Speeches

Sea Turtle Conservation Workshop

January 25, 2006

Thank you for your kind invitation to speak this morning.    I'm honored to open this workshop and support a conservation strategy for sea turtles in The Bahamas.
 
I would like to thank the people at the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund for their tireless work for the environment and for their funding of this event.  I would also like to recognize The Bahamas Department of Fisheries; the Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research; The Bahamas National Trust; The College of The Bahamas; Atlantis Resort; and The Nature Conservancy.  Thank you for your partnership on this project and your continued work to protect the beautiful Bahamas.
 
My interest in the environment, and in The Bahamas, goes back to my childhood, when I spent time here with my family.  These issues are personal to me.  In fact, I started my public life as commissioner, and then chairman, of Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, a body charged with exercising regulatory oversight over the state’s marine and wild animal life.  
 
When I was first appointed, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was a new organization, created by a voter-driven constitutional amendment designed to take fisheries management out of the hands of politicians and put it in the hands of an independent seven-member commission.  Our experience in Florida tells us it is difficult to make correct long-term decisions when faced with competing short-term political interests.  I suspect the same challenge exists in The Bahamas.
 
I’ve been blessed as Ambassador to carry my environmental interests to my work.  In Abaco, I had the chance to observe – and even participate – in a controlled burn program. 
 
More broadly in the region, the embassy is part of a regional U.S. effort to promote environmental partnerships and to support our belief that U.S. resources are best spent cooperatively with local governments and local organizations.  When I think of U.S. environmental partnerships, I think of the Water for the Poor Initiative and the International Coral Reef Initiative.   I think of the White Water to Blue Water Project and the Climate Change Progam.  I think of USAID’s Global Development Alliance and its nearly 5 billion-dollar partnership program to ensure environmentally friendly sustainable development.
 
It is particularly important to mention partnerships here today, as we enjoy the fruits of cooperation between The Bahamas and the United States.  I am overwhelmed to see in this workshop the interaction between American universities, American environmental organizations and their Bahamian counterparts.  I am proud to see the commitment of American resources to Bahamian environmental projects.   
 
As you know, the Bahamian economy depends upon a rich environmental bounty.  Increasingly, tourists want to know about the quality of beaches and reefs, about the variety of plant and bird life, and about clear blue waters.  The Bahamas economic development, and the future well being of its citizens, depends on sustainable development and the intelligent management of its marine and land resources.  Protection of Bahamian ecosystems is our moral duty, but it is also good business. 
 
Some outside this room may wonder how the sea turtle fits into the Bahamian economy, but I do not.  The shallow banks that define the Bahamian archipelago – the extensive seagrass beds and coral reefs – form the world’s third largest reef system.  Seagrass communities and coral reefs are prime sea turtle habitats, and the extent of these habitats in the Bahamas makes it Bahamas a critical feeding and developmental habitat.   
 
But the sea turtle not only depends upon the reef system, the reef system depends upon the sea turtle.  The turtle is a keystone species.  Because the factors threatening the sea turtle also threaten the defining aspects of the Bahamian environment – The Bahamian reef and seagrass ecosystem – a threat to the sea turtle is a threat to the Bahamian economy.    
 
We must work to counter the impact of the directed take of sea turtles for food, leather and shells.   We must work to counter the impact of fisheries, considering habitat destruction from fishing gear, changes in predator-prey numbers and related concerns.  We must consider the impact of coastal development on sea turtle habitats.  We must counter marine pollution – including plastics, discarded fishing gear, and other debris. 
 
Today, I see the future of accomplishment through cooperative effort.   The synergy that will be created at this workshop will help advance our common goal – to restore the Bahamas’ sea turtles to their ecological roles.  This will ensure healthy marine ecosystems and help protect the Bahamian economy.  You can count on the Embassy to be a willing partner in these ongoing efforts.
 
In closing, I leave you with the simple formula I developed as a commissioner at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
1.        Point with pride.
2.        View with concern.
3.        Close with hope.
I point with pride to the people with whom I am honored to know through our work on environmental issues. 
 
To view with concern, all you have to do is pay attention to the magnificent variety of wildlife in our backyards and see the delicate balance we must maintain between our needs and the necessities of the creatures with whom we share our land and waterways.
 
I close with the hope that all of us will strengthen our collective commitment to this beautiful place we call The Bahamas.
 
I wish you a productive workshop.  Thank you.