Island and Ocean Ecosystems
23 September, 2015, Apia, Samoa, 26SM Side Event Update - The 26th Annual SPREP Meeting marks an important occasion for the Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation (PIRT) as they officially welcomed Conservation International (CI) as the Eighth Member of the Roundtable to sign the PIRT Membership Agreement.
Mrs. Leilani Duffy Iosefa signed the PIRT Membership Agreement on behalf of CI witnessed by Mr. Stuart Chape, representing PIRT Secretariat.
The signing of the Agreement was an integral part of the PIRT Side Event showcasing the theme of "Size Matters! Lessons learnt in going to scale in Pacific Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)", the PIRT Side Event; an initiative of the Protected Areas Working Group (PAWG) of the Roundtable and co-organised by both the PIRT Secretariat, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and Conservation International, had an overwhelming response.
As Mr. Schannel van Dijken, Senior Marine Manager of CI explained - "In the last 40 years since 1975 when the Australian Great Barrier Reef Marine Park was created, the Pacific has lead the world in creating Large Scale Marine Protected Areas, realizing the importance of managing marine areas at scale".
He outlined and presented the achievements and lessons of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area in Kiribati, which grew in protection from 12000 km2 in 2006 to a full closure of it 408,250 km2 area, on December 31, 2014 constituting over 11% of Kiribati's total Exclusive Economic Zone. The New Caledonia Marine Protected Area established in April 2014 is 1.4 million km2 shared lessons learnt from their MPA presented by Ms. Anne-Claire Goarant of New Caledonia, "one of the factors of the success of this was the we started small and grew with each achievement and we also ensured that consultation was a key factor along every step of the way."
The New Caledonia Marine Protected Area established in April 2014is 1.4 million km2 shared lessons learnt from their MPA presented by Ms. Anne-Claire Goarant of New Caledonia, "one of the factors of the success of this was the we started small and grew with each achievement and we also ensured that consultation was a key factor along every step of the way."
Also featured during the side event was the Marae Moana, the Cook Islands Marine Park which is in the process of being established for the Southern Cook Islands. The Marae Moana is approximately 1million km2 and was announced in 2012. Mr. Joseph Brider of Cook Islands explained how for them, they were starting small with plans to grow bigger.
"One of the biggest components in establishing the Marae Moana was the consultation with many audiences given that the different islands in the Cook Islands implemented different management methods for their ocean," said Mr. Brider.
The Twenty-Sixth SPREP Meeting of Officials is held at the TanoaTusitala Hotel in Apia from 22 to 24 September, 2015.
The 21 Pacific island countries and territories that are members of SPREP are: American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna.
The 5 Metropolitan members of SPREP are: Australia, France, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States of America.
Mr. Stuart Chape, SPREP and Ms. Leilani Duffy Iosefa, CI signing the PIRT Membership Agreement
Mrs. Leilani Duffy Iosefa signed the PIRT Membership Agreement on behalf of CI witnessed by Mr. Stuart Chape, representing PIRT Secretariat.
The signing of the Agreement was an integral part of the PIRT Side Event showcasing the theme of "Size Matters! Lessons learnt in going to scale in Pacific Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)", the PIRT Side Event; an initiative of the Protected Areas Working Group (PAWG) of the Roundtable and co-organised by both the PIRT Secretariat, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and Conservation International, had an overwhelming response.
As Mr. Schannel van Dijken, Senior Marine Manager of CI explained - "In the last 40 years since 1975 when the Australian Great Barrier Reef Marine Park was created, the Pacific has lead the world in creating Large Scale Marine Protected Areas, realizing the importance of managing marine areas at scale".
He outlined and presented the achievements and lessons of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area in Kiribati, which grew in protection from 12000 km2 in 2006 to a full closure of it 408,250 km2 area, on December 31, 2014 constituting over 11% of Kiribati's total Exclusive Economic Zone. The New Caledonia Marine Protected Area established in April 2014 is 1.4 million km2 shared lessons learnt from their MPA presented by Ms. Anne-Claire Goarant of New Caledonia, "one of the factors of the success of this was the we started small and grew with each achievement and we also ensured that consultation was a key factor along every step of the way."
The New Caledonia Marine Protected Area established in April 2014is 1.4 million km2 shared lessons learnt from their MPA presented by Ms. Anne-Claire Goarant of New Caledonia, "one of the factors of the success of this was the we started small and grew with each achievement and we also ensured that consultation was a key factor along every step of the way."
Mr. Joseph Brider, Director, Cook Islands National Environment Service presenting on the Marae Moana
Also featured during the side event was the Marae Moana, the Cook Islands Marine Park which is in the process of being established for the Southern Cook Islands. The Marae Moana is approximately 1million km2 and was announced in 2012. Mr. Joseph Brider of Cook Islands explained how for them, they were starting small with plans to grow bigger.
"One of the biggest components in establishing the Marae Moana was the consultation with many audiences given that the different islands in the Cook Islands implemented different management methods for their ocean," said Mr. Brider.
The Twenty-Sixth SPREP Meeting of Officials is held at the TanoaTusitala Hotel in Apia from 22 to 24 September, 2015.
The 21 Pacific island countries and territories that are members of SPREP are: American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna.
The 5 Metropolitan members of SPREP are: Australia, France, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States of America.