Pacific leaders attending the 2022 UN Ocean Conferences this week heard that ‘Marine and coastal ecosystems’ are the most threatened in the world.
Speaking at the “Managing, protecting, conserving and restoring marine and coastal ecosystems” discussion, Fijian Prime Minister and Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum said the region has experienced climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss with a severity that rivals war.
Bainimarama said that only four percent of the Pacific territory is land — and that the rest is ocean.
He explained the goal to protect 30 percent of the ocean offers a huge opportunity to develop domestic blue economies.
Bainimarama said he is excited about the future and called for a new way of thinking that is centred on people and nature.
“By the time we leave Lisbon, we need the world with us,” he stressed.