“I am now confident that the islands will be protected into the future as a conservation jewel ensuring marine life will be protected for the benefit of the local communities as well as jobs,” he said. Like something out of a dream, each of the 21 Conflict islands – that surround a deepwater lagoon – is ringed by powder-white sand and capped with jungle teeming with butterflies, tropical orchids and PNG’s fabled bird of paradise. Yet their greatest bounty is found not above but below the brightly coloured fish, manta rays and schools of harmless black- tip reef sharks pulse around coral gardens more spectacular than bursting supernovas. “I remember the first time I came here and thinking this is the most beautiful place I have ever seen,” Gowrie- Smith says, reflecting back to 2004 when he went to inspect his new purchase. “It was an impulse buy because, like a lot of people, I always had a hankering to own tropical islands.” But the last couple of years have been tough, with next to nobody visiting due to COVID so the islands became a big money hole. Carnival Cruise Lines has now rebooted its contract, with the first cruise ship returning to the atoll on October 4 last year, but the lull in income coupled with gin-clear waterline where highways of
The islands are an important turtle nesting ground – for the endangered green sea turtle (pictured) and critically endangered hawksbill
“The reefs are home to 418 scleractinian (hard) coral species – more than half of all known coral species on Earth”
two decades by current owner and Australian
multimillionaire Ian Gowrie-Smith, and
communities. With their strategic position outside of the South Pacific’s cyclone zone, proven marine biodiversity, landed infrastructure, watercraft and income from cruise ship visits, Gowrie-Smith believes the islands are actually worth double what he’s asking. But preserving their conservation integrity is non- negotiable. When asked if he’d had any interest since the sale was first floated in the media in October there had been “good discussions” both with the PNG Government and international ocean conservation philanthropists. “Efforts are focused last year, Gowrie- Smith confirmed on using the islands as the core of a large Marine Protected Area.
draw up a plan of benefits for nearby
A spectacular giant sea fan coral in the pristine reef off Irai Island in the Conflicts
Milne Bay
VOLUME 34 2023
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