Environmental Issues: Oceans

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All Documents in Oceans Tagged habitat protection

Reviving Our Oceans
Changing the way we think about and manage our oceans can help avert a crisis.
Overview

Changing the way we think about and manage our oceans can help avert a crisis.

Ocean Blueprint
Stopping ocean sprawl with smart coastal and marine spatial planning
Overview

Increased ocean activities, if not carried out wisely, will cause "ocean sprawl," further stressing these valuable resources and jeopardizing the food, jobs and recreation we need our oceans to provide. Coastal and marine spatial planning (CMSP) is a common sense process that allocates space in the oceans for various uses, identifying areas in which different uses make sense and other areas where ocean habitat needs protection.

Florida’s Coastal and Ocean Future
A Blueprint for Economic and Environmental Leadership
Issue Paper

With tourism, fishing, and recreational sport bringing billions of dollars into Florida each year, the coast is Florida's economic engine. This issue paper provides a blueprint for how local leaders and decision makers can -- and must -- take action to protect Florida’s marine and coastal ecosystems.

Protecting Ocean Habitat from Bottom Trawling
Halting this underwater version of strip-mining in sensitive areas can keep our oceans healthy and full of vibrant marine life.
Overview

Halting this underwater version of strip-mining in sensitive areas can keep our oceans healthy and full of vibrant marine life.

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Documents Tagged habitat protection in All Sections

Wildlife on the Brink
Overview

The Endangered Species Act is the best tool we have to ensure that future generations will inherit a nation of soaring forests, redrock canyons, lumbering grizzlies and tiny songbirds. Without its protections, we risk losing hundreds of species of plants and animals across the nation to pollution and private development. See our photo gallery of endangered wildlife and learn about the terrain they need to survive.

Medicines from the Deep
The Importance of Protecting the High Seas from Bottom Trawling
Issue Paper

Medical research suggests that novel compounds from the deep sea hold tremendous promise for treating human disease, highlighting the need to protect the fragile deep ocean bottom from destructive fishing practices like bottom trawling.

Ocean Protection Case Studies
Marine ecosystems and fish populations are in trouble, but proven solutions exist to restore the health of the oceans.
Overview

Marine ecosystems and fish populations are in trouble, but proven solutions exist to restore the health of the oceans. These brief case studies illustrate a few and the results they can achieve.

Keeping Oceans Wild
How Marine Reserves Protect Our Living Seas
Report

Marine reserves are like national parks, and they are critical to keeping the world's oceans healthy and productive. This NRDC report demonstrates how placing important ocean areas off-limits is already reaping tremendous benefits, and shows how each of us can participate in protecting marine life and habitat for the future.

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For additional policy documents, see the NRDC Document Bank.
For older publications available only in print, click here.