Back ||NOAA Home Remarks to NOAA Coastal GeoTools Conference 2003 Vice-Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans & Atmosphere Coastal Services Center, Charleston South Carolina January 7, 2003, 9:00 a.m. WELCOME Thank you for inviting me to be here today…Thank You to the Coastal Services Center and to Margaret Davidson who has done so much for NOAA and its mission to better understand and manage our ocean and coastal resources. Thank You to all the attendees for the investment of your time and energy here for this important conference…and the many Partners that are supporting this conference. I see that we have in attendance many of the most important players in Coastal Resource Management — from State resource managers, to existing and potential private sector partners, and many of my NOAA and Federal agency colleagues. I was very impressed by the exhibits here last night that demonstrate some of the exciting new technologies and ideas applied to coastal management. I want to stress that I have a very strong commitment to partnerships and teamwork, so I appreciate seeing the diversity of interests represented at this workshop. We have indeed entered a new era for the use of remote sensing and GIS for improved understanding of the Earth’s systems…for monitoring and forecasting — particularly for the coastal and marine environment. Since the majority of our nation’s population is clustered along our coasts, we must pay renewed attention to how we manage our ecosystems. New ecosystem forecasting tools and management strategies will ensure that we understand the integral links between a healthy economy and sound ecosystem management. And this conference is one way for us to get there. Three points: NOAA’s role in Coastal Resource Management, Partnerships, and the need for a true Global Observing System My intention today is to discuss NOAA's broad involvement in the use of GeoSpatial technologies — GIS (Geographic Information Systems), Remote Sensing — and other tools for coastal resource management. I also want to point out how important this work is to meeting NOAA’s Mission to observe and describe changes in the Earth’s ecosystems — and to the larger efforts for improved ecosystem management. No one entity can provide all the components of coastal resource management, therefore NOAA relies on partnerships with users like yourselves — industry, government at all levels, and academia — to create products that in turn benefit our partners and the citizenry. Over the course of my first year here at NOAA, I have been calling for a true Global Observing System. The information tools that we use — from space and ground systems — are essential to predicting changes and aiding decision-making for the larger global ocean and coastal observing system. Without it, we do not have the management and decision support products to form the basis of sound public policy. NOAA ROLE IN COASTAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT NOAA is known as a premier science and service agency, with a mission to observe and describe changes in the Earth’s ecosystems and communicate this information to the citizenry in useful ways. We deal with the whole Earth system — this is unique among environmental agencies of the world. Understanding and describing the coastal habitats and related ocean resources are an integral part of our mission and you play an important role. NOAA's products form a critical part of the economic foundation of our country and daily decisions made by Americans across the Nation. From our weather and climate predictions that directly affect the farming and energy industry, to our ecosystem management products that support sustainable fisheries and coastal development - The United States has over 95,000 miles of coastlines and 98% of the nation’s commerce (by weight) is waterborne. Currently, more than half of the U.S. population—141 million people—resides within 50 miles of the coasts (only 11 percent of the land area of the lower 48 states). Coastal waters are among the most biologically productive regions in the Nation, producing more food per acre than the best Midwestern farmland. Coastal and marine waters support 28.3 million jobs, generate $54 billion in goods and services And recreational fishing contributes $30 billion to the U.S. economy. Remote Sensing We have come a long way since 1960, when we launched our first remote sensing satellite to take pictures of clouds, and to help us forecast the weather. NOAA now uses remote sensing technology on a variety of platforms — we fly satellites… we fly aircraft…we deploy buoys and tide gauges — to monitor climate…to monitor the interactions between the oceans and the atmosphere…and to monitor coastal and shoreline ecosystem phenomena. And there are many other varied uses, such as search and rescue, fire monitoring, ocean bathymetry, and shoreline delineation. NOAA is also in the business collecting data that we derive from these technologies, processing it, and developing products and services that assist in our mission of assessment, prediction, and stewardship of our environment, and living marine resources. We are also a primary user of data. We have forecasting, management and regulatory responsibilities that require us to use the remote sensing and in-situ data. We have a robust research program to constantly improve effective use of this data. And we also look for other providers of data, in other government agencies and in the private sector. As the population of the coastal zone grows — over the next 15 years, the U.S. coastal population is projected to increase by almost 25 million people — demand for investment in new technology to increase our capacity to predict changes in the coastal environment will rise. To this end, we need to use tools such as GIS and remote sensing to improve urban planning, to increase prediction capabilities for hazardous events, and to expand navigational aides for marine transportation systems. Likewise, these technologies will lead us to understand climate change to protect our coastlines — to measure changes in sea level and shoreline, the health of coral reefs, which are integral to the protection of coastal topography, and detect harmful algal blooms to keep the public safe from associated health risks. NOAA offers a number of fully operational programs, which are aimed at providing ongoing assistance to all types of users. In addition to our existing services, NOAA fosters numerous new applications, which show great promise for operational