Phoenix Islands Protected Area
Encyclopedia
The Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) is located in the Republic of Kiribati
, an ocean nation in the central Pacific approximately midway between Australia and Hawaii. PIPA constitutes 11.34% of Kiribati’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and with a size of 408250 km² (157,626.2 sq mi) it is the largest marine protected area
(MPA) in the Pacific Ocean
. PIPA was the world’s first large, truly deep water, mid-ocean MPA.
The greater part of PIPA by area is ocean floor with a water column averaging more than 4,000 meters (2.5 miles) deep. An important feature of PIPA is the abundance of large, extinct, underwater volcanoes. These underwater mountains contribute a huge diversity of marine habitat types - atoll
, low reef island, submerged reef, seamount
, and deep seabed as well as open ocean habitats.
PIPA includes all eight atoll and low reef islands of the Kiribati section of the Phoenix Islands
: Rawaki
, Enderbury
, Nikumaroro, McKean
, Manra
, Birnie
, Kanton
and Orona. The only island that is currently inhabited is Kanton with a non-permanent population of less than 40 people made up of government employees and their families engaged in the protection and management of Kiribati interests in the region. PIPA also includes two submerged reefs, Carondelet Reef and Winslow Reef, with Carondelet Reef being as little as 3 to 4 meters (approximately 10 to 13 feet) underwater at low tide.
in Brazil. On January 30, 2008, Kiribati adopted formal regulations for PIPA that more than doubled the original size making it, at that time, the largest marine protected area on Earth. In total it is equivalent to the size of the state of California
in the USA, though the total land area is only 25 km² (9.7 sq mi).
The Republic of Kiribati, in partnership with the non-governmental conservation organizations Conservation International
and the New England Aquarium
, has formed the Phoenix Island Protected Area Conservation Trust (PIPA Trust). The management and enforcement of PIPA will be financed through the PIPA Trust through an endowment that will compensate Kiribati for lost revenues and management costs. Protecting the Phoenix Islands means restricting commercial fishing in the area, resulting in a loss of revenue that the Kiribati government would normally receive from issuing foreign commercial fishing licenses. In the face of multiple threats to marine biodiversity, this represents one of the few market-based, sustainable ways to finance such a protection plan.
Management and protection requirements necessary to maintain the values of this MPA are reflected both in the current interim management measures and the recently approved management plan. These include, but are not limited to, the following:
of globally important biological diversity, both marine and terrestrial. The Phoenix Islands are identified as a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) by Conservation International and the coral reefs of PIPA are among the least disturbed coral reefs in the world. Currently more than 200 coral species are known but undoubtedly many more deep-water coral species associated with seamounts remain unidentified within PIPA. There are 514 species of reef fish, including several new species. The reef system is so remote and untouched by human activities that it can serve as a benchmark for understanding and potentially providing guidance for restoring other degraded hard coral ecosystems.
Five of the eight islands in PIPA are currently designated as Important Bird Area
s by Birdlife International
as the Phoenix Islands are internationally recognized as a seabird haven. Petrels, tropicbirds, boobies, frigatebirds and terns collectively are estimated to have numbered in the millions during the last comprehensive surveys which were undertaken in the 1960s. Some of these colonies represented what may have been the largest concentrations of their species in the world, including for Audubon's shearwater, the vulnerable white-throated (Polynesian) storm-petrel, lesser frigatebird and blue noddy. Today there are 19 species of seabirds living on the islands. Many other seabirds migrate through PIPA, including shearwaters and mottled petrels from Australia and New Zealand. Prominent species include the endemic, endangered Phoenix petrel.
PIPA islands such as Kanton, Rawaki and Enderbury have important nesting beaches for threatened green turtles and possibly also for hawksbill turtles as well as safe breeding and feeding sites for both species. Enderbury is among one of the most important green turtle nesting sites in the Central Pacific. Kanton and Orona lagoons host spectacular giant clam
communities in sizes rarely seen elsewhere in the world.
, rabbits
, cats, ants, pigs, dogs and lantana
.
