Program on Ocean Governance (POG)

There is general agreement that the United States has outgrown its existing national marine policy and that a new approach integrating the multiple uses of the ocean with preservation and conservation interests is in order. Increasing population growth, advances in technology, shifting political agendas, and a heightened environmental consciousness have led to the need to reassess current U.S. ocean governance, an issue that has not been reviewed at the national level for over thirty years. With the passage of the Oceans Act of 2000, the Presidential Commission on Ocean Policy was established to analyze the state of the nation’s current marine policy and to develop a strategy for future ocean governance based upon their findings.

In response to the passage of the Oceans Act of 2000, The University of Washington's School of Marine Affairs is launching the Project on Ocean Governance (POG). This two-year effort will monitor trends in national and regional ocean governance and will provide a forum for interested parties to discuss topics pertaining to the nation's oceans and coasts. These efforts will be undertaken through a variety of events designed to elicit public awareness of marine issues and will seek to promote the concept of ocean stewardship. POG is made possible through a gift from the William and Flora Hewlett Endowment for Marine and Environmental Studies.

Marc Hershman
Professor, School of Marine Affairs
Member of the Presidential Commission on Ocean Policy

UW School of Marine Affairs
3707 Brooklyn Ave. NE
Seattle, WA 98105-6715
uwsma@u.washington.edu