HONORABLE ENI F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA

Thank you for the opportunity to address the Task Force this morning.  I just want to take a few minutes of your time to commend the Task Force for the good work that it has already
accomplished, and to encourage the Task Force to continue its efforts.

For many of you, some of what I am about  to say will be familiar.  But it bears repeating to remind people how important corals and coral reefs are to the world's marine ecosystems.  For too long now, as a nation we have enjoyed the biological wealth provided by coral reefs but have failed in our obligation to devote the resources necessary to protect these vital treasures.  

While these precious ecosystems appeared to be in balance until not long ago, today human activities have significantly altered that balance – much to the detriment of the corals, and much to the demise of people who depend on coral reefs to sustain their communities.

Like many of you, I come from a place where the coral reefs are essential to the very fabric of our everyday lives.  Until recently, those of us from the islands have literally lived off the reefs and the local land.  We have recognized for generations that coral reefs form the fundamental building block of an intricate marine food chain, providing nutrients, food and habitats for a
tremendous diversity of fish and other marine animals.

And intuitively, we have all come to recognize that without healthy coral reefs, the abundance of resources that we have been able to depend on from our surrounding coastal oceans would soon come to a sudden end.

Unfortunately, the sad reality is that we have discovered that the coral reefs we depend on are under numerous threats.  These threats come from many sources, including polluted run off,
increased siltation, mining for building materials, and abhorrent destructive fishing practices, notably the use of dynamite and cyanide, to name only a few.  

We have even come to appreciate that the decline in coral health could be linked to impacts beyond the grasp of any one community, particularly impacts attributed to global climate
change and events such as El Nino.

But with recognition of the problem, and increased resources to address it, we can begin to reverse the degradation of our coral reefs and achieve a sustainable balance towards the long-term conservation of these important marine ecosystems.  The start of the International Coral Reef Initiation, the development of U.S. Coral Reef Initiative, and the International Year of the Coral Reef were all good beginnings.  But we must continue to move forward.

From Congress, I am pleased to report that there is considerable interest in providing additional support for the important work that this Task Force is doing.  As the Senior Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Fishery Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans, I have been working with Chairman Jim Saxton on a bipartisan bill that we hope to introduce next week.

Entitled the "Coral Reef Conservation and Restoration Act of 2000", I hope we will be able to agree to: