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Agriculture, Aquaculture, & Forestry Policies

Agriculture, Aquaculture, & Forestry Policies

Agriculture, aquaculture and forestry policies regulate and control agriculture, aquaculture and forestry.

CMap

The Agriculture Sector includes both animal and crop production. Agriculture, aquaculture and forestry policies regulate and control agriculture, aquaculture and forestry. The Aquaculture sector is involved in the raising and production of aquatic animals and plants in controlled environments. Contact Uses, such as biological additions, physical damage, and biological harvesting, are activities in which humans create pressures through direct contact with the ecosystem. Cultural services are the nonmaterial benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, recreational opportunities, aesthetic experiences, sense of place, and educational and research opportunities. Discharges are the intentional or unintentional distribution of chemicals, debris, or other pollution, into the environment as a consequence of human activities. Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems . Energy policy & development includes policies and regulations adopted to control the production, distribution, and consumption of energy. Fisheries and hunting policies control who can fish, harvest and hunt. The Fishing Sector includes the harvesting of fish for food and recreation. Food & energy policies are legislation, restrictions, and guidelines that pertain to sectors that harvest or extract natural resources. The Food and Raw Materials sector includes groups that harvest natural resources from the earth, including agriculture, aquaculture, fishing, forestry, mining, and the oil and gas industry. The Forestry sector specializes in harvesting of wood resources for fuel, wood, and paper products, and often implements practices that will sustain resources, such as reforestation. Irrigation is needed for Agriculture, and involves the treatment and supply of water for irrigation purposes using aqueducts, pumping stations, and distribution mains. Landscape Changes are alterations of the natural landscape through human activities, including coastal development, shoreline armoring, impervious surfaces, deforestation, or soil disturbance, which can alter water flow patterns and lead to pollutant runoff into coastal systems. The Mining Industry consists of the operation of mines, quarries, and wells, and the extraction of natural resources, such as solid and liquid minerals and gases, from the earth. Mining policies are specific to where, when, what and how non-living natural resources can be extracted. The Oil and Gas Industry specializes in the finding of natural resources such as crude petroleum and natural gas, and the creation, maintenance, and operation of wells to extract the oil and gas from the earth and prepare it for sale. The Reef Ecosystem includes a suite of abiotic variables that form the physical and chemical environment. Pressures are human activities that create stress on the environment. Provisioning services are the products or ecosystem goods obtained from ecosystems, including seafood, genetic and biochemical resources, pharmaceuticals, ornamental resources, and water resources. The state of the Reef Ecosystem is the condition, in terms of quantity and quality, of the abiotic and biotic components including physical, chemical, and biological variables. Reef Life is the abundance, distribution, and condition of the biological components of the coral reef ecosystem. Regulating Services are benefits obtained from ecosystem processes that regulate the environment, including erosion regulation, natural hazard regulation, and climate regulation. Responses are actions taken by groups or individuals in society and government to prevent, compensate, ameliorate or adapt to changes in Ecosystem Services or their perceived value. Socio-Economic Drivers include the sectors that fulfill human needs for Food & Raw Materials, Water, Shelter, Health, Culture, and Security, and the Infrastructure that supports the sectors. Supporting services are ecological processes that indirectly benefit humans by maintaining a functional ecosystem for the production of other ecosystem goods and services. Water Sectors include those that pertain to provisioning of water for public use, including the drinking water supply, irrigation systems for agriculture, and water for critical services (such as firefighting and hospitals).

CMap Description

A change in the provision of ecosystem services, or a desire to improve provision of ecosystem goods such as seafood, may elicit responses to manage the distribution and functioning of food and energy sectors that create pressures on the reef environment. Agricultural policies include laws relating to domestic agriculture and imports of foreign agricultural products. Forest policies are the laws and regulations that guide the protection and management of our nation's forests. Aquaculture policies issued by NOAA focus on developing a sustainable domestic aquaculture industry that will provide an additional source of healthy seafood to complement wild fisheries, while supporting healthy ecosystems and coastal economies Food & energy sectors benefit from reef ecosystem goods and services, in particular provisioning of finfish and shellfish.

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