New partnership to promote ocean conservation
A United States conservation group is partnering with a New Zealand university to boost research into marine conservation in the Pacific.
Transcript
A United States conservation group is partnering with a New Zealand university to boost research into marine conservation in the Pacific.
Conservation International and the University of Auckland launched a new programme in Auckland on Wednesday evening that will offer scholarships and student prizes for ocean work.
Conservation International says the partnership will support Pacific nations to take ownership of marine conservation.
Daniela Maoate-Cox reports.
Along with scholarships and prizes, Conservation International also wants to set up internships for students throughout the Pacific, to study marine conservation. Its Pacific Island and New Zealand executive director Sue Miller-Taei, says she hopes the research opportunities will attract more New Zealand students to the cause.
SUE MILLER-TAEI: In the north, the south, the east and west of the Pacific, we have initiatives that have opportunities for students to contribute their research, and we would like to support them and students from New Zealand to learn more about the Pacific.
The CEO of Conservation International, Peter Seligmann, says more research will help change attitudes towards the role of oceans in daily life.
PETER SELIGMANN: The oceans are not just a place to throw your garbage or extract your resources, it's living and it shapes our climate, it shapes our health, it provides us with our income from tourism, it provides us with our protein from fish.
Peter Seligmann says Pacific Islands control almost ten per cent of the earth's surface and conservationists need to support them in their efforts to take ownership of their own marine environments.
PETER SELIGMANN: What we're seeing are commitments at a scale that I have never seen before. Whether it's a commitment by the leadership of the Cook Islands, whether it's the Federated States of Micronesia, or Palau or the Marshall Islands or Samoa, everyone of these countries is basically saying we have to take responsibility and ownership of our ocean territories.
One of those countries is the Cook Islands which is proposing to turn almost its entire economic zone of one-point-one million square kilometres, into a marine protected area. Conservation International opened an information centre on the capital island Rarotonga earlier this week so people can give feedback on the marine park plans. The Cook Islands Prime Minister, Henry Puna, says the proposal was driven by the realisation that the country's marine resources need to be protected for future generations.
HENRY PUNA: I think the underlying thinking there is that by having all our EEZ as part of our marine park that will set the standards for everything that takes place in that zone and I mean we need to have the highest environmental standards, quality standards to ensure our environment is not damaged.
Henry Puna says Pacific nations are at the forefront of marine conservation and need to support each other's efforts.
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