World Ocean Day
Statement for Acting Secretary General (incoming Pacific Ocean Commissioner), Dr Filimon Manoni
Albert Park
Thursday 8 June, 2023
His Excellency Ratu Wiliame Katonivere, President of the Republic of Fiji
Honorable Ministers
Members of the Diplomatic Corp
Distinguished guests
Members of the Pacific Ocean Alliance, your partners, friends–
And most important of all, to all our dear children of the ocean
Iakwe, Nisa Bula vinaka and welcome to today’s celebration.
Allow me to begin by thanking His Excellency Ratu Wiliame for taking time out today to commemorate World Ocean Day with us. Thank you very much Excellency, it is indeed honor to join with you today not only in your role as President Head and Of State of the Republic of Fiji but also in your role as the paramount chief of the Macuata (MAH-THU-ATA) Province. We thank you for your commitment and sacrifice towards ocean work over the years.
Today, we are here as part of a global wave of celebrations to re-affirm steadfast commitment to the health and resilience of our Oceans under the theme: ‘Planet Ocean: The Tides Are Changing’. This is indeed an annual celebration every Jun 8, and so it rightfully should be.
Because for us here in the Pacific, the ocean is a life-giver. If it were up to us in the region this celebration would probably be a daily event. That is how much the ocean matters to us. We are inextricably linked to the oceans. For many of us, we only have the ocean and each other. It is indeed the exclusive source of life and vitality, it is the basis of our existence, our livelihoods, our cultures, our identity, aspirations, and of course, our future.
It is no doubt the single greatest natural endowment to us – our Gift from God. It is home to an incredibly rich biodiversity. It should be our generation’s investment to guarantee that inter-generational equity and the legacy that we want to hand over to our children and their children, It is our binding obligation as todays generation to leave the ocean in a better state then when we came upon it for the enjoyment of future generations.
Mastering effective stewardship of our oceans, in the face of a multitude of challenges is our responsibility today. We need to take responsibility. We need to step up to the plate as it were. We need to understand better the climate and oceans nexus. Furthermore, it would be dereliction of responsibility on our part to ignore the pressing challenges of marine illegal unreported and unregulated fishing, warming and acidification and the destruction of habitats ecosystems and marine biodiversity. These issues are no longer academic issues. To the contrary these are real issues that demand our undivided attention.
Our challenge is further exacerbated by Japan’s decision to discharge radioactive ALPS treated water into the Pacific Ocean. It is unconscionable that while we are still struggling to address the outstanding nuclear testing legacy issues and to get the parties responsible to own up to their legal obligations, and our appeals to their moral underpinnings, to clean up the mess, we are now looking most likely to another wave of challenges with nuclear waste. The potential adverse impacts of such a discharge on human health and the environment are still unknown.
But we are hopeful that the undertaking by the Prime Minister of Japan in February this year that there will not be any discharge until it is safe to do so, continues to hold true.
This is why Forum Leaders have envisioned for our region a long term and encompassing strategy. In July 2022 Leaders endorsed the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. The Strategy focusing on seven key thematic priority areas sets out the ambitions of our Leaders in the next thirty years, that by 2050 that the region can maintain a healthy ocean, abundant in resources and supporting a healthy planet for prosperity. The ‘Ocean’ as a priority is a cross-cutting theme underpinning the 2050 Strategy.
As the Forum Leaders are deciding on this process, we should expect later this year to see an implementation plan outlining some of the collective actions to achieve that vision for transformative change.
Ladies and gentlemen and especially to our children who are here today and who marched all the way from Suva Flea Market to here, thank you for your contribution to the cause. We are all moved today by your determination at your young age to join the chorus of calls for better accountability. It is your Oceans too, and in time this generation will hand over the baton, and it is all in our interest to ensure that when the time comes that we can be proud to say we leave you ‘mother ocean’ not in a state of decline, but one that is healthy, resilient, vibrant, and teeming with life. So, a big thank you and congratulations to all our school children who are here today- sacrificing a few hours of your learning time to be part of this celebration.
In recognizing the important role of our children and youth of the Blue Pacific, we are announcing a regional art competition for all the children of the region starting from age 4 to 18. This is a drawing and poster competition which will run from today until the last week of July. We look forward to receiving your drawings. Be as creative as you can be and make the most of your hidden talents. There is an abundance and an ocean of opportunities out there for you especially in this ocean space. From marine scientists to explorers, to ocean artists and communicators, you can be anything you want in this ocean space. That is why for 2023, the different actors in this ocean space under the Pacific Ocean Alliance banner came together and agreed that we elevate the commemoration of today.
To the members of the Pacific Ocean Alliance, thank you for working hard to organize the activities for this week and for all the work you do for the oceans every day.
To conclude my remarks, may I leave you all with these timeless words from the great Epeli Hauofa, our own Pacific Ocean philosopher and author who wrote: “No people on earth are more suited to be the guardians of the world’s largest ocean than those for whom it has been home for generations”
Kommol tata, vinaka vakalevu, I thank you.
