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Stakeholder Workshop on the U.S. Coral Reefs Management to be Held June 18-20

Release Date: 06/18/2003
Contact Information:


Suzanne Ackerman, 202-564-7819 or ackerman.suzanne@epa.gov


(06/18/03) EPA, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of the Interior will hold a stakeholder workshop on coral reefs, climate, and coral bleaching on June 18-20 in Oahu, Hawaii. EPA and its partner agencies are members of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, established in 1998 to lead the U.S. response to the coral reef crisis by protecting and restoring coral reef ecosystems for current and future generations. Coral reefs are an important ecosystem with great international economic and cultural value. These unique formations provide food from fisheries, protect coastal communities from storms, create income from tourism and recreation, provide novel pharmaceutical compounds, and serve as repositories for some of the greatest biological diversity in the world. The workshop will establish an integrated approach to U.S. coral reef management by developing an interdisciplinary partnership among state, territorial, and federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, academic researchers, and other stakeholders to advance the science and tools for management of coral reefs in the context of climate and coral bleaching.