Media Watch, Derek Paiva, Hawaii Magazine, 4 August 2010
The Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument — a 140,000 square mile conservation area comprising 10 islands and atolls in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands — has been designated as a United Nations World Heritage site.
With the designation from the U.N.’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the area becomes one of only 26 “mixed” World Heritage sites in the world—and the first ever mixed site in the United States. The “mixed” designation honor’s Papahanaumokuakea’s natural and cultural importance. […]
Papahanaumokuakea—which extends nearly 1,000 miles from Nihoa Island, northwest of Kauai, to Kure Atoll—is a truly unique place.
Its vast area of pristine coral reefs is home to more than 7,000 marine species, 25% of these endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Its pristine waters are critical habitats for endangered species such as the Hawaiian monk seal, the green sea turtle and Laysan and Nihoa finches. The area also provides important nesting, foraging and hunting grounds for more than 14 million seabirds, making Papahanaumokuakea the largest tropical seabird rookery in the world. […]