Intermediate 
To a traditional navigator like Tua Pittman from Raratonga in the Cook Islands, a canoe is much more than just a means of transport. The canoe is our island, the crew members are the community and the navigator is the leader, Pittman says. He continues, On a canoe, you are not just going from one destination to another using the stars, the moon, the sun and the birds. Navigation is using the philosophies of being a leader to show your crew members the light of life.
It has been a busy week for the crews of four sailing canoes since arriving in Sydney for the start of the World Parks Congress. Tuas journey began at the Cook Islands on 25 September. The islanders sailed to Samoa, then Fiji, Vanuatu and onto the Gold Coast, before sailing south to Sydney. Around 100 crew members were involved in the voyage and they aimed to travel using only traditional navigation techniques. Unfortunately, said Tua, the crews had to rely on modern navigation equipment at times to reach Australia in time for the Congress.
The of cial title of the expedition is the Mua Voyage. It is a partnership between the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Oceania Regional Of ce and  ve Paci c Island countries: Samoa, Tonga, New Zealand, the Cook Islands and Fiji. The main goal of the 6,000-nautical-mile (11,000km) trip was to deliver a special message to the World Parks Congress.
The message said: We see the signs of overexploitation. We no longer see the  sh and other marine creatures in the size, diversity or abundance of the past. We witness the change as foreign  shing  eets take our resources. Our coral reefs, the greatest in the world and our spawning grounds are disappearing. Our ocean is vast but not limitless. Growing global populations and unsustainable development are reducing the ability of our ocean to sustain life.
The Paci c Islanders have put a lot of effort into their urgent message to the delegates of the Congress. But, despite this, the Congress has spent much of its time trying to set a revised target for the amount of the ocean that needs to be protected in marine sanctuaries. According to the IUCN, in 2013, the amount of the worlds oceans in marine protected areas was not even three per cent and less than one per cent of that is no take (no  shing). This was despite a target of 20-30% no-take areas set by the last World Parks Congress in 2003.
Marine scientist Professor Callum Roberts was one of the scientists who helped set the 20-30% target in 2003. But he said it was not enough. The IUCN should now lift its target from 30 to 33%. New research shows that we need to raise the 30% target. Any reduction in efforts at this stage and moment in history would be disastrous for our oceans.
After dif cult negotiations, the World Parks Congress delegates passed a motion that will dramatically change the goals for global marine management. Instead of the 20-30% target, the IUCN now says that each marine habitat should include strictly protected areas of at least 30%. These areas should address both biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Tua Pittman was delighted with the news that a strong resolution on the planets oceans had passed the Congress. Its a huge reward for all the effort that we made to be here and to be heard. To hear they made that resolution is fantastic. Its a step in the right direction.
He said he was 55 and, in his lifetime, he was already beginning to see that it was much harder to catch  sh on the open ocean. He also said that pollution was getting worse, particularly as the canoes approached big cities such as Sydney. And climate change is already beginning to have a serious effect on Paci c Islanders. The decisions of the big countries impact on the small countries twice, three times, four times more than they impact on developed, large nations.
The Mua Voyage had been a massive logistical undertaking, said Tua. Years of preparation and navigational planning went into such a trip and it was critical to the voyagers that the world listened to their message and acted. He said that the leaders of wealthy countries need to start to think more like traditional navigators who recognize that their boats are just specks in an enormous sea. Most importantly, and spoken like a true navigator, Tua says politicians must seek a different route. The world needs to  nd a different path.