B. FEDERAL LEGISLATION AND CONGRESSIONAL RESOLUTIONS B-1 Selected Legislation of the 89th and 90th Congresses.... 221 221 222 227 232 C. ACTIVITIES OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND OTHER NATIONS.. 233 C-1 Resolutions Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly... 233 242 245 248 INTRODUCTION During the past two and one-half years, national attention has been increasingly focused on the potential of the seas and on the importance of policies and programs to use the seas more effectively. The Federal Government has endeavored to provide the necessary stimulus and support and the leadership to meet public purposes and scientific opportunities to promote economic growth, enhance the quality of our environment, and contribute to international peace and security through our ocean endeavors. Since mid-1966: -The President has issued more than 20 policy statements including goals, priorities, and plans to mobilize our resources for intensified marine activities. -The Congress has held more than 100 hearings and enacted more than two dozen new laws to promote broader, safer, and more rational use of the oceans and their resources. -The United States has cosponsored five Resolutions adopted by the U.N. General Assembly, calling for broader international cooperation to explore and to develop the oceans and their resources for the benefit of mankind. -The National Council on Marine Resources and Engineering Development has acted on more than 65 major ocean policy issues at 15 plenary sessions. -The Commission on Marine Science, Engineering, and Resources has issued a major report on a national marine science program to meet present and future needs, including a recommendation for the establishment of a new independent Federal agency to serve as the focal point for civilian ocean affairs. -California, Washington, Florida, and other States, industrial associations such as the National Security Industrial Association, professional societies, and other non-governmental bodies have taken steps to strengthen and broaden the marine science activities within their purview. Underlying this re-awakened effort to realize more clearly our role as a maritime power is the mandate of the Marine Resources and Engineering Development Act of 1966 "to develop, encourage, and maintain a coordinated, comprehensive, and long-range national program in marine sciences for the benefit of mankind to assist in: -protection of health and property; -enhancement of commerce, transportation, and national security; -rehabilitation of our commercial fisheries; and -increased utilization of these and other resources." 1 This mandate of the Congress and the President further identifies eight objectives related to these goals: 1 -the accelerated development of the resources of the marine environment; -the expansion of human knowledge of the marine environment; -the encouragement of private investment enterprise in exploration, technological development, marine commerce, and economic utilization of the resources of the marine environment; -the preservation of the role of the United States as a leader in marine science and resource development; -the advancement of education and training in marine science; -the development and improvement of the capabilities, performance, use, and efficiency of vehicles, equipment, and instruments for use in exploration, research, surveys, the recovery of resources, and the transmission of energy in the marine environment; -the effective utilization of the scientific and engineering resources of the Nation, with close cooperation among all interested agencies, public and private, in order to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort, facilities, and equipment, or waste; and 1 Following are some abbreviations and definitions generally used in the marine sciences field: The Act is customarily called the Marine Sciences Act. The National Council on Marine Resources and Engineering Development is usually abbreviated to the Marine Sciences Council. The Commission on Marine Science, Engineering, and Resources is usually referred to as the Marine Sciences Commission. Marine science is a term employed in Public Law 89-454 to describe scientific research, engineering, and technological development related to the marine environment. The marine environment is considered to include the oceans, the Continental Shelf and estuaries of the United States and its territories, the Great Lakes, and the resources of the oceans and Great Lakes. -the cooperation by the United States with other nations and groups of nations and international organizations in marine science activities when such cooperation is in the national interest. Initial governmental efforts to respond to these challenges were described in the First Annual Marine Sciences Report of the President, released in 1967, entitled "Marine Science Affairs-A Year of Transition." The Report emphasized the transition from scientific oceanography to application of these scientific discoveries and the transition from considerations largely at the program level to a new concern and responsibility at the policy level of government. The Second Annual Report, entitled "Marine Science Affairs A Year of Plans and Progress," presented a broad range of policy considerations relating the potential of the oceans to major national goals and to action programs to aid in their achievement. It laid the basis for intensified government-wide planning efforts and for increased emphasis on selected priority areas such as the War on Hunger, international cooperation, and implementation of the Sea Grant Program. During the past year, the Marine Sciences Council has endeavored to ensure that early initiatives were being supported and to develop a more rational institutional framework to sustain a long-term program. Major national purposes have been more clearly enunciated and impediments to progress have been isolated, including both gaps in scientific knowledge and barriers arising from institutional conflicts, neglect, or obsolescence. Marine science has been more effectively injected into the mainstream of public policy, and our maritime presence is being revived to serve the pressing needs of our society. A new emphasis has been placed on rational development of our Coastal Zone-the margin where the sea meets the land and the people-through cooperative programs with the States, on formulating a deliberate and concerted policy for Arctic development, and on steps to provide a framework of international law and of cooperation which will mitigate conflicts as nations utilize the marine environment more intensively. This Third Annual Report, entitled "Marine Science Affairs-A Year of Broadened Participation," summarizes accomplishments in 1968, describes our policies and programs, and identifies our goals and milestones. It should complement the report of the Commission on Marine Science, Engineering, and Resources, released on January 11, 1969. Although there has not been time yet to consider the Commission's findings and recommendations in detail, they are referred to the incoming Administration for study and implementation as appropriate. The first chapter of this Annual Report summarizes the major policy recommendations of the Marine Sciences Council and describes the FY 1970 Federal marine sciences budget-by agency, by public purpose, and by marine science function. The next chapter discusses this Nation's stake in the oceans in terms of marine geography-a physical, social, economic, and political geography. Man's present diverse uses of the sea are expressed 329-466 0—69- -2 |