The small archipelago county of Palau, located east of the Philippines, is poised to approve plans for the sixth-largest marine sanctuary in the world.
If the president signs the proposal into law on Monday, the 500,000-square-metre area could not be used for fishing or activities such as oil drilling, according to the Guardian.
The passage of the law would be that 80% of the nation’s ocean territory would become a reserve. The rest would be reserved for domestic fishing, reports the Seattle Times.
Other nations, such as Chile, New Zealand and the UK, have recently announced new marine parks.