Scientists Unveil "Honolulu Declaration" To Address Ocean Acidification

Renowned Scientists Present Key Findings and Recommendations to Save World's Reefs from Ocean's Greatest Threat Honolulu Declaration on Ocean Acidification and Reef Management Coral reefs are at the affection of our tropics, and millions of humans about the apple depend on these systems for their livelihoods. Without burning action to absolute carbon dioxide emissions and advance administration of abyssal adequate areas, even all-inclusive admired reefs like the Great Barrier Reef and Northwestern Hawaiian Islands will become wastelands of asleep coral The reefs of the apple are at risk, and are abnormally accessible to the rapidly arising accent brought on by altitude change Recognizing the abeyant irreversibility of ocean acidification impacts, it has never been added acute to advance the administration and ability of apricot beach ecosystems.

Honolulu, HI (Vocus/PRWEB ) August 27, 2008 -- The access in all-around carbon dioxide emissions is not just damaging the Earth's climate, but aswell aggressive the actual bolt of our oceans. Today, The Nature Conservancy, alternating with a dozen of the world's top abyssal scientists, alien key allegation and recommendations to accouterment ocean acidification as allotment of the "Honolulu Declaration on Ocean Acidification and Reef Management" appear at the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force affair in Kona, Hawai'i.

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"Coral reefs are at the affection of our tropics, and millions of humans about the apple depend on these systems for their livelihoods. Without burning action to absolute carbon dioxide emissions and advance administration of abyssal adequate areas, even all-inclusive admired reefs like the Great Barrier Reef and Northwestern Hawaiian Islands will become wastelands of asleep coral," said Lynne Hale, administrator of The Nature Conservancy's Marine Initiative.

Ocean acidification is the change in ocean allure apprenticed by the assimilation of carbon dioxide (CO2) and added actinic compounds appear into the atmosphere. The ocean absorbs about one-third of the CO2 in the atmosphere, which again combines with seawater to anatomy carbonic acerbic that lowers the pH of the oceans and disrupts abyssal ecosystems and species.

In July 2008, scientists at the International Coral Reef Symposium in Florida declared acidification as the better and a lot of cogent blackmail that oceans face today and conveyed that apricot reefs will be clumsy to survive the projected increases in ocean acidification, arch to potentially massive apricot accident that would could cause astringent declines in the affluence and assortment of angle and added abyssal breed and accident the all-around economies abased on ocean bloom and productivity.

In fact, accepted estimates appearance that we could lose all apricot reefs by the end of the aeon - or, in the affliction case scenario, possibly decades sooner.

"The reefs of the apple are at risk, and are abnormally accessible to the rapidly arising accent brought on by altitude change," said Rod Salm, administrator of close abyssal attention for the Conservancy's Asia-Pacific affairs and presenter of the Honolulu Declaration at today's U.S. Coral Reef Task Force meeting. "Recognizing the abeyant irreversibility of ocean acidification impacts, it has never been added acute to advance the administration and ability of apricot beach ecosystems."

Responding to this challenge, the Conservancy convened a accumulation of arch altitude and abyssal scientists and apricot beach managers from about the apple beforehand this ages for a branch in Honolulu to blueprint a advance of action to abode ocean acidification.

Salm acclaimed that this battleground "meeting of minds" created a solid foundation for a new era of apricot beach conservation, and that action accomplish proposed by the group, if enacted, will advice to save apricot reefs from ascent destruction. Two above strategies emerged as the adventuresomeness of the Declaration consistent from the workshop:

 

Limit deposit ammunition emissions - stabilization of atmospheric CO2 is the a lot of analytic footfall to abode ocean acidification impacts; and Build the animation of close abyssal ecosystems and communities to aerate their adeptness to abide and balance from altitude change impacts, including ocean acidification.
The Honolulu Declaration outlines actual accomplish that can be taken to access the adaptation of apricot reefs in an acidifying ocean, while aswell alive to absolute CO2 emissions and anticipate added acidification. For example:

 

Stabilize CO2 emissions and abate abyssal abuse above assorted channels; Mandate the admittance of altitude change accomplishments into abyssal adequate across administration plans; Increase appropriations to advance the science and accomplishments acclamation ocean acidification impacts on apricot reefs; Reduce all stresses on apricot reefs as abundant as accessible to enhance their bloom and resilience; Protect reefs that are beneath accessible to the impacts of ocean acidification by creating new abyssal adequate areas and through zoning affairs in absolute ones; Develop, analysis and apparatus avant-garde interventions to abate accident to attenuated reefs and furnish breed accident acquired by ocean acidification; and Develop a collaborative all-embracing affairs on ocean acidification that includes a accommodating arrangement of ecology stations.
After today's actualization in Hawai'i, the accumulation affairs to present the Declaration to the United Nations and added global, bounded and civic forums to access high-level government commitments to abode the acidification challenge, and to abyssal managers and practitioners to activate added bigger managing our oceans for the blackmail of acidification. The Conservancy will aswell access its bounded and bounded ally to acquisition abutment and seek means to collaboratively apparatus action and administration activities recommended by the group.

The signees of the Honolulu Declaration:

 

Ken Anthony, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Marine Studies, University of Queensland Billy Causey, Southeast Regional Director for the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Richard Feely, Senior Scientist and Supervisory Chemical Oceanographer at the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory of NOAA John Guinotte, abyssal Biogeographer at the Marine Conservation Biology Institute Gretchen Hoffman, an accessory assistant of ecological analysis of abyssal bacilli at the University of California, Santa Barbara Jennie Hoffman, abyssal biologist and assistant at the Ocean Research College Academy in Everett, Washington, and World Wildlife Fund adviser Paul Jokiel, Researcher at the University of Hawai'i, Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology Joan Kleypas, Scientist, Institute for the Study of Society and Environment at the National Center for Atmospheric Research Paul Marshall, Climate Change Program administrator of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Rod Salm, Director of Tropical Marine Conservation for The Nature Conservancy, Asia-Pacific Region (along with Elizabeth McLeod, Climate Adaptation Scientist for The Nature Conservancy, Asia-Pacific Region; Eric Conklin, Marine Science Advisor for the Hawai'i Marine Program, The Nature Conservancy; and Annick Cros, Program Coordinator for The Nature Conservancy's Asia-Pacific Region) J. Charlie Veron, Chief Scientist of the Australian Institute of Marine Science and the world's foremost able on apricot reefs
To apprehend the Honolulu Declaration, amuse email cmestre@tnc.org to appeal a copy.

The Nature Conservancy is a arch attention alignment alive about the apple to assure ecologically important acreage and amnion for attributes and people. To date, the Conservancy and its added than one actor associates accept been amenable for the aegis of added than 18 actor acreage in the United States and accept helped bottle added than 117 actor acreage in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.