Over 10 million residents of Small Island Developing States depend on the Pacific Ocean for survival. Credit: Catherine Wilson/IPS

By Catherine Wilson
SYDNEY, Jun 8 2013 (IPS)

The immense scale of the Pacific Ocean, at 165 million square kilometres, inspires awe and fascination, but for those who inhabit the 22 Pacific island countries and territories, it is the very source of life. Without it, livelihoods and economies would collapse, hunger and ill-health would become endemic and human survival would be threatened.

But as populations rapidly escalate, the sustainable future of this vast ecosystem hangs in the balance, while the pressing need for economic development in a region of Small Island Developing States competes with the urgency of combating climate change and stemming environmental loss.

In a message to the global community on Saturday, designated by the United Nations as World Ocean Day, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged nation states to “reverse the degradation of the marine environment due to pollution, overexploitation and acidification.” Nowhere is this triple threat more evident than in the waters of the Pacific.

The largest ocean in the world, it covers one third of the earth’s surface and an area more expansive than the total of all its landmasses, while its natural processes determine the global climate.

The ocean’s health is crucial to the food security of the region’s population of 10 million, whose annual fish consumption is three to four times the world average. For the rural majority, 60 to 90 percent of sea harvests are used for sustenance, while 47 percent of households depend on fishing as a main source of income.

At the regional level, the commercial fisheries sector – dominated by the tuna industry – contributes to approximately 10 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and 80 percent of all exports in one quarter of Pacific Island states.

However these coastal fisheries are now recognised as the most threatened by over-exploitation, pollution and climate change.

In Melanesian countries like the Solomon Islands – an archipelago nation of more than 900 forest-covered islands, lying just east of Papua New Guinea – population growth, which is 2.7 percent per year, is putting major pressure on resources. It is estimated that about 55 percent of Pacific Island nations have over-exploited coral reef fisheries.

Concerns about marine pollution have been exemplified by the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’, also known as the world’s largest landfill, a massive swirling gyre of 3.5 million tonnes of waste in the North Pacific Ocean.

Joeli Veitayaki, head of the School of Marine Studies at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, believes that “waste management is the biggest issue.”

“In some of the main population centres, there is no waste collection or treatment systems, while in others inappropriate methods are used. Communities and civil authorities are treating non-biodegradable and highly toxic waste as they have treated biodegradable waste,” he told IPS, adding, “Waste oil from some commercial operators is being disposed of in environmentally damaging ways that cause irreparable damage.”

The main sources of marine pollution are sewage, urban, agricultural and industrial run-off and plastic waste. In populated coastal island areas, plastic bags, containers and bottles are highly visible, suffocating marine habitats. Studies have revealed that fish in the North Pacific region are ingesting between 12,000 to 24,000 tonnes of plastic per year.

With UNICEF reporting that the average improved sanitation coverage in Oceanic countries is less than 50 percent, sewage remains a significant threat to the health of human and marine life.  Up to 25 percent of rural communities practise open defecation and piped untreated sewerage from many urban centres is discharged directly into the sea.

Future challenges to the ocean will come from climate change as increasing sea temperatures and ocean acidity are expected to drive alterations in fish populations and lead to the breakdown of coral reef systems that are important harbours of marine biodiversity.

Marine life has already been impacted by factors ranging from destructive fishing to pollution. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List of Threatened Species, Papua New Guinea has incurred the highest losses in the region, with a total of 196 endangered marine species, including 157 species of coral, 20 species of sharks and four species of turtles. This year the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) launched a regional marine species conservation programme to improve protection of dugongs, marine turtles, whales and dolphins.

Pacific Islanders who have maintained a close cultural, social and economic relationship with the sea for thousands of years acknowledge the imperative of preserving the ocean for future generations.

In 2010, recognising that “no single country in the Pacific can by itself protect its own slice of oceanic environment”, the Pacific Islands Forum launched the regional Pacific Oceanscape initiative, a strategic framework to improve ocean governance.

“So far no (Pacific Island) country has formulated a national ocean policy to guide the action and activities in its maritime zones,” Veitayaki pointed out.

But action at the national level has included the acclaimed development of Marine Managed Areas (MMAs) that incorporate customary traditions of resource access and governance. There are approximately 1,232 active MMAs in the Pacific region covering 17,000 square kilometres, with 10 percent being designated as ‘no-take zones.’

Significant Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) include the Phoenix Islands Protected Area established by the government of Kiribati – a low-lying nation in the Central Pacific Ocean comprising a coral reef and 32 atolls – and the one-million-square-kilometre Cook Islands Marine Park, currently the world’s largest.

The century ahead will witness increasing human stresses on the Pacific Ocean as islanders with limited land areas and resources turn to the sea in search of ways to boost economic development.

Burgeoning deep sea mineral exploration projects, such as the Solwara 1 project in the vicinity of Papua New Guinea, has galvanised regional debate about the potential economic windfalls versus long term environmental impacts, the dearth of knowledge about deep sea marine biodiversity and the present lack of national governance and legislative frameworks to regulate commercial activity on the seafloor.

The future success of ocean management is dependent on reliable marine scientific data and building national capacities that enable policy implementation.

“Lack of up to date data is a major hindrance as we are always reacting to problems, such as depleting fisheries, damaged coral reefs and high pollution levels,” Veitayaki explained. “If assessments were better, management could be more preventive.”

