The tiny Pacific island nation of Kiribati has declared the world's largest marine protected area, the Suva-based Pacnews reported on Friday.
The Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA), a California-sized ocean wilderness, includes pristine reefs and eight coral atolls teeming with fish and birds.
It lies about halfway between Hawaii and Fiji and also includes undersea mountains. It would conserve one of the Earth's last intact oceanic coral archipelago ecosystems.
Kiribati Environment Minister Tetapo Nakara said the government wanted to conserve the area's "biological diversity."
"The coral reefs and bird populations of the islands are unique, virtually untouched by man - a true wilderness of natural beauty," he said, announcing the marine reserve on Thursday.
Nakara said his ministry hopes to fully establish the 164,200-square-mile area as a protected zone by the end of the year with the goal of attracting more tourists to Kiribati -- an impoverished coral atoll nation of about 95,000 people. About 50 people live on one of the protected atolls.
The plan does not come without costs. Some commercial fishing in the area would be restricted, meaning the Kiribati government would forego some revenue from foreign commercial fishing licenses.
The government hopes to boost tourism, which now accounts for 20 percent of the gross domestic product. It has already applied to have the marine reserve listed as a World Heritage Site.
Kiribati and Boston-based New England Aquarium conducted joint scientific research in the area over several years with funding and technical aid from Conservation International.
Source:Xinhua
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