use. We place a strong emphasis on applications that have concrete human and ecological impacts. MAPPING & DATA MANAGEMENT Now, I want to turn to the mundane, and often neglected element of sound science DATA. Data is essential, it is the core of our mission to understand how ecosystems function. Without quality data and quality information that we derive from data, we get nowhere. As we better understand the capabilities of our existing sensors, their application to management becomes more apparent. NOAA is now striving to create a steady flow of information from our sensors to our users. This concept of an "end-to-end" system allows the user to obtain the information they need at any point along this information continuum. To do this, we need a wealth of data, from many sources, across many different variables. And then we need to distribute it widely. We have observations — sustained, long-term measurements — that we use with GIS and we use data from those long-term observations to incorporate into products. NOAA and the private sector have a joint role to provide a complete suite of Remote Sensing technology to the public. We rely on the private sector to create value-added tools to market to specific users. And I encourage the private sector to use our data, use the results of our research, and make real life applications to help customers. Managers need free, user-friendly decision making tools, and they need them fast, in formats that are readily applicable to their coastal and marine management challenges. NOAA is a public service provider — just as a public utility provides energy for sale to the citizenry. We are the backbone, providing the framework for doing business. So there is a very important place for government, both in providing data, and in providing services for the public good and for value-added private sector use. “Enterprise GIS” In order to stay ahead of the curve in understanding our changing environment, NOAA has built, and will continue to build, strong relationships with both data providers and data users to create products to benefit society. To achieve this goal, NOAA Oceans and Coasts is leading the way with an initiative called “Enterprise GIS”—a system to manage and coordinate spatial data resources. This spatial data tool supports a mandated requirement—the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC), Directive A-16, to document all federal spatial data to the government standard. The FGDC has focused on developing standards, outreach, and partnerships across all elements of coastal and marine data stewardship. This work will help to ensure that accurate, timely data will be available to local, national, and international users. The FGDC also fosters improvements to legal and geospatial descriptions of marine boundaries. This, in tandem with standardization of data content, methodologies and surveying specifications will also help with the Administration’s E-Gov initiative to provide “one stop shopping” for geographic data. Electronic Navigation Charts NOAA creates important products and services for our clients. Recently, we were all excited to hear that our Secretary of Commerce, Don Evans followed NOAA’s lead and signed a policy statement allowing us to provide cost-free Electronic Navigation Charts over the Internet. This is important because it will allow the private sector charting companies to use our information and incorporate those data into their products and tailor them as they see fit. This service also serves the Citizenry, who can depend on credible information to aid their recreational boating and fishing activities. PARTNERSHIPS No one entity, whether in the federal, state or local government, nor any private company can meet the challenges that we all face when looking at coastal and marine environments. NOAA Coastal Services Center The NOAA Coastal Services Center here in South Carolina demonstrates our emphasis on partnerships. Almost every project undertaken by the Center utilizes a partnership. These efforts result in over 100 projects per year. The most obvious partnership is with our client community, which includes the coastal zone management programs, natural resource management departments, sanctuaries, estuarine research reserves, and Sea Grant offices. These partners are on the front lines and help the Center focus their efforts on activities that are relevant, effective, and essential. The Center also serves as a conduit for bringing expertise and resources from throughout NOAA and other federal agencies to bear on local and statewide coastal management issues. NOAA first works with the local and state organizations to assess their needs, and then works across organizational boundaries to meet these needs. These efforts have resulted in numerous partnerships within NOAA and with NASA, the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Environmental Protection Agency. One good example is the Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project, which is a partnership of NOAA (CSC) and public agencies working cooperatively to acquire, restore, and enhance coastal wetlands and watersheds between Point Conception and the International border with Mexico. This area includes the five coastal counties of Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego. There are seventeen public agencies with responsibilities for coastal wetlands and watersheds in Southern California that participate in the project. The WRP is using a non-regulatory approach with an ecosystem perspective to: identify wetland acquisition and restoration priorities, prepare plans for these priority sites, pool funds to undertake these projects, implement priority plans, oversee post-project maintenance and monitoring. In this activity, NOAA (Coastal Services Center) is working with NASA's Earth Science Enterprise and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, as well as Earth Data International and Earth Satellite Corporation from the private sector to build spatial data sets and other information needed to support this project. These agencies, working with the Southern California Water Resources Planning Board purchased $1.6 million of radar elevation data and a half - million dollars for land cover information. The U.S. Geologic Survey has also joined the effort to put the data in the national archive for elevation data. This project has featured use of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IFSAR) — high-resolution elevation data produced through a technique called radar