French Polynesia is putting more of its ocean under protection, pushing closer to a major global biodiversity target.

According to Mongabay, the territory plans to have marine protected areas cover 30 percent of its territorial waters. That would move it closer to the “30 by 30” goal, which aims to protect 30 percent of land and sea.

Mongabay reported that French Polynesia’s waters include important Pacific ecosystems, along with species such as sharks and turtles that could benefit from a wider network of no-catch and managed zones.

The outlet said healthy oceans also support coastal communities through food, tourism and natural storm protection.

Mongabay described the move as the culmination of decades of work. Local leaders and residents worked together on an arrangement that would allow artisanal fishing while protecting waters from industrial fishing, according to the publication.

Marine protected areas can help ecosystems recover by reducing overfishing, habitat destruction and other pressures on stressed ocean environments. When they are designed and enforced effectively, they can support biodiversity and strengthen the resilience of fisheries and local economies.

Mongabay said healthier reefs can buffer coastlines from extreme weather, while stronger marine ecosystems can help preserve food supplies and livelihoods in island and coastal regions. The publication also said action like this is needed to slow species loss and meet biodiversity targets.

“This is our mission as Oceanians,” Moetai Brotherson, the President of French Polynesia, told AFP, via Yahoo. “We also hope that it can inspire other countries, especially the larger ones, in the way they manage their relationship with the ocean.”

On a Reddit thread, one commenter wrote: “We might actually save the oceans,”

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