:: INTERNATIONAL
U.S. All Islands Coral Reef Committee Meets in Washington, DC, February 17-18, 2014 by Carey Morishige
The U.S. All Islands Coral Reef Committee members back row, from left to right Michael Hamnett, Gerry Davis, Jean-Pierre Oriol, Bob Richmond, Joanna Walczak, Emma Anders, Joseph Cameron; front row, from left to right, Damaris Delgado, Carey Morishige, Fran Castro, Ruth Matagi-Tofiga. Photo by Trina Leberer.
The U.S. All Islands Coral Reef Committee (AIC) met in Washington, DC, from 17-18 February prior to the 31st Meeting of the US Coral Reef Task Force. The AIC represents the combined voice of the coral reef jurisdictions of the U.S. and Affiliates and serves as the collected voice for local governments in the federal process to conserve coral reefs. AIC member jurisdictions include American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Florida, Guam, Hawaiʻi, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. AIC affiliate members include Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Republic of Palau.
The AIC provides leadership and coordination of strategic initiatives to strengthen the conservation of coral reef ecosystems in the U.S. and is guided by its Charter and Strategic Action Plan as well as the core principles of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force’s National Action Plan to Conserve Coral Reef and National Action Strategy.
Currently, the priority issues of focus for the AIC include: 1) proposed Endangered Species Act-listing of 66 coral species, 2) reauthorization of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, and 3) restoration of the Coral Reef Management Fellowship Program.
The AIC recently re-vamped its vision and mission statements to better capture what the Committee does and why.
AIC VISION
Thriving coral reef ecosystems, effectively managed to protect their cultural, environmental, and economic value for future generations.
Thriving coral reef ecosystems, effectively managed to protect their cultural, environmental, and economic value for future generations.
AIC MISSION
To be a unified voice for the effective management of coral reef ecosystems in the U.S. and Freely Associated States.
To be a unified voice for the effective management of coral reef ecosystems in the U.S. and Freely Associated States.
The AIC is also in the process of updating its Strategic Plan for the next five years (2015-2019). Members crafted new strategic goals for this plan during their recent meeting in Washington, DC. New goals will be posted on the AIC website soon. For more information on the AIC, visit their website at: http://allislandscommittee.org/.