Assessing regularly the coastal and marine environment

There have been some, albeit isolated, improvements in the state of the coastal and marine environment. Examples include improved bathing beaches in many regions, the clean-up of some rivers in western Europe, and a decline in DDT levels in the Baltic Sea and off the Pacific Coast of North America, resulting in the recovery of some animal and bird populations. However, much more needs to be done to swing the global balance from destruction towards recovery, including more effort to address the problem of marine debris which threatens marine wildlife.

This strategy features in the framework of Agenda 21 as formulated at UNCED (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), now coordinated by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and implemented through national and local authorities. Agenda 21 recommends conducting regular environmental assessment of the state of the environment in coastal and marine areas.