And there is the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Significance, which encourages governments to preserve and responsibly manage wetlands deemed to be of global importance because of the biological diversity they support. And, through the International Coral Reef Initiative, the U.S. has joined with 75 other governments, scientists and environmental groups to better protect, manage and preserve coral reefs and the rich diversity of life they support. This morning, Dr. Peter Thomas of our Office of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs talked to you about the alarming report on coral reef bleaching that the State Department released in March. If you've ever dived or snorkeled on a coral reef, you know they are extraordinarily rich in biological diversity, not to mention breathtakingly beautiful. Our report well describes this event as well as the likelihood that a climate change-induced increase in ocean temperatures was a leading factor.
Coral reefs are among the world's most productive ecosystems.
They are also thought to be among the most susceptible to the effects of climate change in that corals are especially sensitive to increased sea surface temperatures. After a thorough review of the existing research on this topic, they concluded that last year's event was not an isolated anomaly, but rather a likely harbinger of things to come. As global temperatures continue to rise, driving sea surface temperatures upward, these bleaching and mortality events are likely to become more frequent and more severe. These findings led the President's Coral Reef Task Force to pass a strong resolution calling on federal agencies to draw attention To the predicted impacts of global climate change on the resources they manage. It is very much in that spirit that we work to combat global warming, to arrest the continuing and frightening loss of biodiversity, and to better understand and react to the nexus between the two.