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4.	Sea Links
	More than any other trading bloc, APEC is defined by water. While the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the European Union (EU) refer solely to their constituent's relationship to a continent, the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation forum (APEC) derives its identity and its name partly from the body of water which, for some of the members of this diverse and far-flung community, remains their only common denominator. Recognising that the Pacific Ocean is both a life-force and a life-line for all of its members, APEC environment ministers preparing for their June 1997 ministerial meetings in Toronto, Canada reaffirmed that APEC member economies were "united by their oceans and seas, and that the health of the marine environment is critical to their continuing economic well-being."But will short-term economic goals override attempts to preserve this age-old source of bounty? Will APEC members continue to poison the oceans which for centuries have sustained and defined a multitude of peoples? Preserving our ocean legacy will be a towering task, since rapid population growth and industrial development have already plunged the marine environment within much of APEC’s purview into crisis. There are examples that span the globe. In Northeast Asia, the Sea of Japan has been contaminated by high levels of wastes (including nuclear waste), and by petroleum exploration, while intensive shrimp aqua-culture has damaged vast areas of coastal mangrove forest in Southeast Asia and Ecuador. The spread of capital-intensive, mechanized fishing techniques has resulted in the over-exploitation of fish stocks in the highly productive Asian seas, as it has done on both coasts of Canada. Meanwhile, in newly industrialized nations, contamination from port, urban and river-borne wastes is extensive, making unsafe drinking water a major health hazard. All of these cases underscore the need for an integrated approach both to coastal and offshore marine management - one that does not place the interests of one sector above the interests of many others who depend so completely on the marine environment for life and livelihood. An integrated approach recognises that everyone has a claim on the ocean, and that consensus is the key to survival. [economic well-being tied to healthy marine environment]
	APEC's Marine Conservation Strategy The Marine Conservation Strategy identifies elements essential to the long-term health of APEC's oceans and seas and recognizes that sustainability of the marine environment is a crosscutting theme. Its three key objectives are: 1. Integrated approaches to coastal management 2. Prevention, reduction and control of marine pollution 3. Sustainable management of marine resources Three central tools to achieve these objectives are: 1. Research, exchange of information, technology and expertise 2. Capacity building, training and education 3. Public and private sector participation and partnership The focus is on strengthening intra-regional cooperation and collaboration in order to facilitate the development and implementation of regional programs of action.
	Integrated coastal management n. management strategy for coastal areas based on well thought-out plans that are future-orientated and involve all sectors of society.
	Soegiarto, Aprilani. Sustainable Fisheries, Environment and the Prospects of Regional Co-operation in Southeast Asia. paper presented at the International Studies Workshop. September 1994. Internet Site
Virtual Ide	Info on APEC's Marine Resource Conservation Working Group