Niue, a tiny Pacific island nation, has unveiled a unique plan to safeguard its vast and pristine territorial waters. In an effort to combat illegal fishing and plastic waste, Niue’s Prime Minister Dalton Tagelagi announced a program where individuals or companies can sponsor the protection of one square kilometer (about 250 acres) of ocean for 20 years for $148. This initiative aims to generate over $18 million by selling 127,000 square-kilometer units, constituting 40% of Niue’s waters and forming a no-take marine protected area. Tagelagi emphasized the importance of the ocean, stating, “We are surrounded by the ocean, and we live off the ocean. That’s our livelihood.”
According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, most fishing in Niue is for local sustenance, with occasional small-scale commercial operations and offshore industrial-scale fishing. Tagelagi expressed the need for Niue to take the lead in protecting the ocean due to illegal fishing and other activities. Niue is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels, land and freshwater threats, and intensified tropical storms caused by warmer air and waters. With a population of only 1,700, Niue recognizes the necessity of external assistance.
Despite being one of the world’s smallest countries, Niue’s ocean territory is 1,200 times larger than its land mass. The sponsorship funds, known as “Ocean Conservation Commitments,” will be managed by a charitable trust. Niue will purchase 1,700 sponsorship units, representing each citizen. Launch donors include philanthropist Lyna Lam and her husband Chris Larsen, co-founder of Ripple, a blockchain company, as well as US-based nonprofit Conservation International, which assisted with technical aspects of the initiative. (Read about the changing color of the ocean).
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