By Gerardo R. Partido
Variety News Staff

GOVERNOR Felix P. Camacho has urged the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force to increase its support for environmental protection initiatives as plans for the relocation of more than 8,000 U.S. Marines move forward.
Camacho encouraged task force members to support programs like the Micronesia Challenge, a conservation initiative that calls for the increased protection of near-shore and terrestrial resources to ensure long-term sustainability of fragile island environments.
“As you know, islands like Guam have depended on our reefs for thousands of years. While we recognize the great importance of these resources and the urgent need to protect them for future generations, sometimes the pressures of development and population growth threaten not just our reefs, but our entire islands’ ecosystems,” the governor said during the task force meeting held in Washington, D.C. last week.
Camacho said members of the Micronesia Challenge are working to create a strategy to allow each island to realize the goals of the challenge, and to create a support network that will allow the islands to share successes, lessons learned, and the tools to make effective conservation a reality on each of the islands.
He added that conservation of the reefs that protect the islands from storms, supply food, and generate tourism income is a top priority.
“I have spoken to the task force in the past about the challenges of military projects and the need to support strong environmental protection and funding for mitigation. I would like to emphasize this message and encourage our federal partners to continue to support environmental conservation and protection as the military buildup continues,” the governor said.
He also shared the positive results of the government of Guam and the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force’s efforts toward this end, encouraging the task force to consider increasing funding measures to further enhance Guam’s ability to effectively manage coral reefs and step up efforts to protect inland habitats that directly impact the health of surrounding reefs.