Pacific Islands progress towards marine conservation

2024-03-10 16:26:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The UN high-level climate meeting concluded in December in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. VOA correspondent Jessica Stone reports that since then, the Pacific Islands have been working to implement the new $500 million climate change protection fund.

Scientists say that some of the most endangered beaches on the planet are found in the Niue Islands, in the Pacific Ocean. So are the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, the Maldives and Palau.

Today, they are on the front lines of the battle against climate change.

"As ocean states, we say that protecting the oceans is an important component as they serve to absorb carbon. Every breath we take comes from the sea," says Surangel Whipps Jr., president of Palau.

He adds that marine conservation has long been a way of life for those living in the Pacific Islands.

Palau's Environment Minister Steven Victor cites examples from the 1990s.

"Fishermen and tribal leaders got together and designated areas where fishing had to be cut off, to give them a chance to recover," says Mr. Victor.

During the UN high-level climate meeting, COP 28, Pacific Island countries announced the Blue Pacific Wealth Initiative and raised $228 million, for a total fund of $500 million to conserve 30% of the ocean .

National Geographic's "Clean Seas" program is already helping Palau create a marine protected area and is ready to help other Pacific countries as well, says program creator Enric Sala.

"We will be there for a long time, to make sure that the protected areas are set up properly, are located where they should be and that they give the greatest results for the benefit of the local people and the planet", says Mr. Sala.

Minister Victor says he hopes the "Clean Seas" program will highlight the resources in Palau's deep seas, about which the knowledge of the indigenous population is not so extensive.

"It helps us understand why fish, particularly those across the continental shelf, use a certain area in the ocean to congregate," he says.

Mr Sala says that circumnavigating vital fishing grounds is a proven way to revive them within 5-10 years and that the longer-term objective is to slow global warming.

"Plankton in the ocean are microscopic algae and bacteria that live offshore. They absorb a quarter of the carbon dioxide pollution we produce every year," he says.

And Palau's president says it's a goal that represents an investment, not just for the region, but for the world.