(1) Ecosystem management is a concept that includes coordinating the planning activities of state and other governmental units, land management, environmental permitting and regulatory programs, and voluntary programs, together with the needs of the business community, private landowners, and the public, as partners in a streamlined and effective program for the protection of the environment. It is particularly in the interest of persons residing and doing business within the boundaries of a particular ecosystem to share in the responsibility of ecosystem restoration or maintenance. The proper stewardship of an ecosystem by its affected residents will, in general, enhance the economic and social welfare of all Floridians by maintaining the natural beauty and functions of that ecosystem, which will, in turn, contribute to the beauty and function of larger inclusive ecosystems and add immeasurably to the quality of life and the economy of all Florida counties dependent on those ecosystems, thus serving a public purpose.
(2) Most ecosystems are subject to multiple governmental jurisdictions. Therefore, there is a need for a unified and stable mechanism to plan for restoration and continued long-term maintenance of ecosystems.
(3) It is in the public interest and serves a public purpose that the Department of Environmental Protection take a leading role among the agencies of the state in developing and implementing comprehensive ecosystem management solutions, in cooperation with both public and private regulated entities, which improves the integration between land use planning and regulation, and which achieves positive environmental results in an efficient and cost-effective manner.
History.—s. 26, ch. 97-164.