The nation’s 15 islands have a combined land mass barely larger than Washington DC but its waters include environmentally valuable coral reefs, seagrass beds and fisheries.
Puna called on other Pacific island nations to follow the Cooks’ lead and create an enormous protected zone in the ocean.
Kiribati and Tokelau have already created large reserves, while the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia this week announced plans to set up a 1.4 million square kilometre park in the next two to three years.
Marea Hatziolos, the World Bank’s senior coastal and marine specialist, said the Cook Islands’ initiative was a win for both the environment and the country’s economy.
“There’s definitely an economic dimension to this, apart from protecting biodiversity,” she told AFP. “It allows small Pacific nations to generate revenue.”
She said the park would include a core area where all fishing was banned, as well as special zones where tourism and carefully monitored fishing were permitted, allowing commercially valuable species such as tuna to regenerate.
Hatziolos said the push to conserve large areas of the Pacific Ocean was gaining momentum, with small island nations leading the way.
“They understand the value of the Pacific Ocean to their future economic well-being,” she said.
“This is part of a strategy to capture the benefits of good stewardship – conservation and sustainability must go hand in hand.”
Source: AFP
