Changing national approaches to ocean governance: The United States, Canada, and Australia

During the second half of the twentieth century interest in the development of integrated ocean governance has continued to grow, within individual states and on the international level as well. In the United States the work of the Stratton Commission led to the creation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the passage of the Coastal Zone Management Act. These developments were but the start of what has become ongoing concern with establishing coherent and comprehensive approaches to the management of ocean and coastal space. Globally, interest in more systemic approaches to ocean management increased with the negotiations for the 1982 United Nations Law of the Sea Convention and was further sparked by the issues raised at the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment and the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro. Several states have recently undertaken new initiatives to further the development of integrated ocean policies that reflect recognition of the need for ecosystem-based management. The purpose of this contribution is to examine developments in three states, the United States, Canada, and Australia, that have given this subject substantial attention and to assess the efforts being made and the nature of the problems that are being encountered.