Mar.13 (WWF): Senior ministers from Timor Leste, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea have described climate change as the biggest threat to their region and have called for better management of fisheries and marine resources to help protect coastal communities.
At a meeting of the six-nation Coral Triangle Initiative in the PNG capital Port Moresby this week, ministers from East Timor, Solomon Islands and PNG said climate change was an alarming threat to Pacific island nations dependent on marine resources, and needed to be urgently addressed through mutual political cooperation.
“Climate change, food security, marine and coastal resources are closely linked and policies must reflect this reality and must be mutually accommodating,” said Timor Leste Economic and Development Minister HE Joao Mendes Goncalves.
“The sustainable management of our fisheries is important for our ability to survive climate change and as a pre-requisite for the implementation of the Coral Triangle Initiative’s plan to protect marine environments and livelihoods at both national and regional levels.”
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Timor Leste collectively make up the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI), introduced by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the APEC leader’s meeting in September 2007.
This week’s meeting was the final ministerial forum before Coral Triangle leaders gather in Manado, Indonesia on May 15 to announce details of a plan to protect marine ecosystems and food security in the region.
Solomons Islands Environment Minister for Conservation and Meteorology Hon Darcy Lilo said the Coral Triangle Initiative was an important corner stone of his country’s decision to develop, manage and conserve coastal reefs and fisheries resources.
“It is critical that we conserve and manage our marine resources widely so that these can contribute effectively to improving the livelihoods of our people,” Mr Lilo said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister for Papua New Guinea, Hon Puka Temu said PNG needed to develop new government systems and processes that would support effective solutions to issues such as climate change and increasing land based population.
“It is critical that we manage this initiative carefully and move forward with a sense of urgency,” Mr Temu said.
“If we are to take advantage of the enormous opportunity that our healthy marine environment provides we need to manage it carefully in the face of many development pressures, including climate change.”
He said strengthened aid mechanisms and partnerships with key stakeholders were essential to achieving the aims of the Coral Triangle Initiative.
The World Ocean Conference and the Coral Triangle Initiative Summit will be held from May 11 to 15 in Manado, Indonesia, and are expected to result in the Manado Ocean Declaration, a definitive statement on oceans and climate change.
The Coral Triangle is recognised as an area of global environmental significance, with the greatest marine biological diversity on the planet. Seventy five per cent of the world’s known coral species, one third of the world’s coral reef area, and more than 3,000 species of fish can be found in the region.
“Marine resources in the Coral Triangle directly sustain more than a 120 million people and so with climate change threatening to alter habitats in the region, it is even more critical to manage marine ecosystems for ongoing food security of coastal communities as well as for the survival of many species,” said Dr Pet Soede.
