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CNMI receives $560K coral reef grant
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Posted on Nov 04 2004
The Department of the Interior and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have approved the CNMI’s $560,000 grant application for coral reef protection in the CNMI.
DOI Office of Insular Affairs director Nikola I. Pula, in a recent letter to Gov. Juan N. Babauta, said the funds will be used to carry out the projects identified by the local Coral Reef Advisory Group as high priority.
These include funding for a coral reef coordinator, an assistant attorney general dedicated to coral reef protection, marine enforcement operations, surveys of the Saipan lagoon, and an economic reef evaluation.
Pula lauded the CNMI for developing “a comprehensive, detailed, and well-articulated set of proposals” to improve the management and protection of the CNMI’s coral reef ecosystems.
Babauta said the funds will be used in 2004-2005 to address critical threats to CNMI coral reefs such as over-fishing, destructive fishing, and the harvest and collection of marine ornamentals; increasing development pressure, unmanaged land use and population growth; tourism and recreational overuse, and vessel groundings and anchoring; marine pollution, sedimentation, runoff, non-point source pollution, and marine debris; and lack of general public awareness.
The Coral Reef Initiative grant is given to the Governor’s Office but the funds are shared with four other agencies involved in coral reef protection.
