Pacific Island Countries Statement:

19 October Nagoya, Japan - The following statement was prepared by the Pacific islands countries and presented at the plenary session of 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan today.

Thank you Chairman,

Vanuatu as the Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, is making this statement on behalf of all Pacific Island Parties.

The Pacific Island Parties, wish to congratulate you, on your appointment as the chair of this 10^th Conference of the Parties.

The Pacific Island Parties, wish to extend our heartfelt appreciation, and gratitude to the Government of Japan, and the people of Nagoya, for hosting the 10^th Conference of the Parties. Thank you for your hospitality, and thank you for the warm welcome.

The Pacific Island Parties, also wish to extend our sincere appreciation, to the Secretariat, for the excellent preparations and organization of the meeting. We look forward to the continued partnership, and collaborations with the CBD Secretariat.

Ms. Touasi Tiwok making the statement on behalf of the Pacific

Mr Chairman, the Pacific Island communities inhabit the islands scattered throughout our Pacific Ocean, which some of the most inspiring migrations in human history, have taken place, over many thousands of years. Our Pacific Ocean covers over 30% of the world’s oceans.

Our Ocean, coastal and island ecosystems, contain high biological diversity that sustains the lives of Pacific Island communities. It contains the most extensive coral reefs in the world, globally important fisheries, significant seabed mineral resources and high number of threatened species. These ecosystems may contain many undiscovered resources of potential use to humankind.

Chair, the Pacific Island Parties reaffirm, our commitment to implement the three objectives of the Convention.

This was further underscored by the Pacific Environment Ministers, in their communiqué from the recent 21 SPREP Meeting held in September 2010 in Papua New Guinea.  

The Pacific Island Parties, wish to highlight the achievements and initiatives of the Pacific toward meeting the CBD objectives through community-based and co-management approaches as well as national and regional commitments. Examples include the establishment of Locally Managed Protected Areas, the Micronesia Challenge, the Coral Triangle Initiative, the Phoenix Islands Protected Area and the inscription of some sites to the World Heritage list.

Our achievements would not be possible without the commitment of our leaders, the Pacific Islands Forum and the continued support of our development partners – the donors, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, other members of the Council of Regional Organisations of the Pacific, non-governmental organisations and  our own Pacific communities.

To take these efforts and significant successes further, we would like to stress the inevitable need for adequate resources and the delivery of timely support to complement our Pacific actions and fully implement the objectives of the CBD, in particular, the new Strategic Plan.

                                                                                           

Chair, we cannot underscore enough, the vulnerability of Pacific Small Island Developing States in particular our biodiversity to the impacts of climate change, and wish to emphasise the critical role of biodiversity in climate change mitigation and adaptation.

We further highlight the urgent need to address the rapidly growing problem of invasive species and their impacts on our fragile island ecosystems, economies and livelihoods.

Pacific statement being made at the plenary session of the CBD COP 10

Chair, the Pacific Island  Parties invite and encourage all parties to join us at our Pacific Voyage  side event on Friday  22 October 2010 to share our experiences and lessons in conservation

In closing, the Pacific Island Parties are committed to working closely with you, and the Secretariat, and all Parties to ensure a successful outcome of these negotiations.