Coastal management is concerned with protecting, conserving and managing coasts and coastal resources. It is a specific area of environmental protection which focuses on coastal areas. In the United States, coastal management is greatly affected by government regulation, especially the Coastal Zone Management Act. According to the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, this Act strives to balance the conservation and development of the nation's coastal, estuarine and ocean resources. Its mission is to, "sustain coastal communities, sustain coastal ecosystems and improve government efficiency."
Coastal Management is socially important because it is concerned with the fair allocation and use of coastal resources while managing these areas sustainably, so that they can be used by future generations. Coastal managers try to involve all parties in management decisions, so that resources are used fairly.
