Niue announces new scheme at UN to fund and protect its ocean

Niue has taken its scheme to get sponsors to pay for protecting much of its surrounding ocean to the UN General Assembly in New York.

This follows Niue's commitment to maintain a huge marine reserve across its entire ocean territory.

These includes the Niue Moana Mahu Reserve, which makes up 40 percent of the country's ocean space, and the Niue Nukutuluea Multi-use Marine Park, covering Niue's entire ocean space, which was legally established last year.

The funding initiative has been operating for a year and has gained traction with NGOs and private donors among the first to support the Ocean Conservation Commitments, or OCCs.

Niue's premier Dalton Tagelagi told the UN individuals or companies can pay $US148 ($NZ250) to protect one square kilometre of ocean from threats such as illegal fishing and plastic waste for a period of 20 years.

The aim is to raise $US18 million and will involve the establishment of a charitable trust called the Niue Ocean Wide (NOW) Trust.

Tagelagi said the Niue government will sponsor nearly 1,700 OCCs - one for every resident on Niue.

"As a small island nation, Niue's vast marine territory holds immense ecological, cultural, and economic value to our people," he said.

"Its ecosystem services also provide regional and global environmental benefits. The ocean is everything to us. We are also proud that several NGOs and private donors have already committed to sponsor the first OCCs: the Blue Nature Alliance, Chris Larsen and Lyna Lam, and Conservation International."

The money raised by the OCC sponsorships will be held and managed by the NOW Trust and used to fund a range of conservation, resilience, and sustainable development efforts.

The funding provided by the OCCs is expected to allow Niue to achieve many things in conserving its marine environment, including enhanced community engagement and monitoring, compliance, and enforcement through building control and surveillance capacities.