FIJIANS A HIT AT UN CEREMONY
Every single person in the world can make a difference. And remember: you don’t have to live in a coastal area to be contributing to the problem of litter and pollution
These Republic of Fiji Military Forces band members were an instant hit at the United Nations yesterday when they performed the traditional iTaukei welcome ceremony. Twenty-eight men and women wowed the audience at the opening ceremony of the UN World Ocean Conference in New York. It was the first time the traditional welcome was performed there. Dressed in their traditional attire, they won the hearts of those present with a passionate performance that included a yaqona ceremony. At the entrance to the UN building, a Fijian UN security officer, proved hugely popular with her bula greeting.
Climate change poses the biggest threat the world has ever known. And the quality of our oceans and seas is also deteriorating at an alarming rate.
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama yesterday opened the United Nations Ocean Conference with these sombre words, reminding the delegates present, that time is running out and if the world we know is to survive, we need to act now. Mr Bainimarama co-presided over the global Ocean Conference with the Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden Isabella Lövin. Mr Bainimarama did not sugar coat his words. He did not cover up the alarming fate that awaits us if factors affecting climate change are allowed to run havoc without any control.
He was tasked with a serious business of bringing some of the best climate and ocean scientists, civil society groups, private sector and Government together to come up with a plan to save the planet, and he knows time for talk is long gone.
And, he had a word of caution for climate change naysayers: “Climate change and the state of our oceans cannot be separated. They are interlinked. Because rising sea levels, as well as ocean acidity and warmer waters have a direct effect on our reefs and fish stocks and the prosperity of our coastal communities.”
His special appeal went out to the leaders of tomorrow, the younger generation who need to step up and assert themselves on issues of climate change and degrading ocean.
“I particularly want to appeal to young people across the world to do what you can to highlight this crisis and become an agent for change - whether it is collecting plastic bottles from a beach or binding together to clean up our coastal areas.
“Every single person in the world can make a difference. And remember: you don’t have to live in a coastal area to be contributing to the problem of litter and pollution.”
Humankind, he said, is slowly killing off one of our most precious resources - the rich bounty of our seas and oceans that generations across the millennia have relied upon for sustenance, and to earn a living. He appealed to people to spare a thought about their action. “So much of what we dispose of carelessly, finally end up in our seas through storm water drains, creeks and rivers. Our waterways are choking. Our seas and oceans have become vast rubbish dumps. And the creatures who live in them are suffering acutely - turtles, dolphins and sharks caught in netting, whales with stomachs full of plastic bags and other rubbish.
“This degradation must stop.
“We must act in concert as a global community to roll back the tide of neglect and preserve our marine resources, not only for ourselves but for the generations to come. “And that effort starts now. Here in New York this week, let us send a clear message to the whole world.
“That time is running out to save our seas and oceans. Just as it is running out to decisively tackle the fundamental causes of climate change.”
So much of what we dispose of carelessly, finally end up in our seas through storm water drains, creeks and rivers. Our waterways are choking. Our seas and oceans have become vast rubbish dumps. And the creatures who live in them are suffering acutely - turtles, dolphins and sharks caught in netting, whales with stomachs full of plastic bags and other rubbish. Voreqe Bainimarama Prime Minister