VZCZCXRO6466
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHHM RUEHIK RUEHKW
RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHROV #0056/01 0741441
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 151441Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY VATICAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0680
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEHROV/AMEMBASSY VATICAN 0710

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 VATICAN 000056 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL SENV VT
SUBJECT: HOLY SEE:  OES DAS BALTON DISCUSSES OCEANS AND FISHERIES 
ISSUES 
 
 
VATICAN 00000056  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary. OES DAS Balton, Dr. Rebecca Lent of NOAA and 
Deirdre Warner-Kramer of OES shared USG views on oceans, 
fisheries, and related topics with Paolo Conversi, the Holy See 
official covering those subjects, during a productive meeting in 
Rome March 9.  Conversi appreciated that the USG shares the Holy 
See's concerns over the dilemma of feeding the world's hungry 
through the bounty of the sea, while simultaneously addressing 
ever-more urgent issues of stewardship over those resources. 
Discussion touched on sustainable development; climate change; 
various instruments used to address oceans issues; USG 
assistance measures to developing countries; linkages to 
concerns such as trafficking, HIV, and human rights; and 
possible ways of future cooperation between the USG and Holy See 
in these areas.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) OES DAS David Balton met Dr. Paolo Conversi, the Holy See 
official overseeing oceans and fisheries affairs, on March 9. 
Also present were Dr. Rebecca Lent of NOAA, Deirdre 
Warner-Kramer of OES, and Charge d'Affaires. 
 
¶3. (U) Conversi, who has a broad portfolio, was eager to hear 
the USG point of view.  Balton noted that he had come to Rome to 
attend a biannual meeting of the UN Food and Agriculture 
Organization's Committee on Fisheries (COFI), which is the most 
important of its kind, with a broad agenda, and well attended, 
including by NGOs of many stripes.  The USG is working to 
address parallel problems:  global fisheries are at or over 
capacity, but the world's people need the food that fisheries 
can provide.  Responding to the Holy See's concern that 
developing countries be involved in a solution, Balton and his 
colleagues addressed a variety of approaches, including 
international instruments (global, regional, bilateral), laws 
both "hard" and "soft" (codes, etc), and the overriding need for 
effective implementation of existing measures.  He explained the 
current emphasis on identifying and tackling illegal, 
unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.  The USG wants to 
help build capacity in developing countries through technical 
assistance, partnership and access agreements, training, and 
development aid. 
 
¶4. (U) Conversi stressed the Holy See's interest in sustainable 
development and a responsible approach to the environment.  Man 
must balance the needs of development with those of stewardship 
and feeding the hungry.  With regard to fisheries, Conversi 
wondered about the appropriate role of aquaculture.  Balton 
answered that aquaculture prompts legitimate concerns, but holds 
much promise at a time when the ocean catch has leveled off and 
is perhaps falling.  One positive development is that the tenor 
of the debate has changed in recent years.  Fisheries were once 
regarded in essentially commercial terms, but are now part of 
the larger environmental agenda.  The USG positions in 
international fora are underpinned by a strong conservation 
ethic, which also guides US domestic law and regulatory 
approaches.  Charge d'affaires suggested that national bishops' 
conferences would constitute good fora for the USG and others to 
engage the world's Catholic population on this issue and said he 
would keep Conversi supplied with documents illustrating the USG 
perspective; Conversi gratefully accepted. 
 
¶5. (U) Extending the discussion into other areas of great and 
related interest to the Holy See, Lent  pointed out that fishing 
is an extremely hazardous occupation and has been unfortunately 
linked to human rights violations including forms of indentured 
servitude, and trafficking -- the ILO and IMO were concerned. 
Fishermen also have higher rates of HIV.  Asked about 
biotechnology (another topic of interest here), Balton said 
there were some issues related to oceans and fisheries (e.g. 
fertilizer runoff causing algae blooms, etc. which could 
potentially be averted via use of biotech crops), but these had 
remained at a fairly low level in maritime fora. 
 
¶6. (U) Conversi asked about the effects of climate change on 
fisheries.  Balton said climate change affects migratory 
patterns and stocks distribution; some of this is cyclical, not 
a new issue; but the trend has been up.  The warming of the 
oceans is a complex issue producing many kinds of effects, some 
positive to certain regions, but on the whole it is troubling. 
For example, greater acidification affects small crustaceans at 
bottom of food chain.  The FAO as an institution has little 
mandate on climate change. 
 
¶7. (U) Comment:  Conversi certainly appreciated the opportunity 
to meet DAS Balton and his colleagues, and the meeting gave us 
an opportunity to sensitize him to USG concerns and pique his 
interest in a number of ways.  The Holy See has been visibly 
raising its level of attention to environmental issues, and will 
host a conference on climate change in May.  Church 
organizations and Holy See-related media offer an excellent way 
to reach the world's one billion Catholics, and Post looks 
forward to working with Department and other USG agencies to 
capitalize on this opportunity in the months to come. 
 
VATICAN 00000056  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶8. (U) DAS Balton has cleared this cable. 
SANDROLINI