Ocean Task Force Report Emphasizes Information Quality Standards

On August 2, 2010, the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force announced the public availability of its “Final Recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force.”  These recommendations are available online at http://www.whitehouse.gov/files/documents/OPTF_FinalRecs.pdf.

 In summary, they are:  

1)  Protect, maintain, and restore the health and biological diversity of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems and resources;

 2)  Improve the resiliency of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems, communities, and economies;

 3)  Bolster the conservation and sustainable uses of land in ways that will improve the health of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems;

 4)  Use the best available science and knowledge to inform decisions affecting the ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes, and great Lakes ecosystems;

 5)  Support sustainable, safe, secure, and productive access to, and uses of the ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes;

  6)  Respect and preserve our Nation’s maritime heritage, including our social, cultural, recreational, and historical values;

 7)  Exercise rights and jurisdiction and perform duties in accordance with applicable international law, including respect for and preservation of navigational rights and freedoms, which are essential for the global economy and international peace and security;

 8)  Increase scientific understanding of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems as part of the global interconnected systems of air, land, ice, and water, including their elationships to humans and their activities;

 9)  Improve our understanding and awareness of changing environmental conditions, trends, and their causes, and of human activities taking place in ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes waters; and

 10)  Foster a public understanding of the value of the ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes to build a foundation for improved stewardship.

 The Task Force report emphasizes the importance of information quality standards in achieving these goals.  For example the report states at page 71, “During the first six to nine months, initial actions to coordinate, integrate, and manage data would be necessary. The NOC [new national Ocean Council] would begin development of a national information management system and CMSP portal(s), adopt minimum data standards consistent with government-wide information quality standards….”

 As another example, the report states at page 67, “To ensure national consistency, minimum data standards for CMSP [coastal and marine spatial planning] information would be adopted and include standards for information quality.”

 As a final example, the report states at page 67, “CMSP information that is collected, produced, or disseminated by Federal agencies, including information obtained from non-Federal sources, would meet government-wide information quality standards and any other additional minimum standards adopted by the NOC.”

CRE published an earlier article on the Task Force recommendations at http://www.thecre.com/creipd/?p=231