Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 33, Number 10, 1 October 2016 — Obama visits Honolulu and Midway [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Obama visits Honolulu and Midway

ByTreenaShapiro Less than a week after expanding Papahānaumokuākea to the largest marine protected area in the world, President Barack Obama made a stop in Honolulu to talk about the need to protect the oeean. Addressing the Pacific Island Conference of Leaders and members of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Obama focused on elimate change and conservation - issues of critical importance to

island nations that are already starting to feel the impact of a changing environment. Speaking at the East-West Center on Aug. 30, the president said, "Rising temperatures and sea levels pose an existential threat to your countries. And while some members of the U.S. Congress still seem to be debating whether climate change is real or not, many of you are already planning for new places for your people to live. Crops are withering

in the Marshall Islands. Kiribati bought land in another country because theirs may someday be submerged. High seas forced villagers from their homes in Fiji." Expanding Papahānaumokuākea's boundaries to twice the size of Texas offers an opportunity to look for solutions. "Seven thousand species live in its waters, a quarter of whieh are not found anywhere else in the world. Ancient islanders believed it contained

the boundary between this life and the next. Hundreds of brave Americans gave their lives there in defense of the world's freedom. So this is a hallowed site, and it deserves to be treated that way," Obama said. Along with the expansion of the monument, the president also announced the Office of Hawaiian Affairs would be a co-trustee, on par with the State of Hawai'i, the National Oeeanie and Atmospheric and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Elevating OHA's status ensures that Native Hawaiians would have a voice in the governance of an area they hold sacred. At the Sept. 1 opening of the IUCN's

World Conservation Congress, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally lewell reiterated the importance of Native Hawaiian respresentation at the monunment, pointing to the Papahānaumokuākea expansion as a potential model for the protection of indigenous people's territory throughout the United States. Another keynote speaker, Palau President Thomas Esang "Tommy" Remengesau Jr., raised the ante for the United States, ehal-

lenging Obama to join the "big league" and follow Palau's example of protecting 80 percent of its exclusive eeonomie zone, a suggestion greeted with laughter and applause. Though Obama was en route to Papahānaumokuākea during the opening ceremony, the White House that day announced that nearly $40 million would be dedicated to programs to help the Paeilie Islands become more resilient to climate change, in part through the advancement of elean energy technologies. After learning more about Papahānaumokuākea during a visit to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, Obama addressed reporters: "For us to be able to protect and preserve this national monument, to extend it, and, most importantly, to interact with native Hawaiians and other stakeholders so that the way we protect and manage this facility is consistent with ancient traditions and the best science available, this is going to be a precious resource for generations to eome," he said at Midway's Turtle Beach. "I look forward to knowing that 20 years from now, 40 years from now, 100 years from now this is a plaee where people ean still eome to and see what a plaee like this looks like when it's not overcrowded or destroyed by human populations." ■

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President Barack Obama visits Turtle Beach on Midway Atoll, Sept. 1 , 201 6. Offieial Whiie House Phoio by Pete Souza