A new natural reserve

Kiribati creates world's largest marine reserve

The Pacific island nation of Kiribati has created the world's largest protected marine reserve, a California-sized wilderness brimming with reefs, fish and birds, conservation groups said on Thursday.

The Phoenix Islands Protected Area, covering 410,500 square kilometres (158,500 sq m), is one of the planet's last intact coral archipelagos and is threatened by over-fishing and climate change, the groups say.

It lies near the equator about half way between Fiji and Hawaii. >>>