[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 54 (Thursday, April 28, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E827-E828]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF THE CORAL REEF AND COASTAL MARINE CONSERVATION ACT OF 
                                  2005

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARK STEVEN KIRK

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 28, 2005

  Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, today I am reintroducing the Coral Reef and 
Coastal Marine Conservation Act of 2005. This bill will credit 
qualified developing nations for each dollar spent on a comprehensive 
reef preservation or management program designed to protect these 
unique ecosystems from degradation. This bill builds on the model of 
the Tropical Forest Conservation Act, expanding it to include coral 
reefs.
  I want to thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Alcee Hastings) for 
being the lead cosponsor of this bill. This very same bill passed the 
House of Representatives by a vote of 382-32 on October 16, 2001.

[[Page E828]]

  It is said that coral reefs are the rainforests of the ocean. 
Although they occupy less than one-quarter of 1 percent of the marine 
environment, coral reefs are home to more than one-quarter of all known 
marine fish species.
  Coral reefs are among the most biologically rich ecosystems on Earth. 
About 4,000 species of fish and 800 species of reef-building corals 
have already been identified. However, scientists have barely begun to 
catalogue the total number of species found within these habitats. 
Their scientific value cannot be underestimated. Yet, they are 
disappearing at an alarming rate.
  According to a 1998 study conducted by the United Nations and various 
international environmental organizations, 58 percent of the world's 
reefs are potentially threatened by human activity. These activities 
include coastal development, overfishing, marine pollution, and runoff 
from inland deforestation and farming.
  More than one-quarter of the world's reefs are at risk. Predictions 
made in 1992 were that 10 to 20 years from now, another 30 percent of 
the world's coral reefs could be effectively destroyed, adding to the 
10 percent that already were destroyed.
  While these numbers sound alarmist, figures today show that they are 
conservative. Most Caribbean and South Pacific mangroves have 
disappeared, while India, Southeast Asia, and West Africa have each 
lost about one-half of their mangroves.
  Almost a half a billion people, 8 percent of the world's population, 
live within 100 kilometers of a coral reef. A decline in the health of 
coral reefs has implications for the lives of millions of people who 
depend upon them. Coral Reefs are the basis of subsistence for the 
local-market fisheries in 100 countries, providing the protein for more 
than one billion people worldwide.
  The burden of foreign debt falls especially hard on the smallest 
nations, such as island nations in the Caribbean and Pacific. With few 
natural resources, these nations often resort to harvesting or 
otherwise exploiting coral reefs and other marine habitats to earn hard 
currency to service foreign debt. At least 40 countries lack any marine 
protected areas for their coral reef systems.
  This legislation will make available resources for environmental 
stewardship that would otherwise be the lowest priority in a developing 
country. It will reduce debt by investing locally in programs that will 
strengthen indigenous economies by creating long-term management 
policies that will preserve the natural resources upon which local 
commerce is based.
  The Tropical Forest Conservation Act has set a path for debt-for-
nature swaps, and the United States has an important role to play in 
assisting in the protection of the world's natural resources. This bill 
extends the support from forests to the oceans, and critical countries 
like Jamaica, Belize, Dominican Republic, the Philippines, and Thailand 
could benefit from this legislation.
  Under President Bush's Enterprise for the Americas Act, the United 
States sponsored many debt-for-nature swaps to protect rainforests. It 
is now time to expand these successful programs to cover critical coral 
reef habitats.

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