As a Pacific Islander,
attending large political conferences like
the CBD can be overwhelming. Back home in
Fiji, I wear sandals every day, so running
around in heels while carrying bags filled
with documents and computers is hard to
get used to in the first few days. The sheer
size, grandeur, pomp, ceremony and complicated
language (diplomatic-speak) might be enough
to force any sane islander into a passenger
seat role.
This is not the case
for the Pacific Island nations that are
part of the CBD- they are here in Nagoya,
Japan tfighitng to protect our Pacific Ocean—
the waters that have for generations sustained
so much life under the waves and on land.
We are here as Pacific Island people to
ensure that our oceans are protected expeditiously
and effectively.
Greenpeace is a partner
along with the South Pacific Regional Environment
Programme (SPREP), the Secretariat of the
Pacific Community (SPC), other environmental
groups and the Environmental Defenders Office—
all here to ensure that all of the life
that is dependent on the Pacific- human
and otherwise, is given the chance to survive.
There are four areas,
or "pockets" of international
waters that flank more than a dozen Pacific
island countries which have already been
declared off limits to purse-seine fishing
by eight island countries: Federated States
of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands,
Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon
Islands and Tuvalu. Purse-seining is one
of the most destructive fishing methods
out there- one that must be stopped.
Large ocean states of
the Pacific urgently require protection
as it is integral to the lives of Pacific
Islanders who are dependent on it. It is
critical that our oceans are protected so
that we maintain a healthy economy through
a sustainable tuna fishing industry, help
alleviate the impacts of climate change
and create a better future for us and our
generations to come.
Eight years ago, governments
committed to significantly reduce biodiversity
loss by 2010 and they have failed. The people
of the Pacific who need healthy oceans and
forests for survival need solutions, not
another political failure. This meeting
in Nagoya must produce the solutions to
enable our planet to sustain future generations.
Time is running out. The Pacific, our Planet
and our Cchildren need more than empty promises.
Greenpeace wants a strong
CBD Strategic Plan which creates a global
network of marine reserves, a legally-binding
protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS)
that that takes into account indigenous
and local rights and which have strong compliance
mechanisms.
If our planet is to
sustain life on earth in the future and
be rescued from the brink of environmental
destruction, we need action by governments
to protect our oceans and forests and to
halt biodiversity loss.
Join me and the other
Pacific Island communities in demanding
more areas of our ocean set aside for the
future- for all of us- as marine reserves.
Together, we can tell the CBD that creating
a rescue plan for our planet Can Be Done.
+ More
Projecting Change at
Biodiversity Meeting in Japan
In the opening ceremony
of the CBD here in Nagoya, Japan, Japanese
Environment Minister Matsumoto (also chair
of the conference) reminded delegates that
biodiversity is the legacy we will leave
our children. Greenpeace is here at CBD
COP10 to make sure that the legacy we leave
our children is one that is sustainable
and healthy.
One of the main focuses
of Greenpeace’s work here is sustainable
fisheries and oceans. The oceans are a source
of food for so many people on Earth. Here
in Nagoya, governments gathered here can
help us to leave these future generations
with food and life.
As the second day of
negotiations here came to a close, the team
from Greenpeace Japan, where I work, projected
messages urging delegates to save life on
Earth and rescue our oceans in front of
Nagoya Castle. It was a unique cloud projection-
photos and text displayed on an artificial
cloud. The Nagoya Castle is a major tourist
attraction here in Nagoya. The Greenpeace
Japan team had spent much of the day passing
out flyers about the projection and when
they arrived, we invited them to sign our
petition to create more marine reserves,
areas of ocean off-limits to industrial
activity: things like fishing and drilling
for oil. There were many Japanese journalists
at the projection also, which was good.
Today, many people in Japan woke up to newspapers
with the photo of the projection and the
demand for marine reserves: something we
hope the Japanese delegation also saw.
Nagoya is a city near
the sea, a sea that must be protected. Greenpeace
is campaigning for a network of marine reserves
covering 40% of the world’s oceans. That
goal can begin to become a reality here
in Nagoya.
--Karou
Kaoru Narisawa is a
Media Officer with Greenpeace Japan, who
helped coordinate the Greenpeace Japan cloud
projection at Nagoya Castle above. Messages
urging governments to take action to save
life on Earth were projected onto an artificial
cloud at Nagoya Castle, in the host city
of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.
