Ocean action the rallying cry at Fiji Seascapes Symposium
“There is no climate action without ocean action” was the rallying cry from Fiji President, Ratu Wiliame Katonivere at the start of a three-day symposium on ocean conservation in Suva this week. “As we
Our Ocean Conference in Palau ends on high note
Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr has announced that 410 commitments were made at the ocean conference with the value of US$16.35
2022 UN Ocean Conference: Thomson on SDG14 Commitments
Despite environmental challenges, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean Peter Thomson believes there are viable solutions to reverse the decline in ocean health. The 2022 UN Ocean Conference which
Palau to host Our Ocean Conference next month
Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr said that Our Ocean Conference next month will be an opportunity for the Pacific region to highlight the role of Pacific Islanders as stewards of the oceans. In a virtual Our Ocean
High seas treaty talks fail to reach a deal
The clock ran out Friday at UN talks to forge a legally binding treaty to protect open oceans beyond national jurisdictions (BBNJ), with no schedule set for prolonging the discussions. This fourth round of negotiations
In our February issue
In this issue of Islands Business, lessons from Tonga where people continue to rebuild their lives after the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption and tsunami. Kevin McQuillan looks at movement to reopen the
France, the oceans and seabed mining
Pacific leaders have joined a major oceans summit hosted by the French government in the port city of Brest, addressing climate change, illegal fishing, ocean acidification and plastics pollution.
“CLIMATE CHANGE IS OCEAN CHANGE” AT COP26, GLOBAL LEADERS SHOULD CONSIDER THE PACIFIC WAY
Climate change is ocean change. This is a reality that has escaped much of the world’s attention, but is daily life in the Pacific Islands. Today’s ocean is warmer and more acidic, sea levels are rising, and extreme
Fiji calls for sea-bed mining moratorium as Nautilus restructures
By Nic Maclellan in Funafuti, Tuvalu Fiji Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has again called for a 10-year moratorium on sea-bed mining, at a time that many Pacific island nations are preparing for new frontiers of
Traditional knowledge needs to be at the heart of the Ocean Decade
Harnessing traditional knowledge of the oceans in a way that isn’t exploitative or tokenistic is emerging as a strong theme at a regional ocean meeting currently underway in Noumea. Scientists, policy makers and
‘Failing but not yet failed’: we need to improve ocean health
“We are failing, but we have not yet failed. There is still time in the next ten years to turn things around. It’s our last chance. And our survival as a species depends on the health of the oceans.” This is
World Oceans Day – What it means for the Pacific
from the Acting Director General of SPREP, Mr Stuart Chape World Oceans Day has been celebrated each year since 1992. We have witnessed increasing world attention on our oceans, particularly in the face of extreme
Know our ocean
An Opinion-Editorial by Meg Taylor, DBE, Secretary General, Pacific Islands Forum and Pacific Ocean Commissioner This week we are all encouraged to know our ocean as the world marks World Ocean Day on the 8th June.
The world pledges to save our home
READING through the world’s pledges for the protection of our oceans during the first-ever Oceans Conference that Fiji and Sweden co-chaired at the United Nations headquarters in New York in June, one could easily be
Whales – starvation or not?
WHALES are likely starving and entering dangerously shallow water in a desperate search for food. Whales are not immune to starvation. The 650-plus pilot whales beached at Farewell Spit, New Zealand, provide ‘canary
Code Blue for our reefs: Using the regional tuna MCS to nab the reef robbers
Reef pillaging by Vietnamese Blue Boats seeking lucrative returns from beche de mer harvesting is being picked up under oceanic fisheries surveillance networks. As FFA’s Director James Movick told Pacific
Whales
Surviving in a changing ocean THE humpback whale was hunted almost to the point of extinction last century, with around 200 of a population that was once around 10,000, remaining across the entire region when the
What integration means for ocean management
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
