See also: Bush takes aim at the environment with late rule changes
ONE of the George W. Bush鈥檚 final acts as US president could be to create the largest marine conservation area in the world. White House officials say that Bush is considering a proposal to turn up to 2.3 million square kilometres of tropical waters, coral reefs and remote island atolls in the Pacific Ocean into US National Monuments (see map).
鈥淎s bad as his environmental record has been, he could, as one individual, protect more of the Earth鈥檚 surface than anyone else in history,鈥� says Lance Morgan of the US .
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Under the of 1906, a president does not need congressional approval to preserve public land or water for conservation as a National Monument. In 2006, Bush used the act to designate a 365,000 square kilometre Marine National Monument incorporating the northernmost islands of Hawaii, creating the world鈥檚 largest protected marine area. In late August this year, he announced his interest in conserving additional areas of the Pacific Ocean.
The US claims jurisdiction over a number of small islands and atolls across the Pacific, including American Samoa, Wake Island and the Northern Mariana Islands. For every sand spit and coral reef jutting above the water line, the US retains exclusive rights to the surrounding waters for 370 kilometres in all directions. It is in these areas that Morgan has been working with the White House on a deal to secure permanent 鈥渘o-take zones鈥� for fishing and mineral extraction. This also includes the , the planet鈥檚 deepest ocean canyon.
Island leaders have protested the plan, citing the economic loss it represents if marine resources are declared off limits. So far this has not deterred White House officials. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a foregone conclusion that we鈥檒l have monuments, but it鈥檚 a distinct possibility,鈥� says James Connaughton, who chairs the White House Council on Environmental Quality. According to Connaughton, Bush may conserve smaller areas immediately surrounding reefs and other biologically rich areas, leaving the remaining seafloor available for possible future mining.
Morgan is urging White House officials to conserve the full 370-kilometre zone surrounding the islands to give fragile coral ecosystems the best chance of survival. 鈥淲hen we鈥檝e set aside areas in the past, we鈥檝e often realised later they were too small to eliminate interference from outside human activities,鈥� he says.
See also: Bush takes aim at the environment with late rule changes
