Elspeth Dehnert, E&E reporter<\/p>\n
The State Department’s “Our Ocean” conference, hosted by Secretary of
\nState John Kerry, concluded yesterday with well over $1 billion in
\npledges to protect and preserve the world’s oceans.<\/p>\n
For two consecutive days, heads of state, foreign ministers,
\npolicymakers, scientists, environmentalists and experts from nearly 90
\ncountries, gathered at the department’s Washington, D.C., headquarters
\nwith the goal of developing strategies to combat marine pollution,
\noverfishing and ocean acidification.<\/p>\n
President Obama led the charge early in the day when he announced
\nplans to make a vast portion of the south-central Pacific Ocean off
\nlimits to energy exploration, fishing and other harmful activities,
\nthereby creating one of the largest ocean preserves in the world.<\/p>\n
The administration will attempt to expand the Pacific Remote Islands
\nMarine National Monument with the guidance of scientists, fishermen,
\nconservation experts and elected officials.<\/p>\n
“If we drain our oceans of resources, we won’t just be squandering one
\nof humanity’s greatest treasures, we’ll be cutting off one of the
\nworld’s major sources of food and economic growth,” Obama said in a
\nvideo message. “And we can’t afford to let that happen.”<\/p>\n
The president also said he will be directing federal agencies to
\ndevelop a comprehensive program to combat black-market fishing by
\naddressing seafood fraud and preventing illegally caught fish from
\nentering the marketplace.<\/p>\n
Other domestic efforts include $102 million in Department of Interior
\ngrants to restore natural barriers and floodplains, such as the
\nwetlands and marshes that run along the Atlantic Coast, and the
\nrelease of a white paper on ocean acidification by the White House
\nOffice of Science and Technology Policy.<\/p>\n
“Now that’s just some of what we’re planning to do here in the United
\nStates,” Kerry said. “But as President Obama made clear this morning,
\nwe’re really just getting started.”<\/p>\n
A global effort<\/p>\n
The island country of Palau will be following in the United States’
\nfootsteps with the creation of the Palau National Marine Sanctuary,
\nwhich will protect up to 500,000 square kilometers, or 80 percent, of
\nthe country’s Exclusive Economic Zone by banning industrial-scale
\nfishing in the area.<\/p>\n
“Palau comes to the table with a call for more marine protected
\nareas,” said the country’s president, Tommy Remengesau Jr. “It’s not a
\none-size-fits-all formula but a call for all of us to put a share of
\nthe solution on the table.”<\/p>\n
Norway, meanwhile, made one of the biggest strides with a pledge to
\nallocate more than $1 billion for climate change mitigation and
\nassistance, including a substantial contribution to the Green Climate
\nFund. The Scandinavian country also said it will spend more than $150
\nmillion to promote sustainable fisheries and put $1 million toward a
\nstudy looking at ways to combat marine plastic waste and
\n“microplastics.”<\/p>\n
“We need clean and protected oceans to safeguard our existence,” said
\nNorway Foreign Minister B\u00f8rge Brende. “The better we take care of the
\nocean, the better the ocean can help us take care of our needs.”<\/p>\n
Hollywood was also present at the event in the form of award-winning
\nactor Leonardo DiCaprio, who gave opening remarks alongside Kerry and
\npledged $7 million to ocean conservation projects. “I’ve learned about
\nthe incredibly important role our oceans play on the survival of all
\nlife on Earth,” he said, “and I’ve decided to join so many people and
\nothers that are working here today to protect this vital treasure.”<\/p>\n
Souring seas in the spotlight<\/p>\n
Conference speaker Carol Turley, of the Plymouth Marine Laboratory in
\nthe United Kingdom, rang the alarm bells on the rapid pace of global<\/p><\/div>\n
“If we keep doing what we’re doing,” she added, “we’re going to end up
\nwith a world that is between 3 and 6 degrees warmer and end up with
\nseas that are between 100 and 150 times more acidic.”<\/p>\n
NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan later announced that the federal
\nagency will contribute more than $9 million over the next three years
\nto the Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network. It is a financial
\nboost that Kerry said will enable the international effort to “better
\nmonitor ocean acidification around the world.”<\/p>\n
“And so out of this conference has come more — a commitment to a
\ncombination of effort with respect to climate and oceans, but
\nspecifically focused on acidification and sea level rise,” said the
\nsecretary of State.<\/p>\n
“We will convene again,” he concluded. “It will be in Peru, and after<\/p><\/div>\n
Jessica Estepa, E&E reporter<\/p>\n
Published: Wednesday, June 18, 2014<\/p>\n
At the State Department’s Our Ocean Conference, Sen. Sheldon
\nWhitehouse (D-R.I.), who co-chairs the Senate Oceans Caucus, yesterday
\ncalled for a greater focus on monitoring and tracking marine debris.<\/p>\n
As the Obama administration advances ocean conservation, senators
\npassionate about the seas will likely take on some of those same
\nissues in Congress.<\/p>\n
In an interview, caucus co-Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) later
\nsaid that the caucus has discussed “doing more.”<\/p>\n
“Our reality is we might have these systems out there, if you don’t
\nmaintain them, it’s tough to get the data you need,” the Alaska
\nRepublican said.<\/p>\n
The group also may take up ocean acidification, Murkowski said,
\nanother of the oceans issues brought up at the conference. The problem
\nhas long been acknowledged among the senators — it was discussed at
\nthe caucus’s first meeting in 2011 — and at least one member of the
\ncaucus, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), has repeatedly called attention
\nto the issue at hearings and on the Senate floor.<\/p>\n
Murkowski noted that the caucus has done its part to advance another
\nissue on the administration’s agenda: dealing with illegal, unreported
\nand unregulated fishing. Earlier this year, the caucus served as the
\nforce behind the Senate’s approval of four fishing treaties that have
\nlong awaited ratification, including the Port State Measures
\nAgreement.<\/p>\n
She said she was “encouraged” by President Obama’s announcement of a
\nnational strategy to combat illegal fishing, noting that the issue has
\ngained some traction.<\/p>\n
“I appreciate the fact that the president is looking at this as an
\nissue that is important not only from the conservation perspective but
\nalso from the perspective of support for a major economic sector,” she
\nsaid. “We’ll see where the task force goes and the kind of direction<\/p><\/div>\n
Elspeth Dehnert, E&E reporter Published: Wednesday, June 18, 2014 The State Department’s “Our Ocean” conference, hosted by Secretary of State John Kerry, concluded yesterday with well over $1 billion in pledges to protect and preserve the world’s oceans. For two consecutive days, heads of state, foreign ministers, policymakers, scientists, environmentalists and experts from nearly 90 … Continue reading E&E: Kerry’s ‘Our Ocean’ conference spurs domestic and global commitments to sea conservation<\/span>