More concerted effort is needed for oceans conservation, says Ambassador and Head of the European Union Delegation for the Pacific Sujiro Seam.
While speaking at the Fiji Seascape Symposium last month, he highlighted how critical oceans were in the Pacific.
Mr Seam said it was pivotal for partners like the Seascapes in Fiji to work together to promote their partnership moving forward.
“You are all Pacific Islanders and people who live in the Pacific know how critical the oceans are,” he said.
Mr Seam said the ocean was also linked to climate change and that marine pollution, loss of marine biodiversity, trafficking and the whole sea-related threats were what the Pacific Island countries were currently facing.
He said oceans were among the key priorities of the European Union strategies, highlighting that the Pacific European Union Marine Partnership (PEUMP) was an investment of $45 million Euros over a period of five years from the European Union and the Government of Sweden.
“The programme provides direct assistance through regional organisations to support regional and national level activities in the Pacific.”
Mr Seam praised the organisers of the Fiji Seascape Symposium for holding a successful event adding that to have the President of Fiji opening the symposium was a bonus.
For the first time ever Fiji hosted in Seascape symposium at the Grand Pacific Hotel which was attended by delegates from the government, intergovernmental organizations, research institutions, private sector, representatives from the social sector and the general public have been acknowledged as their active engagement and valuable contributions resulted in a successful first-ever seascape symposium.
The Fiji Seascapes Symposium will collectively review Fiji’s efforts to date and define Fiji’s progress towards the achievement of the long-term marine reserve and conservation priorities.
Stakeholders that are part of the symposium are the Fijian Government, Conservation International Fiji, Wildlife Conservation Society Fiji, International Union for Conservation of Nature, World Wide Fund for Nature, Fiji Locally Marine Managed Area Network (FLMMA) & Institute of Applied Sciences (IAS).
The Fiji Seascape Symposium is a collaborative initiative with funding support from the Fiji Government, Blue Nature Alliance, WWF, Oceans 5, Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Vibrant Oceans Initiative, as well as the Pacific-European Union Marine Partnership Programme (PEUMP) funded by the European Union and the Government of Sweden.
