$5 MILLION INVESTMENT GIVES VITAL BOOST TO PACIFIC ISLANDS' WORLD HERITAGE SITE IN KIRIBATI | WPN World People News

One of the most pristine, ambitious and globally-important protected areas in the world received a vital boost of financial support, with the investment of $5 million toward an endowment to support its long term viability and management.

The Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) Conservation Trust announced the initial capitalization of the trust fund, which will provide ongoing support for Kiribati’s 408,250 square kilometer multiple-use marine protected area (MPA), the world’s largest and deepest UNESCO World Heritage Site. The funds were received in two contributions of $2.5 million each from partners, the Republic of Kiribati (pronounced Kirr-i-bas) and nonprofit organization, Conservation International (CI) through its Global Conservation Fund (GCF)​. The release of these two gifts also marks CI and partners’ Commitment to Action through the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) to the Phoenix Islands Protected Area. CGI convenes global leaders to create and implement innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.

Located about halfway between Fiji and Hawaii within the territorial waters of Kiribati, PIPA is a large-scale, multiple-use zoned ocean and island protected area, which includes eight atolls, two submerged reef systems and numerous seamounts. Roughly the size of the state of California, PIPA supports a healthy and biodiverse marine ecosystem that is home to globally threatened species like sperm whales, Napoleon wrasse, hawksbill turtles, giant clams, and numerous species of seabirds, cetaceans, sharks and tunas. PIPA also includes a collection of unique coral communities on seamounts, large submerged volcanoes that typically rise 4,500 to 6,000 meters from the ocean floor. Its terrestrial areas provide vital nesting grounds for seabirds and spawning grounds for fish, including highly valuable skipjack tuna.

PIPA is more than just a marine protected area. It is an investment the future of Kiribati. With PIPA we are investing in our economy, our children, our cultural heritage and on a more global scale, we are investing in preserving food security for the world,” said His Excellency Anote Tong, President of Kiribati. “This brings us a step closer in achieving our ultimate goal for PIPA: phasing-out commercial fishing over time. In this way PIPA will act as an insurance policy for fishing effort more widely in Kiribati and the region.”

The Republic of Kiribati, Conservation International and New England Aquarium developed the management plan for PIPA over several years of joint scientific research and discussions, with funding and technical assistance provided by CI’s Global Conservation Fund. The design allows for subsistence fishing by the caretaker community on the island of Kanton and sustainable development in designated zones. The Phoenix Islands Protected Area was formally declared in 2006 by the government of Kiribati, and legally established in 2008. In a significant validation of the area’s cultural and natural value, in 2010, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) named PIPA a natural World Heritage site, describing it as a “superlative natural phenomenon of global importance.”

“The first time I dove in the Phoenix Islands, I felt like I was looking at the ocean from thousands of years ago,” said Dr. Greg Stone, Executive Vice President for The Betty and Gordon Moore Center for Science and Oceans at Conservation International. “The coral reefs and seamounts ecosystems found in these islands are as unique as the process that has been undertaken to protect them for the long term benefit of people in Kiribati and around the world.”

Stone added, “There is no ‘one-style-fits-all’ solution to implementing a marine protected area. It requires careful research, design, training for local managers, and investment of time and resources. We therefore charted the implementation of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area in clear, intentional phases, which allow us to jointly consider the ecology, biodiversity, culture, economy and capacity of Kiribati’s people to successfully steward such a massive protected area. We all want it to succeed.”

The first iteration of the PIPA management plan, which began in 2010, is the first phase of PIPA’s implementation and is expected to be successfully implemented by its scheduled end date of December 2014. In this phase, which included the initial commitment from Kiribati, 3-percent of the protected area is closed off to all fishing (a ‘no-take’ zone) some 12,000 sq km; additional fishing restrictions around the islands cover a total of 52,000 square kilometers (12.5-percent of PIPA). This fully protects over 80% of the high priority habitats and key species identified within the protected area, such as shark nursery locations and seabird nesting sites. The second phase has the core objective of increasing the ‘no-take zone’ coverage by an additional 25% of the total area of PIPA. The management plan after 2014 will work towards increasing the level of protection.

“Capitalizing the PIPA Trust and growing the funds over time is as important to PIPA's conservation goals as is monitoring PIPA's protection,” said Bud Ris, President and Chief Executive Officer of the New England Aquarium. “We will continue to work on strengthening the endowment so it can provide a stable, long-term funding stream for management of PIPA. That will ensure that these islands and the surrounding ocean continue to provide vital ecosystem services to both local and global communities.”

“The establishment of the endowment is another exciting milestone in the evolution of preserving this critical natural resource of the Pacific,” said Jennifer Morris, Executive Vice President of Ecosystem Finance and Markets at Conservation International, which manages the Global Conservation Fund. “The people of Kiribati have graciously committed to conserve this treasure, and the endowment demonstrates the commitment of PIPA’s partners to the long-term success of this initiative.”

Source: Conservation International