Coral Reef Speaker Visits Timor-Leste
May 14, 2009

Dr. Knowlton with National Parliament Vice President Vicente Guterres, Commission F President Virgilio Marcal, and Commission F members on Thursday, May 14, 2009

From May 14-16, renowned U.S. coral reef biologist Dr. Nancy Knowlton visited Timor-Leste as part of the State Department's Speaker Program to meet with several key Timorese audiences and generate greater awareness of Timor-Leste's coral reef treasures and the urgency for their preservation.  Dr. Knowlton serves as the Smithsonian Institute's Sant Chair for Marine Science in Washington, D.C., and leads the Institution's efforts to foster greater public understanding of the world's oceans.  During her presentations, Dr. Knowlton discussed threats to coral reefs, and noted that one third of reef building corals face elevated extinction risk from climate change and local impacts.  Some threats highlighted included carbon dioxide releases, acidity, hurricanes, bleaching, seaweeds, poisons, sedimentation caused by deforestation and rainfalls, oil spills, and invasive species.  In addition, she noted that healthy coral reefs account for over $29.8 billion in global economic revenue worldwide, especially impacting developing nations through food, tourism, biodiversity, and coastline protection.

On May 14, Dr. Knowlton met with National Parliament Vice President Vicente Guterres, Commission F for Health, Education, and Culture president Virgilio Marcal, Commission F members, and Acting Minister of Agriculture Valentino Varela. On May 15, Dr. Knowlton met with students from the University of Peace and the National University of Timor-Leste, and with representatives from Timor-Leste's HABURAS environmental NGO, the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and UniQuest Timor-Leste.During her presentations, Dr. Knowlton discussed threats to coral reefs, and noted that one third of reef building corals face elevated extinction risk from climate change and local impacts.  Some threats highlighted included carbon dioxide releases, acidity, hurricanes, bleaching, seaweeds, poisons, sedimentation caused by deforestation and rainfalls, oil spills, and invasive species.  In addition, she noted that healthy coral reefs account for over $29.8 billion in global economic revenue worldwide, especially impacting developing nations through food, tourism, biodiversity, and coastline protection.

Dr. Knowlton's visit followed her participation at the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) conference in Manado, Indonesia from May 11-13.  The CTI is a six nation effort to preserve coral reefs in the region comprising the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste.  Underscoring the U.S. commitment to work in partnership with partner nations to preserve global environmental treasures, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has contributed over $40 million for this initiative.