Action Plan for International Year of the Reef

Action Plan for International Year of the Reef

Aug. 2007  - The USA Coral Reef 
Task Force today announced the formation of a new climate change working 
group and endorsed an action plan for the International Year of the Reef 
2008 that will involve both government and nongovernmental partners in 
reef conservation. 
The developments were finalized during the Task Force's biannual meeting 
this week in Pago Pago. 
"This new climate change working group will be composed of experts from 
across the 19 agency Task Force in climate science, coral bleaching and 
management actions relevant to the coral reef and climate nexus," said 
Timothy Keeney, deputy assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and 
atmosphere and Task Force co-chair. 
"We recognize and are acting to address the vulnerability of island and 
coastal communities to changes in shoreline protection, fisheries and 
tourism as a result of climate change effects to coral reefs," he said. 
The new climate change working group will develop best practices to help 
local resource managers minimize the impact of climate-induced stresses 
like coral bleaching, while better educating the public about the impacts 
of climate change on the health and survival of reef resources. 
The group called for each U.S. state and territory with reefs to develop 
bleaching response plans and assess what expertise and resources federal 
agencies have to mitigate risk and damage. 
The Task Force called on members and partners to reduce their greenhouse 
gas emissions. 
The Task Force also affirmed the role that regional networks of marine 
protected areas can play in protecting ecological connectivity among 
islands in the face of potential future losses that may result due to 
climate change. 
"The critical importance of addressing climate change issues sooner rather 
than later was clearly articulated in yesterday's panel and subsequent 
discussion," said American Samoa Governor Togiola Tulafono, local meeting 
host and author of the recent climate change statement that prompted the 
Task Force to take additional action. 
"As Wayne Nastri, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional 
Administrator for Region 9 so eloquently stated, we need to begin 
immediately to put our words into action to address those opportunities 
within our mandates and abilities," Tulafono said. 
The American Samoa Governor also announced the passage of a territorial 
Executive Order addressing climate change on August 23. The Executive 
Order takes a proactive approach by mandating the American Samoa 
government agencies and departments make short-term and long-term 
commitments to curb greenhouse gas emissions. 
Climate change discussions will continue next week as 30 local experts 
from U.S. Pacific states and territories, Fiji, and Western Samoa meet in 
Pago Pago, American Samoa to share strategies and learn how to use tools 
that predict where coral bleaching will occur, measure coral reef 
resilience, and assess the socioeconomic impacts of climate damage. 
The workshop, part of global series, will be hosted by NOAA, the Great 
Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, and The Nature Conservancy, who 
partnered with the World Conservation Congress (IUCN) and others to 
release the Reef Manager's Guide. 
This meeting has showcased what can be done to conserve coral reefs," said 
Nikola Pula, Director of the Department of the Interior's Office of 
Insular Affairs and acting co-chair of the Task Force. 
"As a native Samoan, I am extremely impressed with what has been 
accomplished here in American Samoa over the last several years, and with 
the initiatives announced at this meeting," Pula said. "Throughout the 
Pacific Islands, the melding of traditional practices and institutions 
with modern science is giving us conservation efforts that are supported 
by the local communities." 
The Task Force passed two additional resolutions. The first defined and 
launched phase two of a Local Action Strategy initiative, which created 
three-year plans for local action that implemented hundreds of targeted 
conservation projects worth millions of dollars. 
The second resolution recognized a new strategic plan and charter for the 
U.S. All Islands Coral Reef Committee, which represents the governors and 
executive branches of the states, commonwealths, territories and freely 
associated states possessing coral reefs. 
In keeping with the meeting's theme, Science and Culture Bridging 
Management, the Task Force meeting featured in-depth sessions on enhancing 
management strategies through incorporation of traditional knowledge and 
regional approaches to managing coral reefs across political boundaries at 
the ecosystem level. 
Public workshops focused on federal grant and technical assistance 
opportunities for the region, as well as on methods for determining the 
economic value of coral reef ecosystems to protect economic benefits and 
enhance political support for reef conservation. 
An Executive Order by President Bill Clinton in 1998 established the U.S. 
Coral Reef Task Force to lead U.S. efforts to preserve and protect coral 
reef ecosystems. 

---


More Aging Earth Headlines >> 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23 - 24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - Aging Earth Home

AGING EARTH HOME

---

© 2009; Aging Earth .com
Powered by WorldsLargestNetwork.com