The Natural Park of the Coral Sea, founded in 2014, is a marine park located in New Caledonia, a special collectivity of France. As of 2017 it is the fourth largest protected area in the world, encompassing 1,292,967 square kilometres. It includes the UNESCO World Heritage Site The Lagoons of New Caledonia: Reef Diversity and Associated Ecosystems. The possibility granted to the government of New Caledonia to allow cruise ships to circulate there in the future has generated controversy.