(a)
Consistent with this chapter, and subject to the availability of funding, the council shall support state agencies’ use and sharing of scientific and geospatial information for coastal- and ocean-relevant decisionmaking, including marine spatial planning, by taking all of the following actions:
(1)
Assess the needs of California’s public agencies with respect to their abilities to gather, manage, use, and share information and decision-support tools relevant to ecosystem-based management in the coastal and ocean environment.
(2)
Subject to a determination of need in paragraph (1) and in consultation with the relevant coastal or ocean
management agency, increase the amount of baseline scientific and geospatial information that is available to public agencies in a publicly accessible, electronic, and geospatial format with respect to the following aspects of coastal and ocean ecosystems:
(A)
Ecosystem health, structure, functioning, productivity, resilience, and vulnerability to threats.
(B)
The effects of climate change.
(C)
The cumulative effects of human-caused and natural sources of stress.
(D)
Existing and predicted patterns of human activities, including activities that present conflicting or compatible demands on coastal and ocean ecosystems or those that require the use
of a precautionary approach.
(E)
Social, economic, and cultural values, including the value of coastal and ocean ecosystems for providing ecosystem services.
(F)
Distinguishing ecological characteristics, including habitat heterogeneity, species abundance, and biodiversity.
(G)
Other physical, biological, economic, social, and cultural information that the council determines is relevant to marine spatial planning.
(3)
Support public agencies’ collaborative management and use of scientific and geospatial information relevant to ecosystem-based management.
(4)
Help identify decision-support tools relevant to ecosystem-based management, and, where appropriate, support the adaptation of those
tools or the creation of new tools to serve the state’s needs.
(b)Subject to available funding, and consistent with their individual mandates, each agency, board, department, or commission of the state with ocean or coastal management interests or regulatory authority shall cooperate with the council to achieve all of the goals described in subdivision (a).