The report came out last summer and was presented to Gov. Benigno R. Fitial and other chief executives of Micronesia, according to Micronesian Challenge chairwoman Fran Castro.
Micronesia is a vast Pacific seascape nearly the size of the continental United States and has highly diverse marine and terrestrial resources.
In an interview, Castro said the Micronesian Challenge has inspired environmentalists in other regions.
After the Micronesian Challenge was launched in 2006, environmental advocates in the Caribbean countries created their Caribbean Challenge, which also aims to protect marine and terrestrial resources.
Now, environmentalists in Indonesia have come up with Coral Triangle Initiative while in the east Pacific, the Two-Samoas Initiative has been launched.
Taking the challenge
The Micronesian region has a rare combination of geographic isolation and biological diversity that gifted it with habitats found nowhere else on Earth.
The region serves as a “microcosm” for world-wide conservation.
However, according to the report, the features that make the islands in the region exceptional also make them especially vulnerable to environmental threats such as deforestation, unsustainable fishing practices, invasive species, and climate change.
“Half of the species in the world that have become extinct have been island species. Without immediate action, the people of Micronesia face continued degradation of the natural resources on which their culture and livelihoods depend,” the report said.
To sustain the island biodiversity of Micronesia and ensure a healthy future for their people, the chief executives of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Territory of Guam and the CNMI launched the Micronesia Challenge in early 2006.
The Micronesian Challenge was presented to the international community during the 8th Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity held in Brazil in March 2006.
Covering 6.7 million square kilometers of ocean, the Micronesia Challenge represents more than 20 percent of the Pacific Island region and 5 percent of the largest ocean in the world.
The Micronesian Challenge aims to protect at least 66 known threatened species, 4 percent of the global total reef area and over 480 coral species or 60 percent of all known species of coral.
The annual net benefits in terms of fisheries, tourism, coastal protection and biodiversity, has been estimated at $2 billion.
Approximately $800 million worth of benefits annually may be distributed across Micronesia.
In the NMI
Since the launching of the Micronesia Challenge, the CNMI has been diligently working to meet its goal.
On Saipan, Laolao Bay, Garapan lagoon and Tanapag have been conserved. On Tinian, San Jose and the Northeast Coast Watershed have been conserved.
Laolao Bay has always been a priority site for the CNMI, thus in Dec. 2008, representatives from various resource agencies and organizations came together to complete a conservation action planning process for Laolao Bay and to convert it into a management plan for the site.
These agencies included the Division of Environmental Quality, Coastal Resource Management, the Division of Fish and Wildlife and the Mariana Islands Nature Alliance.
This effort was coordinated by the CNMI Coral Reef Initiative and facilitated by The Nature Conservancy-Micronesia Program as well as the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
