A Pacific oceans advocate says there is a need for more people from the region to be represented at the decision making levels of conservation work.
Angello Villagomez early career was with the Mariana Islands Nature Alliance in Saipan and he is now working with the Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington DC where he says there are only a handful of Pacific Islanders working in conservation organisations focussing on the Pacific region.
Mr Villagomez says the importance of having a seat at the table and a presence in the halls of power was really driven home for him in his early work advocating and lobbying for what would become the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument in 2009.