The Secretary for Resources and Secretary for Environmental Protection for the State of California are organizing a California and the World Ocean '02 (CWO '02) conference in cooperation with the Coastal Zone Foundation. This conference will revisit the previous five years and assess the relative success in implementing the recommendations made in California's Ocean Resources: An Agenda for the Future, a statewide strategy released in 1997 and the subject of the California and the World Ocean '97 conference. CWO '02 will also explore new and innovative directions for protecting and managing our valuable ocean and coastal resources.
CWO '02 will seek the views and creative ideas of the international community in addressing ocean and coastal resource management issues in California. Methods for obtaining this information will include short courses and field trips, conjunctive meetings and events, poster sessions (including photo and video media, electronic databases, books, maps and art works), social events, plenary sessions, commercial and not-for-profit exhibits, and paper presentations.
Short courses and field trips will offer conference attendees and their guests an opportunity to update their education and see first-hand how some of the resource issues being discussed at the conference are currently managed (or not, as may be the case). Conjunctive meetings and events will offer conference attendees an opportunity to participate in policy level discussions, while social events afford a more relaxing environment for dialogue and exchange of ideas.
Presentations and plenary sessions will cover a broad spectrum of ocean and coastal issues that are of interest to a multi-disciplinary and international audience, with particular interest in policy development. These presentations will identify or offer solutions to problems, utilize case studies, identify knowledge gaps or collaboration opportunities, and discuss broader applications and implications of material presented. Where success has been lacking, these presentations will offer ideas and suggestions for improving California's stewardship of ocean and coastal resources, encouragement of environmentally sound and sustainable resource development activities, and advancement of research, educational programs and technology developments. These suggestions, with the presence of many of California's decision-makers and policy-makers, will help ensure comprehensive and coordinated management, conservation and enhancement of the state's ocean and coastal resources for their intrinsic value and for the benefit of current and future generations.
Papers will be published in the CWO '02 Conference Proceedings, to be made available approximately 120 days after the conference. Other publications may also result from this conference in an effort to further information and idea sharing among ocean and coastal resource managers around the world.