Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

* This name is listed on the World Heritage List. ª The region is classified by UNESCO.

The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument ( formerly the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument ) is the second largest marine reserve in the world. The National Monument was proclaimed on 15 June 2006 by George W. Bush and received on 2 March 2007 a ​​traditional Hawaiian name. 2010, the area was included in the World Heritage List because of its ecological value and significance for the Hawaiian natives of UNESCO.

As 75th U.S. National Monument protects all islands in the northwest of Hawaii under the joint leadership of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA). The reserve covers atolls, coral reefs and adjacent marine areas in the Pacific Ocean with a total area of approximately 362,000 km ², which is about the size of Germany. Since 28 January 2008, it is on surface of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area ( 410,500 km ²) of the island nation of Kiribati surpassed. To better protect the animals should be prohibited from the year 2011, the commercial fishery.

For traditional Hawaiians, the archipelago has a special significance as the origin of life and place to which the spirit of man returns after death. The islands mediate the relationship between humans and the environment and symbolize a cosmological balance. On the islands of Nihoa and Mokumanamana settlements of traditional culture were found before contact with whites and archaeologically evaluated.

Animal and plant life ( flora and fauna)

The shelter offers over 7,000, partly endemic species protection, under threat or at risk of extinction. Well-known species include the green turtle (Chelonia mydas, known as the green sea turtle, hawaiian: Honu ), the Hawaiian monk seal ( schauinslandi Monachus, hawaiian: Sila Hawaii), the Grey Reef Shark ( Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos ), the Laysanente (Anas laysanensis ) or the Laysan Albatross ( Phoebastria immutabilis ). In plants, the Nihoa palm ( Pritchardia remota ) was called.

Hawaiian variety of the green turtle ( Honu )

Whitetip reef shark ( Triaenodon obesus )

Great Frigatebird ( Fregata minor)

Criticism

The establishment of the nature reserve is criticized by local fishermen and businessmen, which represents the fishing grounds and may be lost depending on how the authorization system, tourism revenue. It is not clear to what extent the local population was at all involved in the decision to create the National Monuments.