interferometry. With its capability to see through clouds and high accuracy for digital elevation models, this data has lots of utility at the county level for their applications to wetland recovery planning. Private Sector At a time of high demand for our services and products and limited resources, it is imperative that NOAA outsource much of its work. The private sector becomes a critical partner in answering this call. Nationally, most federal agencies are trying to reduce the number of federal employees and use contractors to carry out their missions where appropriate. One of the most effective private/federal partnerships is the Coastal Services Center’s own workforce. The Center embraced this concept long ago, and has created an organization where 45% of the workforce is comprised of private sector employees. The Center also works with the private sector to help them develop products that meet the specific needs of the coastal resource management community. Remote sensing is one good example of a powerful but relatively new tool for most state coastal programs. The Center saves the state programs time and money by helping them to make efficient and effective use of this technology. For example, the private sector has played a significant and pivotal role in the development of the Coastal National Spatial Data Infrastructure as a primary provider of “off-the-shelf” software and contract personnel. This is a nationwide effort to improve utilization of spatial data in the United States by the coastal management community. Coastal Business Roundtable In coordination with the Coastal States Organization, NOAA will soon launch a brand new effort that brings together the public and private sectors called the National Ocean and Coastal Business Roundtable. This forum would serve to promote cooperation, coordination and communication among the chief executives of leading corporations and their government peers in shaping and promoting policies and practices that foster vigorous economic growth and the wise management of U.S. ocean and coastal resources. Outcomes would include identifying and applying best practices, tools, and strategies to programs that address high-priority national coastal and ocean issues. International On the International front, NOAA participated in the U.S. Government announcement of a White Water to Blue Water initiative at the World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa last August. The initiative recognizes the critical land/sea link — that oceans and coasts are recipients of whatever happens upland and upstream. The initiative, therefore, seeks to build capacity for integrated, natural resource and ecosystem-based management of watersheds and marine ecosystems on a regional basis. The Departments of Commerce, Agriculture, State, and Interior, U.S. Agency for International Development, and Environmental Protection Agency are working together — as well as with state and foreign governments, the private sector and NGOs — to launch a pilot project in the Caribbean. This will commence with a Wider Caribbean Region Partnership Conference in Fall 2003 (October/November) in Miami (Stay Tuned). We want to help the Caribbean basin countries promote better cross-border coordination for watershed and coastal management. Through partnerships, we can solve the complex problems associated with marine and coastal environments, and we can all benefit from each other's expertise. We must work together, through partnerships, in a multi-national, multi disciplinary manner and one of our greatest partnership challenges is the creation of truly global observation system. GLOBAL OBSERVING SYSTEM For some months now, I have been emphasizing this need. Such a system would essentially “take the pulse of Planet Earth” — just as a doctor would for a patient. We need to be smart in how we go about building such an observing system — and do so in a planned and integrated fashion. Although some long-term satellite and in-situ programs are underway, we do not yet have a robust global observing system. Databases from current and past programs are neither complete, accessible or sufficiently quality controlled. Large observational gaps in space and time are the norm according to international science groups. To address these deficiencies, NOAA has embarked on a new global effort to create an integrated ocean and coastal observing system. Through advances in new technology and remote sensing tools, NOAA has become a leader in coastal and oceanographic monitoring. As such, we are now working to coalesce local and regional efforts into one national observing system to avoid redundancy and ensure that regional observation efforts are linked to our federal and international efforts. To further this vision, seven university partners have received NOAA grants to work with NOAA on developing a model demonstration of regional coastal ocean observing systems based on their combined knowledge, expertise, and efforts. The goal of this Coastal Observation Technology System (COTS) project is to develop a system with a seamless flow of data, information, and products that will greatly benefit data collectors, scientists, resource managers, and additional end users. Earth Observation Summit Announcement At our national Climate Science Workshop last month, I announced that preparation is underway to have an Earth Observation Summit in the summer of 2003 for key senior national and international officials who support global-scale environmental observations. Such a forum will promote the value of a global Earth observing system, and gain high-level declarations of support for integrated space-based and in situ observations. This effort will demonstrate our commitment to environmental stewardship and the promotion of sound science for the benefit of our nation and the nations around the world. CONCLUSION In closing, I would like to challenge this audience to think about how we can leverage our funds and talents to expand our coastal and ocean observation capabilities. This conference marks an important step towards crossing agency and bureaucratic boundaries.....to encompass the broad interests sitting here today. This workshop brings together the necessary stakeholders and expertise to move us where we need to go — and for bringing the global observing system into a reality. By working collaboratively, we will be able to generate new ideas, develop strategies, gain public support and — most importantly — get something done. Thank you. I would be happy to answer questions.