KIRIBATI: Declares world class envionmental reserve
Updated
Kiribati's Environment Minister Tetabo Nekara has made the formal declaration necessary to create the Phoenix Islands Environmental Protected area. Plans for the massive reserve were announced by the Kiribati government at last year's Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity in Brazil. Mr Nekara says the Phoenix Islands Protected Area will be one of the world's biggest.
Presenter: Jemima Garrett
Speakers: Tetabo Nekara, Kiribati's Environment Minister
NEKARA: The total area of the protected area of the this marine protected area is 410-thousand-500 square kilometres.
GARRETT: What sort of wildlife will benefit from the declaration?
NEKARA: It all depends because the wildlife that we have on this protected area is mostly the birds.
GARRETT: Are there particular threatened species or habitats that will benefit from this declaration?
NEKARA: Yes because the protected area will include the land and the marine life and on land we have the birds, one of the birds that is now at the point of extinction is the Phoenix Petrol. We also have this Coconut Crab, which is also an endangered species. In the sea we have thiS Napoleon Fish, and many others.
GARRETT: Will commercial fishing, including tuna fishing be banned in this protected area?
NEKARA: Yes once it has been established then we're going to ban fishing. Not in the sense that it will put a total ban on all the fishing fleets that are fishing now in our waters, but where we can allow fishing in some areas, allow the tourism in other areas and diving as well.
GARRETT: So what sort of fishing will be banned from the protected area?
NEKARA: Pelagic fishing will be banned but that will be finalised later on.
GARRETT: When you say pelagic fishing you that basically means tuna, now tuna is very important to the Kiribati economy. Will the declaration of this area cost Kiribati in terms of fishing license fees and so on?
NEKARA: I have to make it clear that the, this marine protected area is on the 11-point-seven-two per cent of our total area that means fishing will continue to be allowed in the other parts of Kiribati, but this place will be, this is the only protected area that will, is going to be declared.
GARRETT: So I guess you're hoping that the impact won't be substantial on the economy?
NEKARA: No, no I don't think so because according to the reports that we have we have only four to 16 per cent of the cash that we normally get, we usually get from the Phoenix Islands.
GARRETT: You said there are some steps to go before this protected area becomes fully legal and into effect. What steps are still to be taken?
NEKARA: Yeah we have a very important meeting scheduled in March. This meeting is between the potential donors and Kiribati and after finalising, get parliament to fund that we'll be … to the people, or the Phoenix Islands protected area, then other steps will be looked into.
