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HIGHLIGHTS

AGREEMENT ON THE CONSERVATION OF ALBATROSSES AND PETRELS

PAPAHANAUMOKUAKEA
MARINE MONUMENT

R.M.S. TITANIC

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PAPAHANAUMOKUAKEA MARINE NATIONAL MONUMENT

The Office of General Counsel for International Law

Particularly Sensitive Sea Area Designation Nomination to UNESCO as a World Heritage Site

Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument
Designated as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area
by the International Maritime Organization

On April 3, 2008, the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, an area that includes the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, received final designation as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a Specialized Agency of the United Nations. The U.S. proposal for PSSA designation was submitted in April 2007 for consideration by the IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee and received provisional "in principle" designation in July 2007. With the April 3, 2008 final designation the PSSA became immediately effective. The Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument is the second marine protected area in the United States to receive PSSA designation (the other being the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, which was designated as a PSSA in 2002). PSSA designation has been granted to 11 areas globally, including the Great Barrier Reef and the Galapagos Archipelago. The newly designated PSSA is coterminous with the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, which was established by President Bush in June 2006. It encompasses a 1,200-mile stretch of coral islands, seamounts, banks, and shoals; is home to more than 7,000 marine species; and contains 4,500 square miles of coral reefs.

Ship traffic has been identified as one of the primary anthropogenic threats to the vulnerable and valuable natural and cultural resources of the area. PSSA designation augments domestic protective measures by alerting international mariners to exercise extreme caution when navigating through the area.

As part of the PSSA designation process, on October 8, 2007 the IMO's Maritime Safety Committee adopted U.S. proposals for two associated protective measures designed to prevent damage to this fragile and integrated coral reef ecosystem from international shipping activities. First, the IMO approved the expansion and amendment of the six existing recommendatory Areas to be Avoided (ATBAs) in the area, enlarging the class of vessels to which they apply and augmenting the geographic scope of these areas as well as adding new ATBAs around Kure and Midway atolls. The ATBAs will appear on domestic and international nautical charts to direct vessels away from coral reefs, shipwrecks and other ecologically sensitive or culturally significant areas in the PSSA that may also be hazardous to navigation. Second, the IMO approved a ship reporting system for vessels transiting the Monument, which is mandatory for ships entering or departing a U.S. port or place and recommendatory for other ships. The ship reporting system will provide critical alerts and other information to assist mariners in navigating safely through the area. The final rule implementing the IMO-adopted ship reporting system was published by NOAA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on December 3, 2008 (73 Fed. Reg. 73592), effective January 2, 2009.

NOAA's Office of General Counsel for International Law was instrumental in developing the United States' PSSA submissions and securing their approval by IMO.

Additional reference information:Some of these links are to external sites.

U.S. Nominates Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument
for Listing as a World Heritage Site

On January 15, 2009, the United States, through the Departments of State and the Interior, submitted to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) its nomination of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument site for inscription on the list of World Heritage Sites. The Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument has been nominated as a "mixed site" because of the outstanding universal value of both its natural and cultural resources. The nomination is available through the Monument's home page.

World Heritage sites are of such international significance that the nations that manage them promise the world that they will preserve them for present and future generations. There are cultural and natural heritage sites that are as unique and diverse as the wilds of East Africa's Serengeti, the Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, and the Baroque Cathedrals of Latin America. The United States was the prime architect of the World Heritage concept and the first country to ratify the World Heritage Convention, in 1973. The National Park Service manages all or parts of 17 of the 20 existing U.S. World Heritage Sites, including Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Canyon, and the Statue of Liberty, and serves as the principal technical agency for the U.S. Government to the World Heritage Convention. The nomination has been determined to be complete by UNESCO's World Heritage Center. This means that it met all of the technical requirements of the Operational Guidelines and is ready for further consideration. It has now been sent to the relative Advisory Bodies: the International Union for Conservation for evaluation of the natural heritage component, and the International Council on Monuments and Sites for evaluation of the cultural heritage component. The site evaluation by these Advisory Bodies began in March 2009. Any requests by the Advisory Bodies for additional information are due by January 31, 2010. February 28, 2010 is the deadline for the U.S. submission of additional information requested by the Advisory Bodies. These Advisory Bodies will submit their evaluations and recommendations to the World Heritage Committee six weeks prior to the World Heritage Committee session scheduled for mid-2010.

Additional reference information:Some of these links are to external sites.

OTHER USEFUL LINKS

Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument home page

Frequently Asked Questions about the World Heritage Nomination

Publication of the NOAA Office of the General Counsel, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce

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Updated: March 18, 2009 8:12 AM 7 9:41 AM