Until PIPA was declared, the last comprehensive fauna surveys of the Phoenix Islands occurred in the 1960s. In 2006 a new survey was conducted to determine the extent of non-native pest species invasions on each island and the feasibility of a restoration program. From this work it was determined that pests should be removed from all eight of the Phoenix Islands, but the most urgent management actions required for the islands are to remove feral rabbits from Rawaki and Asian rats on McKean.
During the 1960s McKean was one of the flagship islands of the Phoenix group, supporting diverse and important populations of seabirds – there were thousands of blue noddies and white-throated storm-petrels, and several other species of tern and shearwater. Sometime around the year 2002 however, Asian rats colonized McKean, apparently when a fishing trawler was wrecked on the island. The 2006 survey found that storm-petrels, blue noddies and other petrels and shearwaters had virtually disappeared from the island as a result of intensive predation of adult birds, their eggs and chicks by the rats. Most of the seabird species that were still persisting on McKean in 2006 were present in greatly reduced numbers and were generally breeding unsuccessfully.
The very high density of rabbits was impacting the many seabirds on Rawaki through competition for burrows and shaded shelters with associated trampling of eggs and nestlings. Rabbits were also impacting the vegetation which in turn reduced nest site availability and burrow stability for burrowing seabirds and impacts on the ecosystem as a whole.
As a first step towards biodiversity recovery on the islands of the PIPA, in mid 2008 rats and rabbits were targeted on McKean and Rawaki. In November–December 2009 a check of these islands by a science team indicated that the eradication programs were successful. The responses from the plant life and bird life were spectacular with the team finding that seabirds were nesting successfully on McKean for the first time in nearly 10 years. Meanwhile on Rawaki the vegetation recovery has enabled birds like blue noddies to find suitable nest sites throughout the island. Even frigatebirds were nesting on the now recovering plants. These restoration efforts will enable populations of Phoenix petrel, white-throated storm petrel, and other important seabird populations to recover in the PIPA. A second eradication expedition was successfully executed in July 2011, with two additional islands of the PIPA targeted for pest removal- Enderbury and Birnie. Both islands had populations of the non-native Pacific rat.
World Heritage Convention aims to promote cooperation among nations to protect heritage around the world that is of such outstanding universal value that its conservation is important for current and future generations. It is intended that, unlike the seven wonders of the ancient world, properties on the World Heritage List will be conserved for all time.
On January 30, 2009, the Republic of Kiribati submitted an application for the Phoenix Islands Protected Area for consideration on World Heritage List. This was the first nomination submitted by Kiribati since they ratified the Convention in 2000.
On August 1, 2010 at the 34th session of the World Heritage Committee
in Brasília, Brazil, the decision was made to inscribe PIPA onto the World Heritage List. It became the largest and deepest World Heritage site
in the world.
Since 1988, The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) has been testing the hypothesis that the missing 1937 flight of Amelia Earhart
and navigator Fred Noonan
landed at Nikumaroro. Evidence amassed from archival research and numerous expeditions to the island suggests that the plane was landed safely on the atoll's fringing reef but was washed over the edge by rising tide and surf after several days leaving Earhart and Noonan as castaways on the uninhabited, waterless atoll. In 1940 a British Colonial Service officer discovered a partial skeleton and several artifacts at a makeshift campsite on the island's remote southeast end. The bones and artifacts were sent to British headquarters in Fiji and subsequently lost. Modern assessment of measurements taken by a British doctor in 1941 suggest that the skeleton was that of a female of northern European descent who stood roughly Earhart's height. Artifacts recovered from a site believed to be where the skeleton was found speak of an American woman of the 1930s who had items with her consistent with items known to have been typically carried by Earhart. Serial numbers reported to have been on a sextant box found with the bones suggest that the sextant was the same type known to have been carried by Noonan.
Kiribati
Kiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population exceeds just over 100,000 , and is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, straddling the...
, an ocean nation in the central Pacific approximately midway between Australia and Hawaii. PIPA constitutes 11.34% of Kiribati’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and with a size of 408250 km² (157,626.2 sq mi) it is the largest marine protected area
Marine Protected Area
Marine Protected Areas, like any protected area, are regions in which human activity has been placed under some restrictions in the interest of conserving the natural environment, it's surrounding waters and the occupant ecosystems, and any cultural or historical resources that may require...
