Papahānaumokuākea is a remote protected area in the Pacific that is important for its island hotspot volcanism and its role in the beliefs of the Native Hawai’ian population.
The area encompasses 140,000 square miles (360,000 km2) of ocean waters and ten islands and atolls of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The multitude of habitats and its isolation have led to high levels of endemism notably among coral and fish species. It is also the habitat of the critically endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal. Significant Native Hawaiian cultural sites such as heiau shrines are found on the islands of Nihoa and Mokumanamana and can be placed within the wider Pacific/Polynesian tradition. There are also locations of historic shipwreck sites.
Community Perspective: the site is essentially closed to tourists, only Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge has been accessible in the past (until 2012) via a special visitor program as described by Zoë.
Aug. 8, 2022
eu.usatoday.com
— A sacred area for native Hawaiians is filling up with trash.
June 25, 2020
globenewswire.com
— Papahānaumokuākea Research and Conservation Fund Announces $1 Million in Grants to Support Management and Conservation
May 16, 2020
scitechdaily.com
— Pūhāhonu Revealed: The Largest and Hottest Shield Volcano on Earth
Nov. 19, 2019
apnews.com
— Pacific bird refuge at Midway Atoll struggles as ocean garbage patch grows
Aug. 27, 2016
theguardian.com
— Obama to create world's largest protected marine area off Hawaii
May 31, 2016
theguardian.com
— Sea sponge the size of a minivan discovered in ocean depths off Hawaii
Oct. 17, 2014
hawaiireporter.com
— World War II Era Fighter Plane Discovered at Midway Atoll
July 31, 2010
state.gov
— Designation of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument as UNESCO World Heritage Site
July 24, 2009
ens-newswire.com
— Lawsuits against State of Hawaii, which is breaking its own law that requires protection of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument
Jan. 7, 2009
hawaiireporter.com
— President Bush announced the nomination of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre for consideration to the World Heritage List
Papahanaumokuakea "encompasses a multitude of habitats, ranging from 4,600 m below sea level to 275 m above sea level, including abyssal areas, seamounts and submerged banks" (AB)
Native Hawaiians: "These living traditions of the Hawaiians that celebrate the natural abundance of Papahānaumokuākea and its association with sacred realms of life and death, are directly and tangibly associated with the heiau shrines of Nihoa and Mokumanamana and the pristine islands beyond to the north-west." (crit vi)
Midway Atoll: The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942. The US Navy defeated the Japanese fleet who sought to eliminate the United States as a strategic power in the Pacific.
Kure -the most westerly atoll. "Many crews were stranded on Kure Atoll after being shipwrecked on the surrounding reefs and had to survive on the local seals, turtles, and birds... Because of these incidents King Kalakaua sent Colonel J. H. Boyd as his Special Commissioner to Kure. On September 20, 1886 he took possession of the island, then called Moku Papapa, for the Hawaiian government. The King ordered that a crude house be built on the island, with tanks for holding water and provisions for any other unfortunates who might be cast away there. But the provisions were stolen within a year, and the house soon fell into ruins." (Wiki)
four species of endemic birds have been identified, including remarkably isolated species such as the Nihoa Finch (Critically Endangered), Nihoa Millerbird (Critically Endangered), Laysan Finch (Vulnerable), and Laysan Duck (Critically Endangered), one of the world's rarest ducks (UNEP-WCMC)
Criterion (viii): The property provides an illustrating example of island hotspot progression, formed as a result of a relatively stationary hotspot and stable tectonic plate movement. Comprising a major portion of the world’s longest and oldest volcanic chain, the scale, distinctness and linearity of the manifestation of these geological processes in Papahānaumokuākea are unrivalled and have shaped our understanding of plate tectonics and hotspots.
Crit IX: For example, a quarter of the nearly 7,000 presently known marine species in the area are endemic. Over a fifth of the fish species are unique to the archipelago ... an unrivalled example of reef ecosystems which are still dominated by top predators such as sharks, a feature lost from most other island environments due to human activity.
