Bush Creates New Marine Protected Areas
January 5, 2009 8:54 pm General CommentaryOn Tuesday, January 6, 2009, President Bush will continue his committment to preserving marine resources with the official designation of three new areas in the Pacific Ocean as U. S. National Monuments. This designation will provide national protection to over 195,000 square miles of marine habitat. This continues the legacy of President Bush as one of the most active Presidents in the area of marine preservation and protection. The new conservation areas are located in Guam, the Central Pacific Islands, and American Samoa. The following text is quoted from www.bloomberg.com.
Bush to Create Three Protected Sea Areas in the Pacific Ocean
By Catherine Dodge
Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) — President George W. Bush tomorrow will designate three areas in the Pacific Ocean as U.S. national monuments, giving environmental protections to 195,000 square miles of marine habitat.
The designation will limit fishing and regulate other human intervention in areas that environmentalists said include the deepest canyon on the globe, the most pristine coral reefs and the world’s smallest coral atoll.
The areas to be designated are the Mariana Trench and Islands near Guam; the Central Pacific Islands, about 1,500 miles west of Hawaii; and the Rose Atoll in American Samoa.
The move, applauded by environmental groups, is similar to protections Bush gave in 2006 to 140,000 square miles in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and surrounding waters.
Taken together, the two acts mean Bush “has done more to protect unique areas of the world’s oceans than any other person in history,” said Joshua Reichert, managing director of the Pew Environment Group in Washington.
“While we and others in the conservation community have frequently been at odds with the president on a variety of environmental issues, this is a memorably positive moment for which Mr. Bush should be roundly applauded,” Reichert said.
The areas will receive the “highest levels of conservation,” said James Connaughton chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, on a conference call today with reporters. “These places are exceptionally dynamic when it comes to the marine environment.”
Diane Regas, managing director of the oceans program at the Environmental Defense Fund in New York, said officials at the organization are “absolutely thrilled.”
“This isn’t a last-minute action, this is something that they have been building the local support for and the science for a couple of years,” she said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Catherine Dodge in Washington at Cdodge2@bloomberg.net; Last Updated: January 5, 2009 17:32 EST
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January 6th, 2009 at 10:25 AM
In an oped published in today’s Washington Post, Vikki Spruill put forward the key steps President-elect Barack Obama can make to begin building his blue legacy. Spruill, president and CEO of Ocean Conservancy, makes the case that at 71% of the earth’s surface and creating much of the air we breathe and food we eat, the oceans need and deserve strong protection. The proposed steps include:
· Mandate that every action on climate change include consideration of its impact on our oceans. The President should direct his team to determine how best to manage for increased ocean resilience and adaptation to the effects of climate change and how to strengthen the needed science.
· Focus on the Arctic. Any industrialization of the Arctic must be preceded by a comprehensive scientific assessment of the consequences of carrying out industrial activities. As the relevant Cabinet member, the interior secretary should immediately suspend any further planned lease sales and commence a multiagency public review and assessment of the Arctic, its peoples and its resources.
· Bring order to the oceans. Like urban sprawl, we have marine and coastal sprawl, as the oceans today face a wealth of unprecedented activity. As President, Obama should issue an executive order stating the national responsibility to manage America’s waters for long-term ocean health and to make smart decisions for our shared ocean future.
Ocean Conservancy promotes healthy and diverse ocean ecosystems and opposes practices that threaten ocean and human life. Through research, education and science-based advocacy, Ocean Conservancy informs, inspires and empowers people to speak and act on behalf of the ocean. Visit us at http://www.oceanconservancy.org.