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Bush nominates Hawaii marine monument for UN honor
By Star-Bulletin staff
and Associated Press
POSTED: 11:34 a.m. HST, Jan 06, 2009
President Bush announced today that he has nominated the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Centre for consideration to the World Heritage List.
The monument includes the islands and waters of the northwestern Hawaiian archipelago and is the nation’s largest protected area. The Mount Vernon, Va., home of George Washington was also nominated to the list. These are the United States’ first nominations to be forwarded for consideration on the World Heritage List since 1994, according to Gov. Linda Lingle.
The United States will submit its nominations to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Papahanaumokuakea then undergoes an 18-month review by advisory bodies. The final nominations would be considered by the World Heritage Committee in the summer of 2010, according to the governor’s office.
If accepted, Papahanaumokuakea would join an exclusive list of sites with outstanding universal value that are unique and diverse – such as East Africa’s Serengeti, the Egyptian Pyramids, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and the Galapagos Islands, a news release from the governor’s office said.
“The nomination of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument recognizes its exceptional geological and ecological processes, its provision of critical habitat for some of the world’s most endangered species, and its sacred place in the history and culture of Native Hawaiian people,” said Lingle. “World Heritage sites truly belong to all people of the world. They incorporate the most universal and significant aspects of natural and cultural heritage as well as legacy of the past and present for future generations.” Lingle added.
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument is administered by three co-trustees — the Department of Commerce, Department of the Interior and the State of Hawaii. The area includes the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge/Battle of Midway National Memorial, Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Kure Atoll Seabird Sanctuary, and Northwestern Hawaiian Islands State Marine Refuge.
Bush's announcement today came as he also designated what he called “three beautiful and biologically diverse areas of the Pacific Ocean” as national marine monuments.
The areas include the home of a giant land crab, a sunken island ringed by pink-colored coral, and equatorial waters teeming with sharks and other predators and total some 195,274 square miles. Included in the new designation formally announced by Bush at the White House are the Mariana Trench and the waters and corals surrounding three uninhabited islands in the Northern Mariana Islands, Rose Atoll in American Samoa and seven islands strung along the equator in the central Pacific Ocean.
All will be protected under the same status afforded to statues and cultural sites, through the 1906 Antiquities Act. The law allows the government to immediately phase out waste dumping, as well as commercial fishing and other extractive uses. However, recreational fishing, tourism and scientific research with a federal permit could still occur inside the three areas. The designations also will not conflict with U.S. military activities or freedom of navigation, White House officials said.
It was be the second time Bush has used the law to protect marine resources. Two years ago, the president designated a huge swath of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, barring fishing, oil and gas extraction and tourism from its waters and coral reefs. At the time, that area was the largest conservation area in the world.
The three new areas are larger. Still, the designations came with some opposition and fell short in size and scope of what environmentalists had hoped for.
Northern Mariana Islands government officials and indigenous communities initially objected to the monument designation, citing concerns about sovereignty, fishing and mineral exploration.
President Bush announced today that he has nominated the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Centre for consideration to the World Heritage List.
The monument includes the islands and waters of the northwestern Hawaiian archipelago and is the nation’s largest protected area. The Mount Vernon, Va., home of George Washington was also nominated to the list. These are the United States’ first nominations to be forwarded for consideration on the World Heritage List since 1994, according to Gov. Linda Lingle.
The United States will submit its nominations to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Papahanaumokuakea then undergoes an 18-month review by advisory bodies. The final nominations would be considered by the World Heritage Committee in the summer of 2010, according to the governor’s office.
If accepted, Papahanaumokuakea would join an exclusive list of sites with outstanding universal value that are unique and diverse – such as East Africa’s Serengeti, the Egyptian Pyramids, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and the Galapagos Islands, a news release from the governor’s office said.
“The nomination of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument recognizes its exceptional geological and ecological processes, its provision of critical habitat for some of the world’s most endangered species, and its sacred place in the history and culture of Native Hawaiian people,” said Lingle. “World Heritage sites truly belong to all people of the world. They incorporate the most universal and significant aspects of natural and cultural heritage as well as legacy of the past and present for future generations.” Lingle added.
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument is administered by three co-trustees — the Department of Commerce, Department of the Interior and the State of Hawaii. The area includes the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge/Battle of Midway National Memorial, Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Kure Atoll Seabird Sanctuary, and Northwestern Hawaiian Islands State Marine Refuge.
Bush's announcement today came as he also designated what he called “three beautiful and biologically diverse areas of the Pacific Ocean” as national marine monuments.
The areas include the home of a giant land crab, a sunken island ringed by pink-colored coral, and equatorial waters teeming with sharks and other predators and total some 195,274 square miles. Included in the new designation formally announced by Bush at the White House are the Mariana Trench and the waters and corals surrounding three uninhabited islands in the Northern Mariana Islands, Rose Atoll in American Samoa and seven islands strung along the equator in the central Pacific Ocean.
All will be protected under the same status afforded to statues and cultural sites, through the 1906 Antiquities Act. The law allows the government to immediately phase out waste dumping, as well as commercial fishing and other extractive uses. However, recreational fishing, tourism and scientific research with a federal permit could still occur inside the three areas. The designations also will not conflict with U.S. military activities or freedom of navigation, White House officials said.
It was be the second time Bush has used the law to protect marine resources. Two years ago, the president designated a huge swath of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, barring fishing, oil and gas extraction and tourism from its waters and coral reefs. At the time, that area was the largest conservation area in the world.
The three new areas are larger. Still, the designations came with some opposition and fell short in size and scope of what environmentalists had hoped for.
Northern Mariana Islands government officials and indigenous communities initially objected to the monument designation, citing concerns about sovereignty, fishing and mineral exploration.
Today’s Edition
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- Retailers on guard as crooks ram vehicles into properties
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- Newswatch
- Police and Fire
- Shining Stars
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- Windfall is seen as bank bonuses are paid in stock
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- Scrivener's Sudoku: Army Community Hawaii
- Murakami's Calabash
- Warriors find winning formula
- Feeding frenzy for UH backs
- Porous run defense deflates Utah State
- Short snaps: UH vs. Utah State
- Further Review: Old-school running game keyed UH's feel-good win
- Amis out indefinitely with foot injury
- UH's Lee lifts Hawaii's spirit
- Farrington finds a way
- 'Iolani rolls Damien to prepare for states
- Hawaii Beat
- Scoreboard
- Television & Radio
- New kite business takes off
- Business briefs
- It's not too late to cut tax liability
- Hawaii Real Estate Sales
- Tracking Hawaii's student stock pickers
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