[Coral-List] Expansion of marine resource protection in Palau
Robert Richmond
richmond at hawaii.edu
Wed Jan 14 13:26:55 EST 2015
Dear Colleagues,
The Palau National Congress is set to vote on establishing a majority of
their Exclusive Economic Zone as a Marine Sanctuary and Protected Area.
The Pew Environmental Group is organizing a letter in support:
The Honorable Camsek Elias Chin
President of the Senate
9th Olbiil Era Kelulau
P.O. Box 8
Koror, Palau 96940
The Honorable Sabino Anastacio
Speaker, House of Delegates
9th Olbiil Era Kelulau
P.O. Box 8
Koror, Palau 96940
The Honorable Hokkon Baules
Senator
9th Olbiil Era Kelulau
P.O. Box 8
Koror, Palau 96940
Dear Senators Chin and Baules and Speaker Anastacio:
We are writing to applaud the Republic of Palau’s commitment to ocean
conservation and the sustainable development aspirations of its citizens
through the establishment of the Palau National Marine Sanctuary as
proposed in Senate Bill No. 9-30.
We recognize that Palau has long been a leader in the sustainable use
and conservation of marine resources, leading the Micronesia Challenge,
establishing the Protected Areas Network which served as a model for the
region, promoting a moratorium on bottom trawl fishing on the high seas
at the UN General Assembly, and creating the world’s first shark
sanctuary trigging similar initiatives in other island nations.
Palau will once again set the standard for sustainable ocean stewardship
when it establishes the Palau National Marine Sanctuary covering
approximately 80 per cent of Palauan waters. This precedent-setting
conservation measure is the capstone of Palau’s ocean conservation
leadership. It is an economically prudent initiative which will support
Palau’s eco-tourism sector which depends on the conservation of the more
than 1300 species of fish and 700 species of corals found in its waters,
and increase resilience to ocean warming and acidification. The
creation of a sustainable domestic fishery zone to supply the local
Palauan market will allow for modernization of the Palauan fleet and
increased opportunities for Palauan fishers.
As you know, for Small Island Developing States, ocean conservation and
management is at the heart of sustainable development. Palau’s
establishment of a large, no-take marine protected area (MPA) is a
visionary initiative for the nation, the region and the world. As it
has done before, Palau is demonstrating its leadership in ocean
conservation, and the crucial contribution of sustainably managed oceans
to the development aspirations of the nation. Palau is also
demonstrating its leadership globally toward meeting the goal for marine
protected areas agreed in the Convention on Biological Diversity, which
will serve as a model for other nations and an opportunity for
international partners to collaborate to enforce the closure and support
other nations to follow suit.
Please count on us to support the Palau National Marine Sanctuary going
forward.
Most sincerely yours,
________________________________________________________
If you are interested in signing on, please contact Seth Horstmeyer:
Seth Horstmeyer
e-mail: shorstmeyer at pewtrusts.org
Campaigns Director | Global Ocean Legacy | The Pew Charitable Trusts
office: 202.887.8826 | mobile: 202.230.9073
Thanks and best wishes,
Bob
--
Robert H. Richmond, Ph.D.
Research Professor and Director
Kewalo Marine Laboratory
University of Hawaii at Manoa
41 Ahui Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 USA
Phone: 808-539-7331
Fax: 808-599-4817
E-mail: Richmond at hawaii.edu
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