14 DAY TRIAL // This past June 17, United States President Barack Obama went public with the news that he was looking into the possibility to expand the country's Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.
For the time being, this protected area covers 82,129 square miles (212,714 kilometers). Specifically, it comprises several islands and atolls in the central Pacific Ocean and the waters around them.
Still, a report delivered by the Pew Charitable Trusts, i.e. a US-based non-profit and non-governmental organization, says that it could be expanded to 780,000 square miles (2 million square kilometers), Live Science informs.
Should President Barack Obama take this report into consideration and approve this expansion, the move will translate into the creation of the world's largest protected area on the planet, be it on land or in the sea.
As detailed on the White House's webpage, the President settled on said Monument as a protected area in dire need of an upgrade after learning that ecosystems in the region were especially vulnerable to climate change and ocean acidification.
“These tropical coral reefs and associated marine ecosystems are also among the most vulnerable areas to the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification,” reads a press release on the matter at hand.
However, it appears that, as determined to expand this protected area as Barack Obama might be, he will not make any decisions until wildlife specialists and other researchers, together with fishermen, give their consent.
“Before making decisions about the geographic scope and details of future marine protections, we will consider the input of fishermen, scientists, conservation experts, elected officials, and other stakeholders,” the press release goes on to say.
In a video message aired at the Our Ocean conference in Washington DC this past Tuesday, US President Barack Obama said that, apart from expanding the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, he wished to combat illegal fishing.
The end goal is to ensure that marine ecosystems are well protected and not overexploited, and that, consequently, human society will be able to rely on them for various resources in the years to come, the President went on to explain.
“If we ignore these problems, if we drain our oceans of their resources, we won't just be squandering one of humanity's greatest treasures. We'll be cutting off one of the world's major sources of food and economic growth, including for the United States,” Barack Obama said in a statement.
The news that Obama is very much preoccupied with protecting the world's oceans comes shortly after it was announced that, under new regulations proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency, the US power sector must cut emissions by 30% when compared to a 2005 baseline by the year 2030.