World's Largest Marine Protected Areas Sign Partnership Agreement
By NOAA, 9/23/2009 5:44:24 AM
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2009/20090923_mpa.html
NEW YORK – Today two of the world's largest marine protected
areas announced a historic alliance to enhance the management
and protection of almost 300,000 square miles of marine
habitat in the Pacific Ocean. President Anote Tong of the
Republic of Kiribati (pronounced Kee Ree Bass), signed an
agreement with the United States that establishes a "sister
site" relationship between the Papahanaumokuakea Marine
National Monument, located in the Northwestern Hawaiian
Islands, and the Phoenix Islands Protected Area near the
equator in the Republic of Kiribati. Managers of both sites
will meet in November in French Polynesia to formalize the
agreement. Combined, the two sites encompass 25 percent of
all marine protected areas on Earth. The partnership links
the sites and is designed to enhance management knowledge and
practices for these tropical and subtropical marine and
terrestrial island ecosystems. Eileen Sobeck, Department of
the Interior deputy assistant secretary, signed the agreement
on behalf of the United States. Elizabeth Moore, director of
International Sanctuaries, represented NOAA at the signing.
"The United States is very pleased to engage in this marine
conservation partnership with the Republic of Kiribati," said
Sobeck. "In the face of challenges like climate change and
increasing societal demands on ever scarcer marine resources
– challenges that transcend national boundaries and dwarf the
ability of any single nation to address – partnerships like
this one are critical to the success of our efforts to
preserve this natural heritage for future generations." "This
agreement represents both the culmination and the start of
our work with our colleagues in Kiribati and collaboration
between NOAA and our colleagues in the State of Hawaii and
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to demonstrate the benefit
of collaboration to protect these valuable resources," said
Moore. When it was established in 2006, Papahanaumokuakea was
the largest marine protected area in the world, protecting
natural, cultural and historic resources within an area of
approximately 140,000 square miles (362,075 square
kilometers). The monument's extensive coral reefs are home to
over 7,000 marine species, one quarter of which are found
only in the Hawaiian Archipelago. In 2008, the Phoenix Island
Protected Area was founded to protect the archipelago's
terrestrial and marine resources, becoming the largest marine
protected area in the world today at approximately 158,500
square miles (410,500 square kilometers). The coral reefs and
bird populations of the islands are highly unique and
virtually untouched by humans. The protected area also
includes underwater seamounts and other deep-sea habitat.
"Our sites are part of a growing trend globally in ocean
protection – the establishment of large-scale marine
protected areas," said `Aulani Wilhelm, NOAA's superintendent
for Papahanaumokuakea. "By partnering, we hope to collaborate
on innovative initiatives highlighting not only the
ecological connections we share, but also Pacific heritage
and cultural connections we have as island people across
Oceania." Removed from most human activity, both areas serve
as global "sentinel sites" by providing potential early
warning and a comparative baseline of understanding of how
natural, less disturbed systems react to changing climate
conditions and external influences. Although geographically
distant from their respective local population centers, both
sites are supported by and rely on involvement of local and
indigenous communities to develop successful management
regimes. "Our sites provide ocean insurance for the Pacific
against the depletion of marine life that has accelerated
across the globe," said Tukabu Teroroko, director of the
Phoenix Island Protected Area. "Together we can more
effectively address the complex challenges of managing such
large ocean areas." "Within these large seascapes we also
have protected islands that provide habitat critical to the
survival of both marine and terrestrial wildlife," said Susan
White, Fish and Wildlife superintendent for
Papahanaumokuakea. "This agreement will help us manage across
the ecosystems by comparing and sharing our efforts with each
other, as we face many of the same challenges." The Phoenix
Islands Protected Area is a unique partnership between the
government of Kiribati that owns the Phoenix Islands,
non-governmental conservation organizations and regional
governments. It is supported through a unique "reverse
fishing license" financing program, in which the government
of Kiribati is reimbursed for the amount that they would have
made from selling fishing licenses. The government of
Kiribati and an advisory board, working collaboratively to
ensure the long-term sustainability of this remarkable place,
administers the trust. Papahanaumokuakea is cooperatively
managed to ensure ecological integrity and achieve strong,
long-term protection and perpetuation of Northwestern
Hawaiian Island ecosystems, Native Hawaiian culture, and
heritage resources for current and future generations. Three
co-trustees – the Department of Commerce, Department of the
Interior, and State of Hawaii – joined by the Office of
Hawaiian Affairs, protect this special place. Both sites were
nominated this year by their respective governments as World
Heritage Sites, a designation of the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
On the Web:
Photos of Papahanaumokuakea: https://marinelife.noaa.gov/media_lib/index.aspx Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument: http://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov
Photos of Phoenix Islands: http://www.phoenixislands.org/gallery.html Phoenix Islands Protected Area: http://www.phoenixislands.org
UN World Heritage sites: http://whc.unesco.org
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