French Polynesia's President Moetai Brotherson on Monday announced that his country is on track to create the world's largest marine protected area (MPA). The ambitious objective, spanning nearly 23 percent of the archipelago's waters, came on the first day of the UN Oceans Conference in Nice.
"In French Polynesia, the ocean is much more than a territory: it is a source of life, culture, and identity," Brotherson told attendees at the UN Ocean summit in Nice on Monday.
"By strengthening the protection of Tainui Atea (the existing marine managed area that encompasses all French Polynesian waters) and laying the foundations for future marine protected areas in the Austral, Marquesas, Gambier, and Society Islands, we are asserting our ecological sovereignty while creating biodiversity sanctuaries for our people and future generations," Brotherson said.
"This ambitious choice also carries a universal message to the international community: that of an Oceanian people who protect their vital space not only for themselves, but for all of humanity."
For over a decade the French Polynesian government has been working closely with local groups and communities, scientists and international partners to support the creation of a wider marine protected area.
The waters of French Polynesia are renowned for their exceptional marine biodiversity and ecosystems, providing a habitat for 21 shark species and a remarkable reef system, home to 176 coral species and 1,024 recorded fish species, according to the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy group.
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Artisanal fishing zones
Under the new plan, almost the entire exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Pacific archipelago, or around 4.55 million square kilometres, will be placed under "minimum" protection.
Part of this zone (900,000 square kilometres) will be recognised as having "high level" protection, where all activity is prohibited, according to the French Ministry of Ecological Transition.
The highly protected areas will cover 220,000 square kilometres of waters near the Society Islands and 680,000 square kilometers around the Gambier Islands.
Access will be restricted and all forms of extraction, such as fishing and mining, will be prohibited to create refuges for marine life, including migratory manta rays, coral atolls, and seabirds.
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The government will also create artisanal fishing zones totaling 186,000 km², extending 15 nautical miles around the Austral, Marquesas, and Gambier Islands, and 30 nautical miles around the Society Islands.
Fishing in these zones will be limited to traditional line fishing practices carried out on boats less than 12 metres long.
Industrial fishing will be prohibited, while allowing local communities to perpetuate centuries-old fishing practices.
The artisanal fishing zones and the two highly protected areas will be established as marine protected areas (MPAs), covering a combined area of 1,086,000 km² - an area approximately twice that of mainland France.
"We congratulate French Polynesia for its vision and hope that this is a new trend in the establishment of highly protected MPAs on a large scale," Razan Al Mubarak, President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), in a statement on Monday.
Brotherson also said he wanted to strengthen conservation measures by including public participation in management, strengthening fisheries management plans and banning deep-sea mining.
Public support for protection
According to a survey carried out in January by the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy group, more than 90 percent of Polynesians support the creation of new highly protected areas.
Respondents saw conservation as a way of "respecting cultural values and drawing inspiration from traditional management practices such as rāhui, an ancestral method of temporarily closing natural areas to promote their regeneration."
French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the decision as "a historic one that marks a turning point in the protection of the Pacific Ocean."
"We will provide Polynesia with the means to monitor these areas," he added.
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Polynesia's announcement alone allows France, whose maritime domain covers 11 million km2 (the second largest in the world), to increase the proportion of its waters under protection to 78 percent, a broad term that includes areas where activity restrictions are minimal.
Of this area, 14.8 percent is now considered highly protected, compared to 4.8 percent before Polynesia's announcement.
Just eight percent of global oceans are designated for marine conservation, despite a globally agreed target to achieve 30 percent coverage by 2030.
Macron said he hoped that coverage would grow to 12 percent by the summit's close on Friday.
(with newswires)
