National Trust (United Kingdom), Canadian Wildlife Service, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and municipal partners from cities like Vancouver, Boston, Sydney, Cape Town, and Rotterdam.

Funding and Economics

Funding streams combine grants from foundations such as Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and Packard Foundation; government grants from entities like National Science Foundation, Natural Environment Research Council, and Canada Foundation for Innovation; and corporate partnerships with firms in renewable energy and fisheries. Economic analyses reference valuation methods used by The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity and cost–benefit frameworks from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Market mechanisms have included payment for ecosystem services pilots similar to programs by World Bank and carbon offset schemes promulgated through registries such as Verra.

Local and Global Case Studies

Local case studies mirror restoration projects in regions like Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Cornwall, California, Queensland, and South Africa. Regional initiatives align with multinational programs such as European Maritime Safety Agency coastal monitoring, Gulf of Mexico Alliance restorations, and UNEP Regional Seas Programme actions. Species-focused work parallels conservation efforts for taxa like Atlantic salmon, Atlantic puffin, loggerhead sea turtle, green sea turtle, and north Atlantic right whale in collaboration with research groups at St. Andrews University, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and Sea Turtle Conservancy.

Challenges and Controversies

Challenges include balancing development pressures from ports and tourism associated with cities such as Felixstowe, Rotterdam, and Miami; negotiating fisheries conflicts involving stakeholders like International Seafood Sustainability Foundation and Marine Stewardship Council-certified fleets; and addressing climate liabilities raised in cases similar to litigation involving Royal Dutch Shell and BP. Controversies arise over restoration priorities debated in forums convened by Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, disputes over marine spatial planning with navies including Royal Navy and United States Navy, and tensions between conservation and indigenous rights highlighted by groups such as Assembly of First Nations and United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

Category:Environmental organizations