Ninety percent of the coral reefs in the central Indian Ocean have died, and similar reefs elsewhere in the world are threatened by pollution and other manmade incursions. Thankfully, the coral reefs of the Northern Hawaiian Islands will be spared
Ninety percent of the coral reefs in the central Indian Ocean have died, and similar reefs elsewhere in the world are threatened by pollution and other manmade incursions. Thankfully, the coral reefs of the Northern Hawaiian Islands will be spared under new federal protection.
Of course, that protection might not last forever or be as all-encompassing as its intent.
Indeed, without full attention to its environmental weight, the executive order issued this week by President Clinton that designates the reefs as an ecosystem reserve is just words on paper. But the edict formally recognizes the fragile reefs – and the precious marine life among them – as the irreplaceable natural wonder that could be eroded and all but ruined without special treatment.
Economically, the reserve status could hurt. By capping or restricting commercial fishing around reefs, prices for certain seafood could soar and the fishing industry could lose business and cost some people their livelihoods.
But business tied to natural resources is always subject to taking a back seat to environmental concerns. This is one of those times. The source of the economic gains is more than 1,000 miles northwest of the main chain of Hawaiian islands, but it isn’t out of sight environmentally.
At 84 million acres, the newly declared reef reserve is the United States’ largest protected area. It is a unique and sensitive region that can’t be replaced if it disappears. The sad losses of coral reefs in other parts of the world must not be allowed to happen in our corner.
