[Coral-List] BUSH ADMINISTRATION CALLS FOR GREATER PROTECTION OF NATION’S CORAL REEFS
Roger B. Griffis
Roger.B.Griffis at noaa.gov
Tue May 8 17:02:49 EDT 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 8, 2007
*** NEWS FROM NOAA ***
NATIONAL OCEANIC & ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
WASHINGTON, DC
CONTACT: Richard Mills or Dan Nelson, U.S. Dept of Commerce 202-482-4883
***
BUSH ADMINISTRATION CALLS FOR GREATER PROTECTION OF NATION'S CORAL REEFS
The Bush Administration delivered proposed legislation to Congress
today calling for greater protection for the nation's coral reefs.
The bill, the Coral Reef Ecosystem Conservation Amendment Act of
2007, reauthorizes the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 and adds
greater protections for coral reefs while enhancing marine debris
removal and increasing the government's ability to work through
cooperative partnerships.
"Our coral reefs continue to be severely threatened and this bill
continues the Administration's aggressive commitment to ocean
stewardship as called for in the President's Ocean Action Plan," said
Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez. "It will give us the tools we
need not only to protect corals, but also to help restore this
valuable resource."
The Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) Coral Reef Conservation Program supports
effective management and sound science. Through this program, NOAA
partners with scientific, private, government and nongovernmental
organizations at the local, state, federal and international levels
to preserve, sustain and restore valuable coral reef ecosystems.
"The Administration proposal for reauthorizing this Act is an
important step forward for the partnerships that are working to
conserve our coral reefs, said Interior Secretary Dick Kempthorne.
"It will help the coral conservation programs within the Department,
and increase our ability to assist the States and territories with
their efforts."
Corals reefs, a critical part of the ocean's ecosystem, teem with
fish, lobsters, sponges, sea turtles and thousands of other creatures
that rely on them for their survival. Coral reefs also are important
to the economy, providing millions of people around the globe with
food, coastal storm protection and jobs. Nearly a quarter of the
world's reefs are under imminent risk of collapse from human
pressures and a fifth have already been effectively destroyed and
show no immediate prospects for recovery.
Major causes of reef decline are land-based pollution, disease,
habitat destruction, over fishing, climate change, vessel groundings,
and coastal development. In order to address threats that have
continued to increase since the original legislation was passed in
2000, this bill explicitly focuses implementation and management on
better understanding issues associated with climate change such as
coral disease and bleaching. The proposal will also mandate the
establishment of consistent guidelines for maintaining environmental
data, products and information allowing for more effective management
approaches.
Seeking to address vessel impacts to reefs, the legislation
establishes a new emergency response account to fund emergency
response, stabilization, and restoration following incidents that
injure coral reefs. The bill also makes it unlawful to destroy or
injure any coral reef and allows the government to recover response
and restoration costs from responsible parties. It provides for the
removal of abandoned fishing gear, marine debris, and abandoned
vessels from coral reef ecosystems in federal waters and allows for
assistance to states for removal of marine debris.
Recognizing that NOAA's and DOI's existing partnerships are some of
the most effective assets in addressing threats to corals, the bill
is designed to facilitate existing partnerships with other agencies,
governments and organizations to help protect and recover corals.
NOAA and DOI now co-chair the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, co-manage
the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument with the State of
Hawaii, and cooperate in many other coral reef conservation efforts.
The proposed legislation would for the first time establish a damage
recovery process for the coral reefs in National Wildlife Refuges,
and increase the effectiveness of the current authorities for
recovering damages to reefs in National Parks and National Marine
Sanctuaries. It also provides statutory authorization for Department
of the Interior coral conservation activities, which are now
conducted under general conservation authorities that do not mention
coral reefs.
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On the Web:
http://www.coralreef.noaa.gov/crca.html
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