(MPA) in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. PIPA was the world’s first large, truly deep water, mid-ocean MPA.
The greater part of PIPA by area is ocean floor with a water column averaging more than 4,000 meters (2.5 miles) deep. An important feature of PIPA is the abundance of large, extinct, underwater volcanoes. These underwater mountains contribute a huge diversity of marine habitat types - atoll
Atoll
An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...
, low reef island, submerged reef, seamount
Seamount
A seamount is a mountain rising from the ocean seafloor that does not reach to the water's surface , and thus is not an island. These are typically formed from extinct volcanoes, that rise abruptly and are usually found rising from a seafloor of depth. They are defined by oceanographers as...
, and deep seabed as well as open ocean habitats.
PIPA includes all eight atoll and low reef islands of the Kiribati section of the Phoenix Islands
Phoenix Islands
The Phoenix Islands are a group of eight atolls and two submerged coral reefs, lying in the central Pacific Ocean east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands. They are a part of the Republic of Kiribati. During the late 1930s they became the site of the last attempted colonial...
: Rawaki
Rawaki Island
Rawaki Island is one of the Phoenix Islands in the Republic of Kiribati, also known by its previous name of Phoenix Island. It is a small, uninhabited atoll, approximately 1.2 by 0.8 km in size and 65 hec. in area, with a shallow, brackish central lagoon that does not communicate with the...
, Enderbury
Enderbury Island
Enderbury Island is a small, uninhabited atoll 63 km ESE of Kanton Island in the Pacific Ocean at . It is about 1 mile wide and 3 miles long, with a reef stretching out 60–200 metres...
, Nikumaroro, McKean
McKean Island
McKean Island is a small, uninhabited island in the Phoenix Islands, Republic of Kiribati.It is located at . Its area is 57 hectares.-Flora and fauna:...
, Manra
Manra Island
Manra Island or Sydney Island, is one of the Phoenix Islands in the Republic of Kiribati. It lies at . W. longitude, and has an area of 4.4 km2. and an elevation of approximately six meters...
, Birnie
Birnie Island
Birnie Island is a small, uninhabited coral island, 20 hectares in area, part of the Phoenix Island group, which forms a possession of the Republic of Kiribati. It is located about 100 km SE of Kanton Island and 90 km WNW of Rawaki Island, formerly known as Phoenix Island. It lies at . ...
, Kanton
Kanton Island
Kanton Island , alternatively known as "Mary Island", "Mary Balcout's Island" or "Swallow Island", is the largest, northernmost, and as of 2007, the sole inhabited island of the Phoenix Islands, in the Republic of Kiribati. It is an atoll located in the South Pacific Ocean roughly halfway between...
and Orona. The only island that is currently inhabited is Kanton with a non-permanent population of less than 40 people made up of government employees and their families engaged in the protection and management of Kiribati interests in the region. PIPA also includes two submerged reefs, Carondelet Reef and Winslow Reef, with Carondelet Reef being as little as 3 to 4 meters (approximately 10 to 13 feet) underwater at low tide.
History and Administration
Kiribati first declared the creation of PIPA at the 2006 Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological DiversityConvention on Biological Diversity
The Convention on Biological Diversity , known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is an international legally binding treaty...
in Brazil. On January 30, 2008, Kiribati adopted formal regulations for PIPA that more than doubled the original size making it, at that time, the largest marine protected area on Earth. In total it is equivalent to the size of the state of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in the USA, though the total land area is only 25 km² (9.7 sq mi).
The Republic of Kiribati, in partnership with the non-governmental conservation organizations Conservation International
Conservation International
Conservation International is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, which seeks to ensure the health of humanity by protecting Earth's ecosystems and biodiversity. CI’s work focuses on six key initiatives that affect human well-being: climate, food security, freshwater...
and the New England Aquarium
New England Aquarium
The New England Aquarium is an aquarium located in Boston, Massachusetts.In addition to the main aquarium building, attractions at the New England Aquarium include the Simons IMAX Theatre and the New England Aquarium Whale Watch, which operates from April through November...
