APNewsBreak: Experts demand more effort to save coral reefs
Source: Associated Press
APNewsBreak: Experts demand more effort to save coral reefs
Jun 24, 9:03 PM EDT
By CALEB JONES
Associated Press
HONOLULU (AP) -- As the largest international gathering of coral reef experts comes to a close, scientists and policy makers are moving ahead with plans for action to save the world's imperiled reefs.
"We are not ready to write the obituary for coral reefs," James Cook University professor Terry Hughes, who is also the president of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies in Australia, said about the "unprecedented" move by the scientific community. Scientists are not known for their political activism, he said, but they felt this crisis warranted such action.
A call to action was presented Friday from three Pacific island nations whose reefs are in the crosshairs of the largest and longest-lasting coral bleaching event, a process that can kill coral reefs, in recorded history.
Heads of state from Palau, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands attended the conference and provided a plan to help save their ailing coral reefs, which are major contributors to their local economies and the daily sustenance of their people. The call to action, signed by the three presidents, asked for better collaboration between the scientific community and local governments, saying there needs to be more funding and a strengthened commitment to protecting the reefs.
Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CORAL_REEF_MORTALITY_CONCLUSIONS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-06-24-20-42-36
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