The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is joining forces with agencies in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico in an effort to protect coral reefs through a Caribbean Coral Reef Protection Group.
“The coral reefs of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are renowned for their beauty, and their ecological and economic value,” EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck said in a press release issued Tuesday. “Unfortunately these treasures are being destroyed.”
“By working with our fellow governmental agencies, the EPA will help make sure coral reefs continue to contribute to the region’s economy and ecology for generations to come,” Enck said.
In addition to the EPA, the Caribbean Coral Reef Protection Group includes the V.I. Department of Planning and Natural Resources, the Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board, the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Coral Reef Conservation Program, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, the National Park Service and the U.S. Geological Survey.
The Caribbean Coral Reef Protection Group will facilitate a closer working relationship among its member agencies to coordinate more effective government strategies in protecting coral reefs.
“Our goal is to use our authority the best we can,” EPA biologist Charles LeBou said Tuesday.
According to LeBou, the group will help prevent duplication of efforts and help EPA do a better job in protecting coral reefs.
Jeff Miller, a park service fisheries biologist stationed at V.I. National Park on St. John, added that in these days of tightening budgets, the only way to accomplish anything is by working together as a group.
The press release indicates that coral reef ecosystems throughout the Caribbean are being damaged by a growing number of problems such as overfishing, sediment runoff, pollution, disease and climate change, which causes the water to become warmer and more acidic.
By implementing measures to reduce those stresses that can be controlled locally, coral health can be improved and reefs can become more resilient.
The Caribbean Coral Reef Protection Group will host a public “listening session” on St. Thomas on Feb. 25. Representatives from the EPA and the Coral Reef Protection Group’s other member agencies will be present to listen to community concerns regarding the state of coral reefs throughout Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The location will be announced in February.
To sign up to speak at the Feb. 25 listening session, to comment or for more information, contact LoBue at 212-637-3798 or [email protected].