Let’s Work Together to Create Balance with the Ocean
Members of the Diplomatic Corp, Heads of International, Regional and Civil Society Organizations, Pacific Ocean Commissioner and Secretary General of Pacific Island Forum Secretariat, ladies and Gentlemen and our dear children, Bula vinaka and good morning to you all.
It is an honor to speak alongside those that are passionate about the work we all do for our Ocean. It is even more memorable to speak to individuals, both young and old who are current and future stewards of the Ocean.
I have always advocated that we all have a part to play, in our fight to protect our Ocean and its resources. To be addressing this year’s World Oceans and to see that we have all come out in numbers is a testament of our collective will and effort towards this important cause.
We all understand the enormous scale of the challenges before us and why we need to turn our hopes for the ocean into a genuine ambition, and use this as fuel for our concerted efforts in our Blue Pacific.
Fiji’s intimate relationship with the Ocean is understood by all. Our Large Ocean, Pacific Island Nations know in all ways that matter most, our beaches, reefs, and forests are not just hallmarks of our way of life but, they are part of our culture, they provide our livelihoods and protections for what nature throws at our people.
“The Ocean is us. We are the Ocean”. Mr. Henry Puna, Pacific Ocean Commissioner and Secretary General of the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat sums it all up.
The health and wellbeing of our Ocean and the state of our climate are an interconnected system. It is our fate that depends on our actions done here within our shores and in the Pacific, our future will be assured because we will take whatever actions we must take.
Innovate in every way we can, and make any sacrifice that protects and preserve our Ocean.
We are not the only ones that hold the future of the Oceans in our hands. The entire world must also do its part and that is the greater challenge that calls for greater commitment and awareness from all of us.
As stewards of the Ocean, our task is to lead. To be a beacon of Blue Leadership that inspires the world to turn away from the model of development that harms our Ocean and threatens to strip them of our life given resources.
The balance between environment and development may be considered novel in most advanced countries. But it is not a new idea to us.
This has been our approach in the blue pacific since the very beginning. As large Ocean states, the climate, the tides, cyclones, the health of our fish stocks and forest, our rainfall, all define our everyday life.
As a whole class tourism destination, emerging from the pandemic, Fiji is using our reopening to the world as a reset for a highly sustainable and resilient tourism sector.
In the protection of our Ocean, we never doubted that our tourism brand will keep its value and our tourism sector will bounce back.
With Fiji’s number of arrivals now rising and our dependence on our Ocean increases, the challenge now is to protect our Ocean and its resources against future adversities to make it truly sustainable.
As we work towards protecting our Ocean, we should collectively raise awareness and share the same messaging around the wider protection of our natural ecosystems.
If we are able to share these with those that visit our shores, we will be able to educate them and allow them to leave with the new marvels of nature and wider benefits of protecting our Ocean.
The onus is on us to take action.
To ensure that our Ocean is protected.
Not only for tourism, not only for the economic benefits it provides, but for their intrinsic value as a critical component of our global ecosystem.
Our Honourable Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama, has set his stand on the Global Arena, focusing the world’s attention on the plight of Small Island States in dealing with sustainable development and climate change.
We must collectively work towards gaining global attention to our Oceans work. We need to make larger nations realize how important Ocean is to our livelihood and survival.
But while we wait for the world to catch up. We are taking action at home.
We cannot ask others to do what we are not willing to do ourselves.
Fiji is now committed to a long term national framework that makes sustainability a guiding principle for virtually all government economic activities.
It is a national approach, to a blue and greener future.
We are streamlining Fisheries legislation and other guiding legislation, promoting capacity for government agencies, whilst developing a wider framework that is inclusive of the private sector in the management and enforcement of marine protected areas.
We would really want to achieve a nation that centers its development towards the sustainable management and protection of our Ocean and its interconnected resources.
This may mean developing models that center around protected mangrove forest and marine protected areas for visitors to tour and learn from, while visiting our shores.
In protecting our Oceans, we urge on the need to focus on organic farms that are healthy, prevent harmful surface runoff and support carbon neutral.
There is also a need for a wider use of renewable energy that cleans the ecosystem and the interlocking elements that surround it.
Fiji is committed to improve digital connectivity and transportation. Additionally our Tourism Sector is committed and has aligned itself to the conservation and protection of our marine ecosystem.
We are employing innovative technology and approach that allows us to make use of our resources in a more efficient manner while moving toward net zero by 2030.
As the theme of this year’s World Ocean Day is “Revitalisation: Collective Action for the Ocean”, I would like to reiterate the need for wider commitment and collaboration.
Protecting the Ocean is not just a community or a group approach, it needs the support of everyone because it affects everyone.
In conclusion, we all need to work together to create a new balance with the ocean that no longer depletes its beauty but instead restores its vibrancy and brings new life.
Let us work together to bring about the needed changes for our Ocean. Our shared commitment towards collaboration will certainly inspire and ignite collaboration that will certainly benefit us and our future generations. Vinaka.