US president George W. Bush designated 140,000 square miles (360,000 km2) around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, now one of the world's largest protected areas.

George W. Bush

President of the United States from 2001 to 2009

George Walker Bush is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party, he is the eldest son of the 41st president, George H. W. Bush, and he was the 46th governor of…

Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

Small islands and atolls in Hawaii

The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, also known as the Leeward Hawaiian Islands, are a series of islands and atolls located northwest of Kauai and Niʻihau in the Hawaiian island chain. Politically, these islands are part of Honolulu County in the U.S. state of Hawaii, with the…

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

Protected region of ocean and islands

The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is a World Heritage listed U.S. national monument encompassing 583,000 square miles (1,510,000 km2) of ocean waters, including ten islands and atolls of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It was created in June 2006 with 140,000…

List of largest protected areas

The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is compiled and managed by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, an executive agency of the United Nations Environment Programme. It uses the IUCN and CBD definitions of protected areas to determine whether a site should be…