1998 Year of the Ocean Ocean Living Resources 



• Develop and implement conservation and recovery plans for depleted marine 



mammals and endangered and threatened species. This is being done in partnership 

 with states and the private sector. 



As knowledge about the intercormectedness of living systems increases, the importance 

 of acting with foresight and preventive measures when conserving protected marine species 

 likewise increases. Waiting for a species to reach the brink of extinction before taking action is 

 counterproductive. By applying ecosystem approaches, conserving remaining critical habitats, 

 and restoring degraded habitats, the opportunity exists to conserve for future generations both 

 individual species and the web of life on which they depend. 



The United States is also working internationally to conserve marine species. The 

 International Whaling Commission, through its ban on commercial whaling, has been 

 instrumental in promoting the recovery of many large whale species from the brink of extinction. 

 The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora actively 

 supports nations' efforts to manage species sustainably and reduce the negative impacts of 

 international trade in species and products of species. Increasingly, the Convention has devoted 

 attention to marine species protection. The United States has also been a leading force in the 

 development of numerous other treaties and agreements. For example, it played a key role in the 

 recently concluded negotiation of the Inter- American Convention for the Protection and 

 Conservation of Sea Turtles,^ the first international agreement devoted solely to the protection of 

 sea turtles. The Convention establishes national sea turtle conservation programs in the signatory 

 countries. These programs will include prohibiting intentional take (except for subsistence take 

 as allowed under the convention), prohibiting domestic or international sale of turtle parts or 

 products, conserving and restoring marine habitat and nesting beaches, and promoting efforts to 

 enhance sea turtle populations. All Parties will establish a monitoring and observation program 

 to verify that these measures are being applied. 



Sustaining Healthy Coasts by Focusing on Whole Ecosystems 



Clearly, efforts to rebuild and sustain fisheries and recover and protect endangered 

 species are important. But they rely to a large degree on traditional wildlife management 

 approaches that concentrate on one species at a time. Single species management is limited in its 

 effectiveness, especially as pressures on the marine environment intensify. Each individual 

 species has a habitat which it needs to live and reproduce, and depends on a community of other 

 species for food and survival. This community of species—their dynamic interactions with each 

 other and the physical environment, and their overlapping mosaic of habitats—together constitute 

 an ecosystem. Increasingly, the United States and the world community are recognizing the 

 critical importance of conserving whole habitats and communities, both for the recovery of 

 individual species, and for the ecosystem fiinctions that they provide. Internationally, the 



^Note: The United States has not yet ratified the newly completed Inter-American Convention for the Protection and 

 Conservation of Sea Turtles. 



C-30 



