Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA)
2009 Scientific Expedition
(December 10, 2009) In September 2009 the fourth scientific expedition was mounted by the New England Aquarium to the Phoenix Islands, Republic of Kiribati in the South Pacific, and the first since the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) was legally established in 2008 to become the largest Marine Protected Area in the world, with a surface area of 408,250 km2. The expedition team of 14 people spent 11 days in PIPA from September 13 to the 23, completing over 400 SCUBA dives. Preliminary work on pelagic invertebrates and with a deep water ROV was conducted, while the main efforts focused on coral reef assessments, initiating a broader range of research projects on coral reef biota and terrestrial assessments with a management focus. Video footage was collected for further development of educational and promotional videos on PIPA, and a National Geographic Magazine photographer collected material for a future article on PIPA in the magazine. Timing of the expedition coincides with PIPA’s application for listing as a World Heritage Site, and the research expedition had as an additional goal to inform this process and support the application. Check out participating researchers' blogs here:
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
President of Kiribati Visits Wins Conservation Award at New England Aquarium
(September 22, 2008) His excellency, President Anote Tong was presented with the prestigious David B. Stone Medal, an honor given to leaders in ocean conservation. The unanimous vote from the selection committee acknowledges the global magnitude of the PIPA and the unprecedented step that the Government of Kiribati has taken in declaring and then subsequently expanding the PIPA to an area the size of California. Past winners of this award include Oceanographer Jacques Yves Cousteau and Senator John Kerry. The trip also provided an opportunity for project team members to work more closely in person and this yielded positive results. President Tong also spoke at a forum on climate change at Harvard University's Center for the Environment, delivering a powerful speech on the impacts of climate change on small island states.
Photos from the David B. Stone Conservation Medal dinner
PIPA has enjoyed extensive media coverage from a wide variety of sources. Here are links to some of the articles:
New England Aquarium's Blue Magazine Winter 2010
Cosmos Magazine "World's Largest Marine Park: Size of California"
Smithsonian Magazine "Our Imperiled Oceans: Victory at Sea"
ABC News "Conservation Talks Highlight Need to Protect Island Environments"
Harvard Gazette "Island Nation President Plans for Extinction"
Living on Earth feature on the Phoenix Islands Protected Area
Science News "The presidents of two island nations draft escape plans, anticipating sea level rise"
ABC News "Kiribati's President: 'Our Lives Are At Stake'
National Geographic "Phoenix Islands"