The Bush administration's proposed 2007 reauthorization of the 2000 Coral Reef Conservation Act significantly strengthens protections for the nation's coral reefs and will provide security to a series of Hawai'i-based reef programs, Hawai'i officials said yesterday.

The new Coral Reef Ecosystem Conservation Amendments Act, delivered to Congress yesterday, proposes to solidify a series of partnerships between federal agencies and between the federal and state governments and private agencies.

"The act is a critical element of managing coral reefs through all of the jurisdictions in the United States," said Athline Clark, special projects program manager for the state Division of Aquatic Resources. "It provides us with access to the highest levels of federal government agencies, through our membership in the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force."

The 2000 act set up the task force as a way to begin protecting reefs in a consistent way, but left many issues open-ended, said Gerry Davis, association regional administrator for habitat with NOAA Fisheries. The new amendments seek to change that.

Among the key changes in the proposed legislation are additional funding for coral reef protection.

Clark said there are numerous programs, such as coral reef monitoring on several islands, that depend on the act for funding.

The bill also provides a definition of what a coral reef is. That's important because it removes confusion about just what the nation's coral reef programs are supposed to be protecting, Davis said.

"The previous document was not a regulatory document in any way," he said.

The new bill would make it unlawful to damage coral reefs, and would allow the government to collect from anyone responsible the costs of making repairs.

"The president's bill, if enacted, would allow NOAA and (the Department of) Interior to better protect coral reefs throughout the Pacific," said an e-mail response from Michael Molina, coastal conservation coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services' Pacific Islands Office, and the Pacific region representative to the task force. "It would provide new authorities to respond to vessel groundings, to hold parties responsible for those groundings, and to take in fines that could be used to benefit coral reefs."

Another important change is expanding the list of partners in coastal protection programs. Under the existing act, federal funding has been limited to government agencies, but under the new legislation, nongovernment agencies involved in reef preservation can also get funding.

The Interior Department, co-chair of the task force with the Commerce Department, has thus far had limited financial and legal authority in the area of coral reefs. The new bill would grant the agency funding authority as well as including coral reefs among its conservation responsibilities.

The bill also seeks to focus research activities on threats that are better understood today than seven years ago.

"Major causes of reef decline are land-based pollution, disease, habitat destruction, over-fishing, climate change, vessel groundings, and coastal development," the Interior Department said in a press release. "In order to address threats that have continued to increase since the original legislation was passed in 2000, this bill explicitly focuses implementation and management on better understanding issues associated with climate change such as coral disease and bleaching. The proposal will also mandate the establishment of consistent guidelines for maintaining environmental data, products and information allowing for more effective management approaches."

Molina said, "In all, it would be a really good thing for coral reefs."

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.