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U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
PRESS RELEASE
WASHINGTON, DC 20523
PRESS OFFICE
http://www.usaid.gov
(202) 712-43202002-100
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 1, 2002Contact: USAID Press Office
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA -- The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Nations (UN) Foundation announced today that they are forging a new alliance to promote coral reef conservation in Central America. The alliance will provide assistance to Central American countries to implement the Tulum Declaration, a regional agreement to protect and conserve the biodiversity of the Meso-American Barrier Reef, the second longest barrier reef in the world. The announcement was made at the "People and Reefs: A Partnership for Prosperity" event held today at the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD).
USAID and the UN Foundation will each contribute $1.5 million to support conservation efforts and promote environmentally and economically sound development in the region. Activities will be implemented through the International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN), a partnership of organizations dedicated to reversing the decline of coral reef ecosystems. ICRAN will work with regional partners and support new and ongoing efforts to ensure the long-term health of coral reefs in Central America.
The Meso-American Reef is the largest coral reef system in the Atlantic Ocean, stretching nearly 450 miles from the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, along the coasts of Belize and Guatemala, to the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras. It hosts more than 65 species of stony coral and more than 500 species of fish, including the mammoth whale shark, the largest fish in the world. The Meso-American Reef was recently identified as one of the top ten coral reef "Biodiversity Hotspots" in the world. Over 2 million people depend on the reef for ecosystem goods and services.
"Coral reefs are invaluable resources to local communities around the world, serving as sources of food, jobs and livelihoods, tourism attractions and as coastal protection," said Emmy Simmons, USAID Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade. "Reefs are also invaluable and incredible reserves of marine biodiversity, and are in great need of protection from overuse and unsound development. USAID is pleased to be forming an alliance with the UN Foundation and ICRAN to protect these precious resources for future generations to enjoy and use."
Food security, poverty reduction, and sustainable economic development in many tropical countries cannot be attained without healthy coasts and coral reef ecosystems. However, a global coral reef crisis is threatening these critical resources. Over 25% of the world's coral reefs have already been effectively "lost." Close to 60 percent of the remaining reefs are severely threatened by a number of human activities, including over-fishing and over-exploitation of resources, coastal development, pollution and harmful fishing practices. Reef degradation comes with a heavy developmental and environmental price.
Last year, USAID embarked upon a new approach to partnerships in the form of alliances, with an emphasis on the unique role that the private sector and public-private partnerships can play in promoting sustainable development and effective interventions. The Meso-American Reef Alliance with the UN Foundation and ICRAN will bring new resources, partners and international expertise into the region, and allow USAID to strategically engage major components of the private sector, including tourism, fisheries and agribusiness. The alliance will also contribute to the larger U.S. government-led "White Water to Blue Water Initiative" in the wider Caribbean region, a program designed to promote cross-sectoral management of watersheds and marine ecosystems and develop public-private partnerships to meet specific program objectives.
USAID currently provides assistance to almost 30 countries with coral reefs in order to promote the protection and improved management of coral reef ecosystems through improved coastal governance and management of marine protected areas, coastal watershed management, eco- and low-impact tourism, sustainable fisheries and development of alternative livelihoods. USAID also promotes integrated urban and water resource management strategies to improve coastal water quality and quantity, essential for both human and environmental health.
USAID is the government agency providing U.S. economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years.
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