World Heritage Identification Number: 1325
World Heritage since: 2010
Category: Natural Heritage
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇰🇮 Kiribati
Continent: Oceania
UNESCO World Region: Asia and the Pacific
Map
The Phoenix Islands Protected Area: A Giant Sanctuary in the Central Pacific
The Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) is a vast expanse of marine and terrestrial habitats situated in the heart of the Southern Pacific Ocean. Encompassing the Phoenix Island Group, one of three island groups in Kiribati, this protected area represents the largest designated Marine Protected Area (MPA) globally, spanning over 408,250 square kilometers. Established in 2010, PIPA was the first site in Kiribati to be inscribed on the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage List.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
The Phoenix Island Protected Area (PIPA) is a 408,250 sq.km expanse of marine and terrestrial habitats in the Southern Pacific Ocean. The property encompasses the Phoenix Island Group, one of three island groups in Kiribati, and is the largest designated Marine Protected Area in the world. PIPA conserves one of the world's largest intact oceanic coral archipelago ecosystems, together with 14 known underwater sea mounts (presumed to be extinct volcanoes) and other deep-sea habitats. The area contains approximately 800 known species of fauna, including about 200 coral species, 500 fish species, 18 marine mammals and 44 bird species. The structure and functioning of PIPA's ecosystems illustrates its pristine nature and importance as a migration route and reservoir. This is the first site in Kiribati to be inscribed on the World Heritage List.
Encyclopedia Record: Phoenix Islands Protected Area
The Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) is located in the Republic of Kiribati, an ocean nation in the central Pacific approximately midway between Australia and Hawaii. PIPA constitutes 11.34% of Kiribati's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and with a size of 408,250 km2 (157,630 sq mi), it is one of the largest marine protected areas (MPA) and one of the largest protected areas of any type on Earth. The PIPA was also designated as the world's largest and deepest UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010.Additional Site Details
Area: 40,825,000 hectares
(ix) — Outstanding example representing ecological and biological processes
Coordinates: -3.864454 , -172.650203
Image
© Kerry Lagueux, New England Aquarium., CC BY-SA 3.0 Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)
