01 Nov
2006 - Nadi, Fiji - Pacific Island leaders have
renewed their commitment to invest in island conservation
at this year’s 37th Pacific Island Forum.
The leaders' commitment was
made at the Global Island Partnership’s event:
Beyond the Micronesia Challenge, Sustainable Livelihoods
for Pacific Communities. The event was hosted
by H.E Joseph Urusemal, President of the Federated
Sates of Micronesia (FSM); H.E Kessai H. Note,
President of the Republic of the Marshall Islands
(RMI) and H.E Tommy E. Remengesau Jr, President
of the Republic of Palau.
Fiji opened the event describing
their progress since the Government’s bold commitment
at the Mauritius International Meeting in January
2005 to conserve marine resources in 30% of Fiji’s
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) waters through the
implementation of a network of Marine Protected
Areas (MPA’s) by 2020.
Fiji fully supported the Pacific
Island Leaders’ call to put conservation on the
Forum agenda and identified it as crucial to ensuring
the long term security of local, national and
regional economies, culture and livelihoods. Along
with Fiji, Palau, FSM, RMI, the US flag territories
of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands (CNMI) and Kiribati are setting the pace
for long-term conservation efforts in the region
and have made major commitments to protected areas.
The Presidents of three Micronesian
countries – FSM, RMI and Palau – all highlighted
the importance of expanding regional and international
financing support for conservation programmes.
“All Forum island countries
should be afforded the opportunity to clearly
establish the value of conservation to development,
the ongoing costs to ensure that the intrinsic
cultural and biological value is maintained and
to be able to finance their conservation measures
effectively,” said Palau President H.E Tommy E.
Remengesau Jr. He called on the Forum to prioritise
international financing for sustainable development,
natural resource management and climate change
in implementing the Pacific Plan.
H.E Joseph J. Urusemal, President
of FSM, highlighted key areas for sustainable
development including fisheries, agriculture and
eco-tourism and emphasised that conservation and
development are not opposing forces but rather
complementary to each other.
It is a “time for islands” said
President Anote Tong of the Republic of Kiribati
and urged fellow leaders to work together and
scale up national and regional conservation efforts
to ensure sustainable livelihoods for Pacific
island people. He emphasised the importance of
making links and developing partnerships in the
north with the Micronesia Challenge, in the south
in Melanesia and Polynesia and across the region
as a whole.
The leading examples of Kiribati
and the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, the Government
of Fiji and the implementation of a network of
MPA’s by 2020 and Palau, FSM, RMI, Guam and CNMI
announcing their collective commitment to the
Micronesia Challenge, are all actions to “scale
up efforts at national and regional levels to
take care of the natural resource base that supports
all our livelihoods,” he added.
Major donors pledged financial
support for Pacific Island conservation activities.
The European Union stressed the importance of
stronger regional cooperation in capacity building
and is increasing its regional cooperation funding
for sustainable management of natural resources,
vulnerability and governance from Euro29 million
(F$64 million) to Euro77 million (F$170 million).
The United Kingdom introduced a new programme
being developed to support climate change work
in the Pacific. The United States of America announced
a total of US$460,000 made up of US$250,000 for
the Micronesia Conservation Trust to assist FSM
with early actions on the Micronesian Challenge;
US$160,000 to RMI for waste management and US$50,000
for regional invasive species work.
Pacific Island nations are inspiring
islands and countries with islands around the
world to work together to effectively manage the
marine and terrestrial resources that are the
foundation for island development and prosperity
and are the natural resource base on which the
island way of life relies.
Gerald Miles
Regional Director External Affairs Asia Pacific
The Nature Conservancy (TNC)
Notes to Editor:
1. At the Mauritius International Meeting in January
2005, the Government of Fiji announced a bold
commitment to conserve its marine resources in
30% of Fiji’s EEZ waters through the implementation
of a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPA’s)
by 2020. This year at the Eighth Conference of
the Parties (COP8) of the Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD), the Republic of Palau, the Federated
States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall
Islands, and the United States Territory of Guam
and Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas announced
their collective commitment to the Micronesia
Challenge: to effectively conserve at least 30%
of their marine and 20% of their forest environments
by 2020. The Government of Kiribati also declared
the Phoenix Islands a Marine Protected Area -
now the third largest in the world.
2. Since its formation in 2005,
the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA) has engaged
and supported more than 20 countries and 20 international,
national and local organizations in high-level
commitments and action for island conservation
and sustainable use, including enabling more than
US$25 million is support. The Partnership is unique
in the way it brings together political leadership,
technical expertise, government, NGO’s and donor
support to action island priorities as identified
by leaders of small and large, developing and
developed island nations, island territories and
nations with islands.
