About the Author: Robert C. Jones serves as a Sea Grant Fellow with the Office of Marine Conservation in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs.

The conservation and management of wild salmon in the North Pacific Ocean is a priority for the Department of State’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. Many American families rely on fish and other marine resources for their livelihoods; annually, the U.S. commercial fishing industry catches $370 millionworth of salmon and more than 3 million U.S. saltwater recreational anglers fish for salmon in the Pacific northwest region of the United States.


International law generally prohibits fishing for salmon on the high seas (that is, ocean areas beyond the fisheries jurisdiction… more »

About the Author: Deepa Ghosh serves as a Foreign Affairs Officer in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs.

I was recently invited by the Maldivian Environmental Protection Agency (MEPA) to join them on a site visit to Rasdhoo Atoll. The Maldives are well known for their natural beauty, coral reefs, and pristine beaches. Ensuring the country preserves this unique habitat is a priority for the dynamic staff of the MEPA.

The Maldives is a long, narrow country in the Indian Ocean formed by 26 natural atolls covering 90,000 square kilometers over a submarine ridge. Atolls are ring like coral reefs that surround lagoons. They are formed as coral builds up around eroding volcanic islands. The Maldives is also the lowest country on earth, measuring only 2.4 meters above sea level at its highest point, making it particularly vulnerable to climate change and rising sea levels. Protecting the country’s reefs from pollution, poaching, rapid development, and other hazards is vital to… more »

About the Author: Tara Sonenshine serves as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.

We are calling it Wildlife Conservation Day — a special day on December 4 to help raise global awareness and bring attention an online pledge campaign to protect wildlife by changing consumer behavior. And it follows the State Department’s continuing commitment to draw attention to the dangers of wildlife trafficking.

In October, I convened a meeting with members of the wildlife NGO community to explore ways in which we can use social media and public diplomacy to send the world powerful messages about the importance of safeguarding wildlife — as well as wildlife and the serious implications wildlife trafficking has for the security and prosperity of people around the… more »

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers remarks at the Partnership Meeting on Wildlife Trafficking at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., November 8, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

About the Author: Tara Sonenshine serves as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.

We can do more to build public awareness about the destructive ramifications of wildlife trafficking.

That was the key rallying point at a meeting that I convened recently with members of the wildlife NGO community — all of them working in different ways to address trafficking, whether through lobbying governments, supporting law enforcement efforts, building awareness campaigns, or working with partners to create change.

In this, I was joined by Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Robert Hormats, and Kerri-Ann Jones, Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International… more »

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers remarks at the Partnership Meeting on Wildlife Trafficking at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. on November 8, 2012. A text transcript can be found at http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2012/11/200294.htm.

About the Author: Robert D. Hormats serves as Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hosted a discussion this morning with foreign diplomats, government officials, civil society leaders, and business representatives on illegal wildlife trafficking and animal conservation. Protection of endangered species such as elephants, rhinos, and tigers do not immediately conjure up images of diplomacy in action. So it’s fair to ask why the Secretary of State is interested in wildlife and convening this high-level meeting. The answer is multifaceted and has broad foreign policy implications.

The U.S. Department of State has a long and proud history in supporting wildlife conservation. In 1916, then-Secretary of State Robert Lansing signed with his British counterpart (representing Canada) a treaty to protect birds that migrate between…more »