[Coral-List] Highlights of American Samoa-hosted U.S. Coral Reef Task Force meeting
Alissa Barron
alissa.barron at noaa.gov
Fri Aug 31 15:17:25 EDT 2007
Coral colleagues --
To follow up on the recent traffic regarding last week's U.S. Coral Reef
Task Force meeting in Pago Pago -- and American Samoa's new climate
change executive order that was announced at the meeting -- I am copying
below the press release that was issued following the meeting. It has
some additional information about key meeting outcomes, among them a
Task Force climate change resolution and American Samoa's executive order.
Cheers,
Alissa Barron
National Communication and Outreach Coordinator
NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program
Email: Alissa.Barron at noaa.gov
Web: www.coralreef.noaa.gov
______________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 27, 2007
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Contact: Ben Sherman, NOAA Public Affairs
(301) 713-3066 ext. 178
U. S. CORAL REEF TASK FORCE LAUNCHES NEW CLIMATE CHANGE EFFORT
Also Announces Cooperative Conservation Plan for International Year of
the Reef
During its biannual meeting this week in Pago Pago, American Samoa, the
U. S. Coral Reef Task Force 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 government and non-government
partners in conservation.
The new climate change working group is charged with developing 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. Components of the decision also called for developing
bleaching response plans for each U.S. state and territory with reefs,
and assessing what expertise and resources federal agencies have to
mitigate risk and damage.
The Task Force further called on members and partners to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and 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.
“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.”
The creation of the climate change group is considered a major new step
for the Task Force, but one that builds on several past resolutions and
the 2005 release of The Reef Manager’s Guide to Coral Bleaching. The
Reef Manager’s Guide provides information on the causes and consequences
of coral bleaching, and helps managers understand and plan for bleaching
events.
As part of this effort, the Task Force hosted a special session on the
health of coral reef ecosystems in a changing climate, drawing from the
regional and international expertise to highlight common challenges and
management needs.
“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.”
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- 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. 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.”
In response to the declaration of 2008 as the International Year of the
Reef (IYOR) by the International Coral Reef Initiative, the Task Force
also adopted an IYOR Action Plan. The action plan features new and
strengthened partnerships across the government and non-government
communities to more effectively reach the American public with
coordinated messages about coral reef decline and the role individuals,
organizations and businesses can play in helping to halt that decline.
The Task Force passed two additional resolutions. The first defined and
launched ‘phase two’ of a highly successful 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.
A Presidential Executive Order established the U.S. Coral Reef Task
Force in 1998 to lead U.S. efforts to preserve and protect coral reef
ecosystems. Through the coordinated efforts of its members, including
representatives of 12 federal agencies, the governors of seven states
and territories, and the leaders of the Freely Associated States, the
U.S. Coral Reef Task Force has helped lead U.S. efforts to protect and
manage valuable coral reef ecosystems in the U.S. and internationally.
NOAA and Department of Interior co-chair the Task Force.
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On the Web:
U.S. Coral Reef Task Force: http://www.coralreef.gov
NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov
Department of the Interior: http://www.doi.gov
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