PACIFIC SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES United Nations Member States

Transcription

1 PACIFIC SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES United Nations Member States Permanent Mission of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea to the United Nations 201 East 42nd Street, Suite 2411, New York, N.Y STATEMENT Phone: Fax: "#$%&'()*+,-./%0+1%234 FOR THE EIGHT SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS OPEN WORKING GROUP ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS DELIVERED BY H.E. TOMMY REMENGESAU JR. PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF PALAU ON BEHALF OF THE PACIFIC SDG WORKING GROUP TROIKA AND THE PACIFIC SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES REPRESENTED AT THE UNITED NATIONS AND TIMOR-LESTE 3 FEBRUARY 2014, NEW YORK Vanuatu

2 Co-chairs, I have the honor to speak on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) represented at the United Nations; namely, Fiji, Kiribati, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and my own country, Palau, as well as Timor-Leste. While our moniker emphasizes the smallness of our islands and populations, we are in fact, large oceans states. Our borders span vast expanses of water, the size of which is difficult to comprehend outside of our region. Within them, we are custodians of some of the world s richest biodiversity and marine resources. This natural endowment is our heritage; its vitality is integral to our environment, economy, and culture: our lives as islanders are tied to the oceans. It should therefore come as no surprise that we are advocating for a Sustainable Development Goal on oceans and seas. Ensuring healthy oceans and seas is not solely an island issue, however. Sustainable oceans and seas are universally essential to sustaining life and livelihoods on Earth. Oceans and seas are the common fabric uniting states and continents. They cover two-thirds of the planet s surface and hold 97 percent of its water. Oceans and seas absorb heat and carbon dioxide, generate fully half of the oxygen humans breathe, shape the world s weather patterns, and are a potential source of renewable energy. Fish are an essential source of food globally. They are the world s single largest source of protein. They are relied upon as a primary source of food by nearly a billion people, most of whom live in developing countries. Oceans and seas are also a key tool to eradicate poverty. Fisheries and related industries employ anywhere from 660 to 820 million people. That represents fully 10 to 12 percent of the world s population. A majority of workers in secondary industries, such as fish processing, marketing and canneries, are women. Ocean and coastal tourism is also a large, fast-growing industry. Undertaken sustainably, marine eco-tourism presents a tremendous opportunity to create good jobs and preserve the environment for countries around the world. Co-Chairs, International efforts to sustain healthy oceans and seas are failing. Once thought to be limitless, more than 80 percent of global fish stocks are now fully or over-exploited. Pollution is saturating our waters. Ocean acidification and coral bleaching are decimating reefs and coastal habitats that once teemed with life. Climate change is causing the seas to rise at unprecedented rates, increasing the intensity of storms and threatening to wipe entire states off the map. Vanuatu 2

3 These pressures are interrelated and simultaneously impact our environment, economy, culture, and heritage. Addressing them requires a global framework like the SDGs that spans all dimensions of sustainable development. Putting oceans and seas at the center of the UN s development agenda will give them focus that is commensurate to their importance. Through the SDG process, we can deliver on the commitments World Leaders made at Rio+20 in The Future We Want. And we can do it in a way that aligns stakeholders around a common framework for action with metrics to measure success. Here is how: a stand alone SDG to achieve Healthy, Productive, and Resilient Oceans and Seas. An oceans and seas SDG should aim to meet three main targets. 1) First, we need a healthy and well-managed marine environment. This requires the development of marine protected areas and other types of ecosystem-based conservation measures, reducing pollution, and addressing the causes and impacts of coral bleaching and ocean acidification. Our focus should be on securing the health of areas particularly important for biodiversity and ecosystem services. 2) Second, we must restore healthy fish stocks. Fish stocks are a driver of economic growth and a bedrock of food security. They must be restored to sustainable levels. This will require ending destructive fishing practices, eliminating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, building strong monitoring, control, surveillance, compliance, and enforcement systems, and undertaking environmental impact assessments. Meeting this target also requires measures to tackle over-fishing. Subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and IUU fishing must stop. Science based management plans should be implemented so that fishing effort will be reduced or suspended in line with the status of the stock. 3) Finally, Least Developing Countries, African Countries, and Small Island Developing States should be assisted so that they can realize the benefits of their sustainably developed marine resources. Too often we speak of our countries vulnerabilities. But we are not merely vulnerable. Sustainable use of the oceans and seas can unlock our countries tremendous development potential. Vanuatu 3

4 The Millennium Development Goals proved that we can make historic gains by marshaling resources around a common cause and bringing stakeholders governments, NGOs, the private sector, and local communities together. The same is true for the SDGs and oceans. Investments in sustainable ecotourism, local fisheries, marine management, and data collection can make a generational, transformative impact. We require only the right tools and the right partnerships to protect our environment, grow our economies, and enrich our people s lives. Co-Chairs, Life itself is said to have emerged from the oceans. They are our origin. They are also our future. A truly sustainable development agenda must include healthy oceans and seas. The entire planet and its people depend on them. They are essential to food, jobs, health, culture, and the environment globally. Recognizing their importance and their interconnectivity, the PSIDS propose that the oceans and seas be dealt with as a whole through a stand alone SDG. That is the best way to deliver on the promise that oceans and seas hold for the world and to ensure that they remain healthy, productive, and resilient for generations to come. Vanuatu 4

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