Number: 2004-06
WHEREAS, coral reefs are among the world’s most diverse, productive, and beautiful ecosystems, providing habitat for nearly a million species of fish and other organisms; and
WHEREAS, coral reefs are critical ecosystems and hatcheries for ocean wildlife, providing food for millions of people worldwide and supporting economic, recreational, and cultural activities; and
WHEREAS, the National Wildlife Federation has members and affiliates who live in and travel to regions for which coral reefs provide considerable ecological, economic, recreational, and cultural benefits, such as Florida, Hawai`i, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico; and
WHEREAS, the National Wildlife Federation previously adopted Resolution 14 in 1990, urging the United States to establish and implement national and international policies and programs to protect coral reefs; and
WHEREAS, despite considerable progress in the development of national and international policies and programs to protect coral reefs over the past decade, scientists estimate that more than 60 percent of reefs are still severely threatened by coastal development, pollution, careless tourism, shipping practices and harmful fishing practices; and
WHEREAS, there is growing evidence that human-induced global warming and associated climate change are emerging as among the greatest threats to the health of coral reefs, particularly those already weakened by localized stressors; and
WHEREAS, coral reefs are affected by climate change in a number of ways: prolonged exposure to warmer-than-normal sea surface temperatures leads to coral bleaching as corals lose the colorful algae that live in their tissues; corals weakened by bleaching are more vulnerable to storms, predators, and diseases; sea level rise associated with climate change affects reefs by submerging them in water that may be deeper than that to which corals have adapted; and higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are changing the chemistry of the oceans, making it more difficult for corals to build up calcium carbonate skeletons; and
WHEREAS, there is evidence that recent trends associated with climate change, including rising sea surface temperatures, extreme weather events, and sea level rise, are already affecting coral reef ecosystems around the world, as indicated by intensification of coral bleaching, disease outbreaks, coastal erosion, and changes in the abundance and distribution of fish and other reef-dependent species; and
WHEREAS, the impact of climate change on coral reefs constitutes one example of the expected impact of climate change to species and ecosystems in the United States and around the world; and
WHEREAS, the United States Coral Reef Task Force, established in 1998 under Executive Order #13089, called for efforts to reduce the impact of human activities to coral reefs, including global threats such as climate change, in its 2000 National Action Plan to Conserve Coral Reefs; and
WHEREAS, the world community has come to a consensus, beginning with the Framework Convention on Climate Change, that emissions of greenhouse gases must be reduced,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, at its annual meeting assembled March 11-13, 2004, in St. Louis, Missouri, hereby supports the activities of the United States Coral Reef Task Force to address climate change and related problems, which include: increasing federal funding for research to assess the vulnerability of reefs to climate change and enhance national and international monitoring efforts; working with communities to address local and regional stressors such as pollution, harmful development practices, increasing vessel shipping impacts and groundings, and overuse from tourism in an effort to enhance the resiliency of coral reef ecosystems; factoring climate change into the development and management of Marine Protected Areas, National Wildlife Refuges, and other relevant coastal and marine reserves; and improving outreach and education to create an informed engaged public, including policy makers, industry representatives, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation calls on public and private entities at the national, state, and local levels to incorporate into their plans, and otherwise develop and support policies, programs, and activities that will reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, including: reducing fossil fuel consumption, promoting renewable energy sources, restructuring taxation and subsidy policies to provide appropriate incentives and disincentives relating to energy development and consumption and promoting more efficient transportation systems; and improving technological specifications, ratings, labels, and energy-efficiency standards for appliances, motors, vehicles, and other craft; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation urges the United States government to reengage in international efforts to reduce the threat of climate change.