Previous Story
MINA is now Micronesian Islands Nature Alliance
The Mariana Islands Nature Alliance, or MINA, is now the Micronesian Islands Nature Alliance after merging with the Pacific Marine Resources Institute. The merger was officially announced by MINA board member Frankie Eliptico at the organization’s signature Green Gala fundraiser at Fiesta Resort and Spa Saipan on Friday.
PMRI’s Dr. Peter Houk and MINA’s Frankie Eliptico join hands flanked by MINA board members after announcing the merger of the two non-profit environmental organizations. (Thomas A. Manglona II)
“The merger with PMRI will only enhance all the projects that we currently have,” Eliptico told Saipan Tribune. “Our roots as an agency is on Saipan but we now have our regionwide reach and are excited to be growing every year.”
PMRI currently partners with the CNMI Division of Environmental and Coastal Quality and the Guam Marine Lab. By merging with MINA, PMRI will give MINA the opportunity to enhance its projects and bring their efforts to Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, American Samoa, and Guam.
“It is a regionwide agency but we are still anchored in the Marianas and focused on the Marianas,” Eliptico noted.
MINA and PMRI will not be experiencing any drastic revamp in administration or projects, according to PMRI co-founder Dr. Peter Houk.
Houk, an assistant professor at the University of Guam Marine Laboratory, is a technical member of PMRI and said that MINA continues to be “an amazing community organization and management organization.” He said the organization is always striving to build regional science technical publications, and now MINA will assist in translating the convoluted science information to the community for use.
“It is really a natural fit and it is something that we have been dreaming about for a long time. It is a big deal,” he said. “The board of directors for MINA is fantastic and this event, the Green Gala, proves just how amazing they are. I am really happy to be a part of them.”
Like MINA, PMRI is a non-profit environmental organization based on Saipan and works to assess, monitor, and manage the islands’ precious biological resources for sustainable use.