The 2008 Nomination File referred to the potential for tsunami damage but concluded that "As the marine ecosystem has evolved with periodic disturbance by tsunamis and seasonally high wave energy events, its capacity to recover fully from tsunamis and other wave events would be expected." In fact the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake/Tsunami did cause significant damage as per this this early report but later ones indicate recovery as predicted -
Insc 2010 without buffer zone "The nominated property has no buffer zone, as it is in an extremely remote region and its boundaries have been set at 50 nautical miles (~100km) out over open sea from each of the islands and atolls"....."IUCN considers that the boundaries of the nominated property meet the requirements set out in the Operational Guidelines"
Oral histories suggest that ceremonies involving human sacrifice had been conducted at the heiau, although there is no concrete archaeological evidence for this (Nom file))
"In 1890, Laysan was leased by the Hawaiian Kingdom to the North Pacific Phosphate and Fertilizer Company for a period of 20 years. Guano mining and digging occurred on Laysan from 1892 to 1904. This period saw the construction of several buildings, including a lighthouse and a small railroad, which supported this trade;
between 100 and 125 tons of guano could be shipped from Laysan per day" Nomin file.
"It is significant that most of the heiau have astronomically aligned patterns associated with the summer solstice, when the sun passes through the zenith of the site at noon (...)." (Talayotic Menorca Nomination file, p. 368-369)
PO6 Hawaiian Islands - "The terrestrial and marine habitats of Papahānaumokuākea are crucial for the survival of many endangered or vulnerable species the distributions of which are highly or entirely restricted to the area. This includes.. six species of endangered plants such as the Fan Palm."
The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands were formed, approximately 7 to 30 million years ago, as shield volcanoes over the same volcanic hotspot that formed the Emperor Seamounts to the north and the Main Hawaiian Islands to the south.(Wiki)
"It is significant that most of the heiau have astronomically aligned patterns associated with the summer solstice, when the sun passes through the zenith of the site at noon, and that, according to oral histories, they were the places that held the knowledge of the stars and gave the ancestors their navigational bearings." (Talayotic Menorca Nomination file, p. 368-369)
The last US solo-manned mission to space, Mercury-Atlas 9, splashed down in the Pacific in 1963, approximately 70 nautical miles from Midway Atoll in what is now the Papahânaumokuâkea Marine National Monument. Both Mercury-Atlas 9 and the previous mission, Mercury-Atlas 8, were supported by the US military at Midway Atoll.
Only open for specific purposes. 'Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge is the only area of the monument where recreational activities are permitted. Access was previously controlled by issuing special ocean use permits. However, the Midway Atoll Visitor Program closed in 2012, and no visitor access is currently available. USFWS will evaluate when and if this activity will be able to resume based on a number of logistical and financial factors.' (IUCN Consultation, 2020)
I wasn’t sure I had been to this place until I opened up the map on the UNESCO website with a great overview of islands. It also all made sense: the Midway Atoll is the only accessible place of the entire monument. This is not Hawaii but instead Unincorporated Territory.
Over the years the area has become more and more restricted and I am unsure if there are still tours now. The Battle of Midway tour every June only holds 19 passengers. The cruise liners used to stop here, Carnival was mine back in 2009, but only a handful of people were going on the tender boats due to limited space (and I later found out each tender boat has to be specifically cleaned and equipped for entering the park area which cost a lot of money.
The tour group are all under guidance of a local ranger and you cart around in golf carts. The main attractions are the Hawaiian monk seal (yeah we are not in Hawaii but those seals don’t care), birds and WW2 gun emplacements plus old buildings.
Unfortunately there is no allowance for scuba diving and the snorkeling limits the view of the underwater life so much. There may be plans for this one day. So all in all the restrictions by the park means I can’t say much about most criteria for its inscription, and even for the species underwater I can’t say much from my own experience. It is for …
