250 Baháʼís from across the Pacific. President Kessai Note, and his wife, Mary Note, also paid an official visit to the Baháʼí World Centre on 1 December 2005. Focus to the society By 1992 the Baháʼís operate state schools under contract with the government. In 2003 a Baháʼí with the main goal of helping the rural population established a project which he sees as an extension of his commitment to the promotion of social and economic development — a commitment that stems from his practice of the Baháʼí Faith. In 2007 The Commission on Sustainable Development held sessions in relation to CSD-15. One attracted 90 people to hear six panelists. The event was chaired by Tahirih Naylow and sponsored by the Baháʼí International Community with the UN Permanent Missions of Tuvalu and of the Marshall Islands and a number of other UN and academic organizations. Enele Sopoaga, former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Tuvalu to the UN, opened the session, noting that reports suggest that for islands such as his as well as other atoll states: Maldives, Marshall Islands, and Kiribati, scenarios for the future include “total extinction.” In 2009 and 2010 people attended follow-up meetings on the theme at sessions of a conference sponsored in part by the International Environment Forum, a Baháʼí inspired organization. The session was given by two Baháʼís: Carol Curtis and Tahirih Naylor, of the Baháʼí International Community. Naylor considered the macro level, looking at the importance of including ethics in the discussion of climate change and the Baháʼí contribution to the climate change discourse, Curtis focused on the micro level, specifically the threat that climate change poses to the Marshall Islands. Curtis has lived on the Lea Atoll for more than 40 years. She describes in some detail the environment and lifestyle on the islands, the population and the land area. Demographics Estimates of the number of Baháʼís in the Marshal Islands vary considerably. From 1983 to 1987 the percentage of Baháʼís reported for the Marshall Islands, went from 2% to 11.5% according to Baháʼí sources. Similar growth rates are reported in some other Pacific nations. But as early as 2001 the US State Dept estimated the Baháʼís at 0.6 percent or about 400. However almost at the same time the 2000 World Christian Encyclopedia estimation of a Baháʼí population was just over 1,000, or 1.50%. See also History of the Marshall Islands Religion