As President Barack Obama embarked on his final trip to Asia while still in office, climate change promised to rank near the top of his agenda, not far from traditional priorities like national security and trade.
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Critics of Obama’s environmentalist policies have complained that the president often puts the environment and conservation ahead of local economies, where many residents rely on conservation land for their livelihoods.
Kevin Foerster, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s refuge chief for the region, said the agency would like to be able to open the island to visitors again, but budget constraints and the island’s remote location mean its beauty can only be accessed by the internet for now.
“Let me start by saying that this is hallowed ground”, Obama said, noting that this was the site of the 1942 Battle of Midway, where “a number of young men lost their lives here. And from now on, it will be preserved for future generations”.
Obama said he’s “very proud” of his conservation achievements.
President Barack Obama disembarks from Air Force One upon arrival to tour Midway Atoll in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the Pacific Ocean, September 1, 2016.
During his past nine trips to Asia, Obama has sometimes been distracted by other global developments from the emphasis he sought to place on boosting US military and economic ties to the fast-growing region, leading critics to doubt whether the USA commitment will last.
Supporters said the larger monument was needed to protect a place considered sacred by Native Hawaiians by making it off-limits to commercial fishing and recreational activities. For which, the departments will signs an agreement with Hawaii’s Department of Natural Resources and Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
On Saturday, he’ll arrive in China for an economic summit where he will try to cement support for the worldwide climate deal signed in Paris previous year.
Now, he added, protecting the vast ecosystem “allows us to study and research and understand our oceans better than we ever have before”. The Japanese attack in 1942 was a pivotal moment in World War II, with the USA delivering a resounding defeat that degraded the Japanese Navy’s capacity in the Pacific.
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The wealth of biological diversity is almost unparalleled: millions of birds, hundreds of species of fish and marine invertebrates, green sea turtles and Hawaiian monk seals. More albatrosses live on Midway than anywhere else in the world, and wildlife authorities have worked to prevent a number of endangered species from disappearing from the atoll. We’d like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about.
