Message from the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
OUR Ocean is an inherent part of who we are as a Pacific people, and in June our Pacific voices will amplify our tribute and respect of this valuable resource that plays such a significant role in our lives.
Faced with the daunting task of sustainably managing our interactions with the ocean and its resources, the need for integrated ocean management is vital. Our Pacific leaders recognised this when they endorsed the regional Framework for a Pacific Oceanscape in 2010. The global community will now confront the task of integrated action on oceans in New York at the United Nations Ocean Conference on SDG14 – Life Under Water in June 2017.
The ocean carried our ancestors as they journeyed across the Pacific Ocean to settle distant islands where our cultures and communities were formed. The ocean is the foundation of our cultural traditions and beliefs and helps sustain our Pacific livelihoods, bringing our communities economic revenue and sustenance. Ocean currents are the lifeblood of the planet, mediating our climate, connecting countries and economies, and land and sea ecosystems.
We hope our ocean will be the link that binds all nations together in effectively tackling the planet’s multiple challenges on climate change and the decline of critical ecosystems and natural resources.
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