It is a great honor and pleasure to be here today and to announce the White Water to Blue Water initiative.

Thank you to the United Nations Environment Program for their tremendous effort in organizing this event. Through your effort and this gala, oceans are receiving the attention they deserve.

In the spirit of partnership that pervades this Summit, let me introduce myself and my partners here with me.

I am Conrad Lautenbacher, and I am the Administrator of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. With me from the United States are:

We are further privileged to have with us some of the co-sponsors of the initiative, including:

The White Water to Blue Water initiative emphasizes a cross-sectoral approach to ecosystem management beginning with the upstream sectors (i.e., watersheds, inland forests, agricultural areas and population centers – collectively the source of approximately 80 percent of marine pollution), and extending through the wetlands, mangrove swamps and coral reefs (i.e., the nurseries for most of the commercial species on which human populations depend) into the ocean (a driver of the earth’s linked ocean/atmosphere systems and essential element of economic growth).

One of the goals of this initiative is to improve national capacities of coastal states to manage entire coastal-marine ecosystems by engaging the full range of upstream and downstream stakeholders.

A second, equally important goal is to promote better regional and cross-border coordination between states, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and the private sector to make best use of available resources. The United States has agreed to take the leading governmental role in the first phase of White Water to Blue Water initiative, which will focus on the Wider Caribbean.

The Caribbean is well served by a wide range of international organizations and NGOs active in the region. It is important to acknowledge the scope and quality of work of the United Nations Environment Program’s Caribbean Environment Programme. We consider the CEP to be a model for effective regional cooperation in the oceans realm. The support given to the White Water to Blue Water initiative by the governments of the region and by UNEP is indicative of this, as evidenced by the presence of our colleagues from the Caribbean here tonight.

The United States is already strongly engaged in the Caribbean by virtue of geography, we share the Wider Caribbean, but it is clear that we can do more in our own backyard, and we pledge to do so through this initiative.

It is our hope that this initiative will benefit from exchange and collaboration with other initiatives proposed and ongoing around the world, but particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and the South Pacific. The expectation is for the White Water to Blue Water initiative to start in the Wider Caribbean, with participation from other regions (and from there) to expand to other regions. To this end, we will include leaders from Africa and the South Pacific in the planning and implementation of activities in the Wider Caribbean. At the same time, we pledge to work with governments and colleagues in other regions to implement their initiatives, and to pursue opportunities to share and exchange lessons learned.

As a first step, the United States will host a conference in Miami, Fla. in 2003 – to bring together experts in the Wider Caribbean region to promote better regional coordination, capacity building and partnerships between governments, international organizations, NGOs, donors and research institutions.

The conference will emphasize and explore partnerships within the Wider Caribbean and encourage a greater participation and cooperation in the region on the part of the private sector and elements of civil society throughout the region. The conference will also include training opportunities and hands-on visits to conference-related facilities and institutions in the greater Miami area.

Again, thank you to our cosponsor in this initiative.

In keeping with the spirit of Johannesburg, I encourage you individually and as representatives of governments, NGOs, international organizations, corporate sponsors and universities to join with us in implementing the White Water to Blue Water partnership initiative for the good of the world's oceans and the world itself.

Thank you very much.