Capacity for implementation, which he acknowledges has always been a major challenge for developing nations in the region, whether in terms of financial, technical or human resources, will demand more innovative and collaborative approaches by the diverse Pacific Island peoples whose survival depends on a healthy ocean.

The delegates selected to speak at the closing session in Darwin stressed the commitment to strengthening the global indigenous network, to get their collective voice heard around the world. Credit: Milagros Salazar/IPS

By Milagros Salazar
DARWIN, Australia, May 30 2013 (IPS)

Some good-byes can actually mean the start of a long road working together. That was how it felt at the end of the World Indigenous Network (WIN) conference in this northern Australian city.

The big challenge is to consolidate “the indigenous network so its collective voice can be heard” and to get governments to implement its proposals, said one of the 10 speakers chosen by the delegations from more than 50 countries to sum up what was discussed in four days of sessions at the May 26-29 conference.

The gathering, supported by the Australian government, enabled face-to-face exchanges among indigenous people from around the world, who shared best practices in conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity and in the sustainable use of protected natural areas in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Canada and Australia.

The delegates to the conference of the “international network of indigenous and local community land and sea managers” stressed the importance of the world recognising that for ages, indigenous people have protected the land and sea thanks to their ancestral knowledge, and that their culture and way of life depends on their territories.

After these few days in Darwin, “I have the courage to continue my work with my community,” an enthusiastic Aei Satu Bouba, coordinator of the Cameroon Indigenous Women Forum, told IPS.

The new developments that came out of the WIN conference included the announcement of the creation of the Pacific Indigenous Network (PIN).

Rosiana Lagi, a doctoral student at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, told IPS that through PIN, the Pacific island nations would seek “the support of our governments.”

The University of the South Pacific is supported by 12 island countries: Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

The importance of global efforts was highlighted on Wednesday, the last day of the conference. The conservation work of ICCA Consortium was presented as an example of such efforts.

Since 2010, the global association of indigenous organisations, local communities and supporting NGOs from around the world has promoted the national and international recognition of and support for ICCAs: Indigenous Peoples’ and Local Community Conserved Territories and Areas.

Taghi Farvar, president of the ICCA Consortium, told IPS that they work closely with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, which requires that countries include indigenous people and local communities in the conservation of fauna and flora.

Challenges and problems were also discussed alongside the successful practices presented at the four-day WIN conference. The representatives who spoke at the closing session stressed that not only the participation of indigenous and community leaders needed to be guaranteed, but local and grassroots involvement as well.

The majority agreed that more dialogue should have been allowed in the presentations.

In the full auditorium during the closing session, perhaps the most sensitive issue was brought up by the representatives of Latin America, whose spokespersons pointed out that the question of defending indigenous territories was glaringly absent during the conference.

They also complained about the shortage of interpreters.

However, the participants highlighted the efforts of the delegates to understand each other, despite the language barriers.

The Latin American delegation, mainly made up of people from Ecuador and Brazil, as well as activists from Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, said they went “one step further” by demanding that governments recognise indigenous rights over their ancestral territories.

“It’s not just about indigenous people taking care of parks and protected natural areas, but about a question of legitimacy, of states recognising that we have been the owners of the territory for a very long time,” Paulina Ormaza, an indigenous woman who formed part of the group from Ecuador, told IPS.

Juan Chávez, a member of the Shipibo indigenous community from Peru, remarked to IPS that Latin America’s experience in that area would have helped to “expand the vision” of participants from other regions, especially in a context of promoting private investment on indigenous land.

How can conservation of the environment and of indigenous territories be advanced in the midst of the interests of the states? the Latin American delegates asked, pointing out that this thorny issue is actually faced by countries in every region.

Melissa George, a member of the Wulgurukaba aboriginal tribe of Australia and co-chair of the WIN National Advisory Group, told IPS that in her country, the extractive industries “are always the winners.”

Perhaps the only difference between indigenous people in Australia and Latin America is that Australia’s aborigines are not displaced from their territories by these investments, she said.

The defence of indigenous land is related to the implementation of the requirement that local and native communities be previously consulted about any investment project affecting their territory or culture, as stipulated by International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 169 Concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples.

The tension and activism surrounding the question of prior consultation in Latin America today was not discussed in Darwin. Peru was the first country in the region to pass a specific law to guarantee that right, in line with Convention 169, against a backdrop of conflicts and protests over mining, oil and infrastructure investment.

Ecuador recognises the right to prior consultation in its constitution, but the specific rules and regulations for implementation have not yet been approved, as demanded by the country’s indigenous organisations, their representatives told IPS.

The approval of the regulations for prior consultation is also under debate in Brazil. Cristina Cambiaghi, an adviser to the government’s National Indian Foundation (FUNAI), told IPS that “this process serves as an opportunity for dialogue to achieve recognition of the rights of the 305 indigenous peoples in Brazil.”

During her participation in the conference, Cambiaghi also pointed to pilot programmes for the application of a policy of indigenous territorial and environmental management.

“The aim is to guarantee and promote the protection of their territories, respecting their autonomy in line with the country’s laws,” she said.

But to face such challenges, it is necessary to strengthen the global indigenous network, participants in the conference agreed.

To that end, Eileen de Ravin, manager of the Equator Initiative, told IPS that they were waiting for a response from the different countries, under the premise that “governments are in power to serve, not just to say.”

The Equator Initiative is a partnership that brings together the United Nations, governments, civil society, businesses, and grassroots organisations to build the capacity and raise the profile of local efforts to reduce poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.