The latest MIMRA grant to support local marine-related conservation work was issued earlier in February to the Bokanbotin marine protected area in Majuro Atoll.
The Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority’s Protected Areas Network office held a signing ceremony with the Bokanbotin MPA owners for the official activation of their $25,000 PAN Fund Award.
“We congratulate the Bokanbotin MPA owners for their commitment to protecting and sustainably managing their natural resources for current and future generations,” said MIMRA in a release.
Bokanbotin Island is home to the Island Getaway resort.
MIMRA said the approved project that the PAN Fund Award is supporting “will focus on coastal protection efforts to address erosion within their protected area — a growing climate challenge that directly impacts livelihoods, homes, and ecosystems.”
MIMRA added: The Bokanbotin MPA Coastal Protection Project will serve as a pilot initiative to better understand its outcomes and inform future PAN-funded coastal protection efforts at other Reimaanlok sites in the RMI.
Reimaanlok (looking to the future) is MIMRA’s signature coastal management program that engages local communities in conservation management efforts through an eight-step process.
Bokanbotin MPA is now the seventh Reimaanlok site to receive PAN funding.
“We look forward to more Reimaanlok sites accessing support in the near future as they continue strengthening and implementing their management plans developed through the Reimaanlok process,” MIMRA said.