Marshall Islands Conservation Society: Reviving Reimaanlok Ocean Stewardship

Incorporated in 2004, MICS drives Reimaanlok, the Marshall Islands' national framework for community-based conservation area planning, working atoll by atoll to combine customary resource-management knowledge with scientific surveys. Through this process, 16 coastal communities across the Marshall Islands were managing their own fisheries areas by late 2021, with more than 20 additional coastal fish resource sites assessed and awaiting implementation. MICS also supports the country's Micronesia Challenge commitment and contributed to the groundwork behind the Marshall Islands' first marine sanctuary, designated around the remote Bikar and Bokak atolls in January 2025 to protect roughly 18,500 square miles of pristine reef.