title: Establishment, management, and maintenance of the phoenix islands protected area.
abstract: The Republic of Kiribati's Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA), located in the equatorial central Pacific, is the largest and deepest UNESCO World Heritage site on earth. Created in 2008, it was the first Marine Protected Area (MPA) of its kind (at the time of inception, the largest in the world) and includes eight low-lying islands, shallow coral reefs, submerged shallow and deep seamounts and extensive open-ocean and ocean floor habitat. Due to their isolation, the shallow reef habitats have been protected de facto from severe exploitation, though the surrounding waters have been continually fished for large pelagics and whales over many decades. PIPA was created under a partnership between the Government of Kiribati and the international non-governmental organizations-Conservation International and the New England Aquarium. PIPA has a unique conservation strategy as the first marine MPA to use a conservation contract mechanism with a corresponding Conservation Trust established to be both a sustainable financing mechanism and a check-and-balance to the oversight and maintenance of the MPA. As PIPA moves forward with its management objectives, it is well positioned to be a global model for large MPA design and implementation in similar contexts. The islands and shallow reefs have already shown benefits from protection, though the pending full closure of PIPA (and assessments thereof) will be critical for determining success of the MPA as a refuge for open-ocean pelagic and deep-sea marine life. As global ocean resources are continually being extracted to support a growing global population, PIPA's closure is both timely and of global significance.
authors.affiliation: New England Aquarium, 1 Central Wharf, Boston, MA, 02110, USA. Electronic address: rrotjan@neaq.org.
authors.forename: Randi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rotjan
authors.affiliation: New England Aquarium, 1 Central Wharf, Boston, MA, 02110, USA.
authors.forename: Regen
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jamieson
authors.affiliation: Boston University, Department of Biology, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Carr
authors.affiliation: New England Aquarium, 1 Central Wharf, Boston, MA, 02110, USA; Boston University, Department of Biology, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Conservation International, Arlington, Virginia, USA.
authors.forename: Les
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kaufman
authors.affiliation: New England Aquarium, 1 Central Wharf, Boston, MA, 02110, USA.
authors.forename: Sangeeta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mangubhai
authors.affiliation: New England Aquarium, 1 Central Wharf, Boston, MA, 02110, USA; CORDIO East Africa, P.O. Box 1013, Mombasa, Kenya.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Obura
authors.affiliation: EcoOceania, Speewah, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Ray
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pierce
authors.affiliation: Phoenix Island Protected Area Office, Ministry of Environment, Lands and Agriculture Development, P.O. Box 234, Tarawa, Kiribati.
authors.forename: Betarim
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rimon
authors.affiliation: New England Aquarium, 1 Central Wharf, Boston, MA, 02110, USA; Phoenix Islands Protected Area Conservation Trust, P.O. Box 366, Tarawa, Kiribati.
authors.forename: Bud
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ris
authors.affiliation: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.
authors.forename: Stuart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sandin
authors.affiliation: Conservation Law Foundation, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Shelley
authors.affiliation: The University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: U Rashid
authors.initials: UR
authors.lastname: Sumaila
authors.affiliation: Conservation International Pacific Islands and Oceans Programme, P.O. Box 2035, Apia, Samoa.
authors.forename: Sue
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taei
authors.affiliation: New England Aquarium, 1 Central Wharf, Boston, MA, 02110, USA.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tausig
authors.affiliation: Phoenix Island Protected Area Office, Ministry of Environment, Lands and Agriculture Development, P.O. Box 234, Tarawa, Kiribati; Phoenix Islands Protected Area Conservation Trust, P.O. Box 366, Tarawa, Kiribati.
authors.forename: Tukabu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Teroroko
authors.affiliation: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thorrold
authors.affiliation: New England Aquarium, 1 Central Wharf, Boston, MA, 02110, USA.
authors.forename: Brooke
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wikgren
authors.affiliation: Phoenix Islands Protected Area Conservation Trust, P.O. Box 366, Tarawa, Kiribati.
authors.forename: Teuea
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Toatu
authors.affiliation: Conservation International, Arlington, Virginia, USA; Phoenix Islands Protected Area Conservation Trust, P.O. Box 366, Tarawa, Kiribati.
authors.forename: Greg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stone
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D017753:Ecosystem; D035082:Federal Government; D005398:Fisheries; D005399:Fishes; D005843:Geography; D006078:Government Programs; D008849:Micronesia; D009938:Organizations; D055818:Public-Private Sector Partnerships
keywords: Fisheries; Kiribati; Open ocean; Phoenix; Protection; Reef; Zone