A Marine Protected Area
A marine protected area is an environment set aside by state, federal, tribal, territorial, or local laws and regulations to provide long-term protection for the area's cultural and natural resources (Marine Protected Area Webmaster, n.d). The various agencies collaborate to ensure that the goals of marine protection efforts are met, as well as to mitigate emerging issues that threaten the marine environment. There is a framework that outlines the general roles of each of the federal, state, tribal, and local agencies with a mandate to ensure marine protection. At the local government, the resilient communities commence with individuals that are prepared and rely on the engagement and leadership of the local government, private sectors and the Non-governmental Organizations. Individuals, caregivers and families of those with special needs, enhance the risks and threat awareness; establish a household emergency response plan that may include care for animals (Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council, 2013). Some individuals also volunteer to perform these tasks in their communities. The first people to detect the threat or risks and respond to them are usually the local police, emergency medical services, public works, environmental response professionals and public health. There are also often the last to leave the scene of incidents. The senior officials who are appointed or elected at the local level, such as the mayor, county manager or city manager have a mandate to ensure the public safety and welfare of their subordinates. To attain this goal, they form an effective emergency response team that deal with emerging incidences. They integrate and organize their resources and capabilities with the surrounding jurisdictions, NGOs, the State and private sectors (U.S Department of Homeland Security, 2008).
The Role of State and Tribal Governments
The tribal, territories and State government also have a vital responsibility in ensuring marine protection. The state and local government are usually the most impacted by incidents that occur and should always lead in response and recovery of issues affecting the public (Hixon and Wenzel, 2008). The states play a very essential part in coordinating capabilities and resources to be used for response throughout the state and also have the capacity to obtain a backup of resource and workforce from other states. The state possesses very significant resources such as the state emergency management, state police, and homeland security agencies, transport agencies, specialized teams, health agencies, incident management teams and the National Guard. The role of the state government is to supplement the local government's response efforts prior, during and after the occurrence of incidents. In cases where the state anticipates that the available resources may be exceeded, the State government can request the national government or other states to assist through a mutual aid or assistance agreement for instance, the Emergency Management assistance Compact (EMAC).
The Role of the National Government
The National Government has a wide array of resources and capabilities that are made available in case the state government requires assistance. In cases where the occurrence of an incident exceeds the local, tribal and state levels, the national government provides capabilities and resources to supplement the other levels of government However, in incidents that affect the whole nation such as those that primarily involves the national facilities, the national agencies responds first and provide first line defense, as it coordinate with the local, territorial and state agencies (Livingston, 2001).
Inter-Agency Interaction
Therefore, inter-agencies interaction is very essential in dealing with emerging issues that affect the public. The various levels of government coordinate in responding to occurring incidents, where they support each other by providing resources and capabilities. Apart from the local, tribal, state and national agencies, the private sectors and Non-governmental organizations also play an essential role in responding to incidences that affect the people.
References
Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council. (2013). Reef Fish Fishery, Gulf of Mexico, Fisheries Management Plan: Environmental Impact Statement. Mexico: Northwestern University.
Hixon, M., & Wenzel, L. (2008). Towards a National System of Marine Protected Area. Washington, DC: Marine Federal Advisory Committee.
Livingston, R. J. (2001). Estuarine Pollution Control and Assessment: Proceedings of a Conference, Volume 1. Washington, DC: Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water Planning and Standards.
Marine Protected Area Webmaster. (n.d.). Marine Protected Areas of the United States. Retrieved January 24, 2017, from National Marine Protected Area: http://marineprotectedareas.noaa.gov/helpful_resources/faqs_pr.html
U.S Department of Homeland Security. (2008). National Response Framework. Washington, DC: National Response Framework Resource Centre.
