A new study reveals that the global coastal regions are already exposed to high levels of 'human pressure.' Since 2013, the number of these areas dropped to 15.5 percent. Immediate measures could only be the solution to prevent the remaining intact coasts from disappearing, the researchers explained.
Human and Industrialized Pressure on Global Coastal Regions
Scholars from the Unversity of Queensland measured the 'industrialized pressure' that is commonly known to damage the natural environment. These factors include aspects such as nutrient pollution from the agricultural processes, roadways, and intense fishing.
Based on the data gathered by the authors, they concluded that urgent conservation efforts are required in order to preserve each of the remaining intact places from further devastation. Most of the coastal regions were already degraded and are in a seemingly irreversible state, while a few still stand and remain unharmed.
University of Queensland School of Earth and Environmental Sciences expert Brooke Williams, who co-authored the study, said in a CBS report that the scale of degradation of these massive regions risks not just the coastal biodiversity and ecosystem. It also risk the public health safety, as well as the economic security of the population that relies on businesses and enterprises rooting from the global coastal regions.
Climate Mitigation and State of Coastal Regions in the US
The situation in the United States shows how the small population of the wealthy could afford on living near rising seas. These people can endure or even ignore the threat of the phenomenon due to their capacity to effortlessly produce climate mitigation measures. According to economists, the solution is somehow available only to those who are receiving high income.
In coastal cities like Miami, the risk of flooding increases because of the inevitable impacts of climate change. Contrary to the near-helpless regions, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a 640-million-dollar resiliency bill to produce solutions and reduce the effects of rising sea levels in Florida state.
The new paper discovered that in the United States, more than half of the coastal regions are affected by very high levels of human pressure. On the other hand, neighboring country Canada was able to alleviate damages on its coastal areas.
States that are found to have been struck with high levels of human pressure include New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Los Angeles, and Maryland. Compared to these severely affected regions, other states with coasts have remained relatively preserved. Some of these regions include Alaska, Louisiana, and the wide Everglades National Park.
Queensland's Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science expert Amelia Wenger, who served as the lead author for the study, said in the university press release that what their team found was "truly eye-opening." In the research, the expert urged the people in power to respond to the situation proactively and put an effort to conserve the coastal regions.
Wenger explained that being aware of the pressures of coastal ecosystems could assist us to conceptualize and produce better strategies that could halt the degradation and even put it to an end. The study was published in the journal Conservation Biology, titled "Global rarity of intact coastal regions."
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