What compels bipartisan lawmakers to support coral reef legislation in the U.S. Congress

Abstract

As coral reef ecosystems disappear at an alarming rate, the United States and the wider world need bold policy action to stop the loss of climate sensitive ecosystems like coral reefs. How are coral reef conservation policies making it onto the policy agenda? This research analyzes the rationale behind partisan policy-maker support for conservation of climate-vulnerable ecosystems. Using public policy theory that focused on theories of communication including framing and ambiguity, the authors evaluated 137 policy documents from three cases of conservation policy at international, national, and subnational scales. This research finds that legislators from different political parties have two main rationales for supporting coral reef conservation policy: ideas of governance and economics. Coral reefs are used by legislators to showcase their capacity to enact governance in a bipartisan way. Lawmakers from both parties increasingly prioritize grass roots or community-based conservation conservation as their preferred institutional framework for governance as seen in our data. For economic rationale, lawmakers emphasize community development efforts that complement coral reef conservation. Other significant predictors of rationale for support for coral reef conservation policy include lawmakers belonging to the Democratic Party, possessing a long-term liberal ideology, and coming from states that have coral reefs or coastlines.This study proposes a new model of why decision-makers support conservation policy which includes the presence of agreement on governance, human well-being, economics, geography, home ecosystems amid differing political parties. This research provides evidence of how conservation policy agendas are set despite gridlock in legislatures, and how more controversial policies (e.g. those that address climate change) may come to be included on the future agenda.