, has formed the Phoenix Island Protected Area Conservation Trust (PIPA Trust). The management and enforcement of PIPA will be financed through the PIPA Trust through an endowment that will compensate Kiribati for lost revenues and management costs. Protecting the Phoenix Islands means restricting commercial fishing in the area, resulting in a loss of revenue that the Kiribati government would normally receive from issuing foreign commercial fishing licenses. In the face of multiple threats to marine biodiversity, this represents one of the few market-based, sustainable ways to finance such a protection plan.
Management and protection requirements necessary to maintain the values of this MPA are reflected both in the current interim management measures and the recently approved management plan. These include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Zonation – currently 7 of the 8 atolls are fully protected as no take zones inclusive of terrestrial environments, lagoons, coral reefs and coastal habitat out to 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi) . One atoll, Kanton, has permissible harvest of resources for subsistence purposes only, for the government caretaker population. In Phase 2, no take zones (NTZs) are to be increased by an additional 25% making PIPA a NTZ approximately 28.5% of the entire area. Priorities for an increase in NTZ coverage include full protection of the two submerged reefs and increasing protection of seamounts and around each atoll/reef island.
- Permits – all visitors (e.g., tourists, researchers) are required to have a permit and, once in PIPA, complete immigration requirements on Kanton. Fisheries management – in addition to the zonation provisions outlined above, Kiribati requires 100% observer coverage on all distant water fishing nation (DWFN) vessels.
Natural Heritage
PIPA provides important natural habitats for in-situ conservationIn-situ conservation
In-situ conservation is on-site conservation or the conservation of genetic resources in natural populations of plant or animal species, such as forest genetic resources in natural populations of tree species...
of globally important biological diversity, both marine and terrestrial. The Phoenix Islands are identified as a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) by Conservation International and the coral reefs of PIPA are among the least disturbed coral reefs in the world. Currently more than 200 coral species are known but undoubtedly many more deep-water coral species associated with seamounts remain unidentified within PIPA. There are 514 species of reef fish, including several new species. The reef system is so remote and untouched by human activities that it can serve as a benchmark for understanding and potentially providing guidance for restoring other degraded hard coral ecosystems.
Five of the eight islands in PIPA are currently designated as Important Bird Area
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...
s by Birdlife International
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...
as the Phoenix Islands are internationally recognized as a seabird haven. Petrels, tropicbirds, boobies, frigatebirds and terns collectively are estimated to have numbered in the millions during the last comprehensive surveys which were undertaken in the 1960s. Some of these colonies represented what may have been the largest concentrations of their species in the world, including for Audubon's shearwater, the vulnerable white-throated (Polynesian) storm-petrel, lesser frigatebird and blue noddy. Today there are 19 species of seabirds living on the islands. Many other seabirds migrate through PIPA, including shearwaters and mottled petrels from Australia and New Zealand. Prominent species include the endemic, endangered Phoenix petrel.
PIPA islands such as Kanton, Rawaki and Enderbury have important nesting beaches for threatened green turtles and possibly also for hawksbill turtles as well as safe breeding and feeding sites for both species. Enderbury is among one of the most important green turtle nesting sites in the Central Pacific. Kanton and Orona lagoons host spectacular giant clam
Giant clam
The giant clam, Tridacna gigas , is the largest living bivalve mollusc. T. gigas is one of the most endangered clam species. It was mentioned as early as 1825 in scientific reports...
communities in sizes rarely seen elsewhere in the world.
Island Restoration and Biosecurity Program
Many non-native, invasive plants and animals have been introduced to the Phoenix Islands with varied and often catastrophic results. Some of the negative impacts these invasives bring include the elimination of native seabirds and plants, particularly through the destruction of the eggs and young, and introduced plants taking over other plant life, modifying the natural island ecosystem. Plants and animals that have been introduced over time include Pacific and Asian ratsTanezumi Rat
The Tanezumi Rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.It is found in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Cocos Islands, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.-References:* Baillie, J. 1996. . ...
, rabbits
European Rabbit
The European Rabbit or Common Rabbit is a species of rabbit native to south west Europe and north west Africa . It has been widely introduced elsewhere often with devastating effects on local biodiversity...
, cats, ants, pigs, dogs and lantana
Lantana
Lantana is a genus of about 150 species of perennial flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are native to tropical regions of the Americas and Africa but exist as an introduced species in numerous areas, especially in the Australian-Pacific region. The genus includes both...
