The Obama Administration and Coral Reefs

Tomorrow the United States Coral Reef Task Force will report to the Congressional Committee on Natural Resources. Angelo over at The Saipan Blog and Rick MacPherson from Malaria, Bedbugs, Sea Lice, and Sunsets encourage everyone to watch the meeting streaming live here.

The full letter is up on The Saipan Blog. Here are the bullet point recommendations [some of my notes in brackets]:

• Reauthorize the U.S. Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, including authorizing international coral reef conservation activities; [NOAA funds for Coral Reef conservation expired in 2004, this included the ability to partner and provide funds to conservation groups. Source: NOAA]

• Support passage of the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act; [Passed the House but died with the last session without a vote in the Senate. Source: Govtrack WHOI recommends this bill provide between $50-55 into acidification research Acidification from excess CO2 not only threatens corals, but also other calcifying organisms such as phytoplankton and crustaceans]

• Enact meaningful reductions in carbon dioxide emissions that target CO2 concentrations to stabilize at levels climate scientists determine are necessary to preserve coral reef ecosystems; [We Bostonians had a chance to explore this issue at the recent Climate Change Symposium hosted by the Aquarium and WHOI. Here's an overview of possiblities.]

• Fund and lead domestic and international coral reef conservation efforts through NOAA, USAID, EPA, the Department of the Interior, and the State Department;

• Support NOAA’s priorities in reducing impacts to coral reefs from fishing and land-based sources of pollution;

• Effectively conserve at least 30 percent of coral reef and reef-associated coastal resources in U.S. states and territories using marine managed areas over the next eight years; and [A network of state-run marine managed areas is already in place, but could use Federal support.]

• Provide more support for ocean education and citizen-science programs to create an educated public that understands and is committed to ocean conservation.

What effect will these measures have if enacted? Will the Obama budget reflect the ocean conservation values he telegraphed during the campagin? Tomorrow should be an interesting starting point for this discussion and for upcoming actions.