New Executive Order Changes U.S. Ocean Policy

President Trump signed an Executive Order on June 20, 2018 to establish a new ocean policy focused on economic and security concerns and ending President Obama’s 2010 ocean policy that emphasized conservation and stewardship.
President Obama signed his Executive Order soon after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster, which affected ecosystems, wildlife, and fisheries along the Gulf Coast. The order stressed “how vulnerable our marine environments are,” and called for a national policy to “ensure the protection, maintenance, and restoration of the health of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems.” President Obama’s order highlighted ten policies that prioritized conservation, including “protect, maintain, and restore the health and biological diversity,” enhance “conservation and sustainable uses,” and “understand, respond, and adapt to a changing global environment.”
In comparison, President Trump’s directive avoids any reference to climate change, biodiversity, and conservation, and instead emphasizes that oceans are “foundational to the economy, security, global competitiveness, and well-being of the United States.”
The seven priorities listed in the new policy focus on “economic, security, and environmental benefits for present and future generations of Americans,” and stress the need to “promote the lawful use of the ocean by agencies, including United St...

Source: Public Policy Reports - June 25, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news