The tiny Pacific island nation of Niue has come up with a novel plan to protect its vast and pristine territorial waters 害羞草研究所� it will get sponsors to pay.

Under the plan, which was being launched by Niue害羞草研究所檚 Prime Minister Dalton Tagelagi on Tuesday in New York, individuals or companies can pay $148 to protect 1 square kilometer (about 250 acres) of ocean from threats such as illegal fishing and plastic waste for a period of 20 years.

Niue hopes to raise more than $18 million from the scheme by selling 127,000 square-kilometer units, representing the 40% of its waters that form a no-take marine protected area.

In an interview with The Associated Press before the launch, Tagelagi said his people have always had a close connection with the sea.

害羞草研究所淣iue is just one island in the middle of the big blue ocean,害羞草研究所� Tagelagi said. 害羞草研究所淲e are surrounded by the ocean, and we live off the ocean. That害羞草研究所檚 our livelihood.害羞草研究所�

He said Niueans inherited and learned about the ocean from their forefathers and they want to be able to pass it on to the next generation in sustainable health.

Most fishing in Niue is to sustain local people, although there are some small-scale commercial operations and occasional offshore industrial-scale fishing, according to the U.N.害羞草研究所檚 Food and Agriculture Organization.

害羞草研究所淏ecause of all the illegal fishing and all the other activities at the moment, we thought that we should be taking the lead, to teach others that we害羞草研究所檝e got to protect the ocean,害羞草研究所� Tagelagi said.

Unregulated fishing , which then cannot replenish, while . Human-caused climate change has also led to , altering ecosystems for underwater species.

Niue is also especially vulnerable to rising sea levels threatening its land and freshwater, and the island is at risk of more intense tropical storms .

With a population of just 1,700 people, Niue acknowledges it needs outside help. It害羞草研究所檚 one of the smallest countries in the world, dwarfed by an ocean territory 1,200 times larger than its land mass.

Under the plan, the sponsorship money 害羞草研究所� called Ocean Conservation Commitments 害羞草研究所� will be administered by a charitable trust.

Niue will buy 1,700 sponsorship units, representing one for each of its citizens. Other launch donors include philanthropist Lyna Lam and her husband Chris Larsen, who co-founded blockchain company Ripple, and U.S.-based nonprofit Conservation International, which helped set up some technical aspects of the scheme.

Ma毛l Imirizaldu, marine biologist and regional leader with Conservation International, said one problem with the conventional approach to ocean conservation funding was the need for places like Niue to constantly seek new funding on a project by project basis.

害羞草研究所淭he main idea was to try and switch that, to change the priority and actually help them have funding so they can plan for the next 10 years, 15 years, 20 years,害羞草研究所� Imirizaldu said.

Simon Thrush, a professor of marine science at New Zealand害羞草研究所檚 University of Auckland who was not involved in the plan, said it sounded positive.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 a good idea,害羞草研究所� Thrush said, adding that as long as the plan was thoroughly vetted and guaranteed over the long term, 害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檇 be up for it.害羞草研究所�

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