Chapter I Intro & Objectives - SPREP

PHOENIX ISLANDS PROTECTED AREA MANAGEMENT PLAN
Chapter I. Introduction and Purpose
Draft 1 March 2007
2) Develop sustained long term management operations. Short term
unsustainable management is not an option.
3) Be flexible and innovative in management approaches for PIPA as traditional
marine protected area (MPA) management theories may not fit.
Various documents provide guidance on the issue of marine and coastal conservation in
Kiribati (Magnubhai 2002). These include the following.
1) The 1993 National Environmental Management Strategy provides long-term
strategies and proposals.
2) The National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan has been drafted in order to
comply with commitments to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
3) An Environment and Conservation Act was drafted in 1996 and redrafted in
2006. Final approval for this draft act is expected in 2007.
3. MANAGEMENT PLAN OBJECTIVE.
The overall objective of this plan is:
to preserve terrestrial and marine resources of the Phoenix Islands
for the sustained benefit of the people of the Republic of Kiribati and
the world.
Under this overall objective, there are several goals including:
1) preserve of biodiversity;
2) preserve of natural habitats and endemic species (basically the ecosystem);
3) identify and fill data gaps with baseline and surveys using standard
quantitative methods;
4) designate core wilderness protected areas (Category IB- IUCN), buffer zones,
and zones for specific activities;
5) include all Phoenix islands reefs within the proposed management area.
6) eliminate exotic species;
7) enhance populations of threatened or endangered species;
8) develop ecologically sound tourism and economic development;
9) identify long term resource monitoring needs and develop programs to address
those needs;
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