.
Until PIPA was declared, the last comprehensive fauna surveys of the Phoenix Islands occurred in the 1960s. In 2006 a new survey was conducted to determine the extent of non-native pest species invasions on each island and the feasibility of a restoration program. From this work it was determined that pests should be removed from all eight of the Phoenix Islands, but the most urgent management actions required for the islands are to remove feral rabbits from Rawaki and Asian rats on McKean.
During the 1960s McKean was one of the flagship islands of the Phoenix group, supporting diverse and important populations of seabirds – there were thousands of blue noddies and white-throated storm-petrels, and several other species of tern and shearwater. Sometime around the year 2002 however, Asian rats colonized McKean, apparently when a fishing trawler was wrecked on the island. The 2006 survey found that storm-petrels, blue noddies and other petrels and shearwaters had virtually disappeared from the island as a result of intensive predation of adult birds, their eggs and chicks by the rats. Most of the seabird species that were still persisting on McKean in 2006 were present in greatly reduced numbers and were generally breeding unsuccessfully.
The very high density of rabbits was impacting the many seabirds on Rawaki through competition for burrows and shaded shelters with associated trampling of eggs and nestlings. Rabbits were also impacting the vegetation which in turn reduced nest site availability and burrow stability for burrowing seabirds and impacts on the ecosystem as a whole.
As a first step towards biodiversity recovery on the islands of the PIPA, in mid 2008 rats and rabbits were targeted on McKean and Rawaki. In November–December 2009 a check of these islands by a science team indicated that the eradication programs were successful. The responses from the plant life and bird life were spectacular with the team finding that seabirds were nesting successfully on McKean for the first time in nearly 10 years. Meanwhile on Rawaki the vegetation recovery has enabled birds like blue noddies to find suitable nest sites throughout the island. Even frigatebirds were nesting on the now recovering plants. These restoration efforts will enable populations of Phoenix petrel, white-throated storm petrel, and other important seabird populations to recover in the PIPA. A second eradication expedition was successfully executed in July 2011, with two additional islands of the PIPA targeted for pest removal- Enderbury and Birnie. Both islands had populations of the non-native Pacific rat.
UNESCO World Heritage Site
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Convention aims to promote cooperation among nations to protect heritage around the world that is of such outstanding universal value that its conservation is important for current and future generations. It is intended that, unlike the seven wonders of the ancient world, properties on the World Heritage List will be conserved for all time.
On January 30, 2009, the Republic of Kiribati submitted an application for the Phoenix Islands Protected Area for consideration on World Heritage List. This was the first nomination submitted by Kiribati since they ratified the Convention in 2000.
On August 1, 2010 at the 34th session of the World Heritage Committee
World Heritage Committee
The World Heritage Committee establishes the sites to be listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is responsible for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance upon requests from States Parties...
in Brasília, Brazil, the decision was made to inscribe PIPA onto the World Heritage List. It became the largest and deepest World Heritage site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
in the world.
The Search for Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
and navigator Fred Noonan
Fred Noonan
Frederick Joseph "Fred" Noonan was an American flight navigator, sea captain and aviation pioneer who first charted many commercial airline routes across the Pacific Ocean during the 1930s...
landed at Nikumaroro. Evidence amassed from archival research and numerous expeditions to the island suggests that the plane was landed safely on the atoll's fringing reef but was washed over the edge by rising tide and surf after several days leaving Earhart and Noonan as castaways on the uninhabited, waterless atoll. In 1940 a British Colonial Service officer discovered a partial skeleton and several artifacts at a makeshift campsite on the island's remote southeast end. The bones and artifacts were sent to British headquarters in Fiji and subsequently lost. Modern assessment of measurements taken by a British doctor in 1941 suggest that the skeleton was that of a female of northern European descent who stood roughly Earhart's height. Artifacts recovered from a site believed to be where the skeleton was found speak of an American woman of the 1930s who had items with her consistent with items known to have been typically carried by Earhart. Serial numbers reported to have been on a sextant box found with the bones suggest that the sextant was the same type known to have been carried by Noonan.