APIA, Republic of Samoa, Aug 23 (IPS) – In Samoa, we use a simple phrase to capture our way of life: Fa’asamoa. At the core of this concept is respect for others, devotion to family and a deep appreciation for the preservation of our natural resources. Importantly, Fa’asamoa has enabled us to sustainably fish our vibrant coral reefs for millennia, in a way that provides good health and prosperity for everyone in our communities.
We share our bounty of our fish species — including albacore, yellowfin, bigeye and skipjack tuna — with the globe, but the fish in our waters also serve as a bedrock of our local cultures and diets. Without it, Fa’asamoa cannot exist.
But the coastal fisheries spread across our four inhabited islands halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand are under threat like never before. This is because carbon pollution is changing the ocean around us. Its waters are rising, more acidic and less full of life than we ever imagined was possible.
A surge of cyclones and heat are damaging delicate coral reefs that support our fisheries and flooding and eroding our coastal areas. We’ve built seawalls, battled flooding, and relocated communities whose lands were damaged by cyclones and slow onset climate change impacts such as erosion.
Our actions have not caused the climate crisis, yet we are facing its most dramatic impacts. This is why leaders from the Pacific and other island nations have become world leaders on climate action.
In recent years, island nations have taken our calls that countries should be held accountable for the damage they’ve done to our climate and ocean through their greenhouse gas emissions, to the highest courts and the most important international gatherings. Finally, the world is starting to listen.
Recently, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea determined that countries are legally accountable for polluting the ocean with greenhouse gas emissions. The Pacific nation of Tuvalu, together with leaders of small island nations worldwide, brought the case to court. Vanuatu pushed through a similar measure at the International Criminal Court of Justice.
We’re riding on a wave of success, but our work has only just begun.
This October, Samoa will host a gathering of leaders from 56 commonwealth countries, 49 of which are bordered or surrounded by water. As the first-ever Pacific country to host the bi-annual meeting, we have a timely opportunity to call attention to the urgent need for ocean action.
Fortunately, His Royal Highness King Charles III has shown unwavering support for one of the best opportunities we have to protect the ocean—marine protected areas (MPAs).
Science has long shown that setting aside marine areas, where damaging activities are banned, increases the food supply, provides economic benefits, and builds resilience against the climate crisis. Based on this research, pledges to protect 30% of the ocean are now enshrined in multiple global agreements—including the biodiversity agreement which will be discussed in Cali, Colombia, also in October.
But simply pledging protection is not enough. MPAs that strictly protect the ocean from extractive activities must be created — and quickly. Countries across the Pacific have established MPAs and are on course to establish many more in collaboration with scientists, local communities and conservationists.
In Samoa, traditional communities had established more than 70 no-take zones — traditional fisheries reserves managed and looked after by the villages themselves. We established national sanctuaries for migratory sharks, whales, dolphins and turtles in 2003.
As part of Samoa’s Ocean strategy and Marine Spatial Planning process, 30% of our EEZ will be protected as marine protected areas with 100% of it sustainably managed.
Niue, Solomon Islands, the Republic of Marshall Islands and several other Pacific countries have also established vital MPAs, some of which are community-led.
For so long, the industrial fishing industry has blocked the formation of MPAs. Their argument is almost always that fishing bans are bad for their business. But recent studies have shown us that MPAs actually replenish fish supplies.
So even if fishing is banned inside an MPA, more fish spillover to areas outside the protected zone, where fishing is allowed. The fishing industry benefits. A recent study of more than 50 MPAs in more than 30 countries worldwide found that the protections boosted either fishing or tourism, with some profits in the billions.
In Samoa, coastal communities have long known that sustainable fishing methods ensure steady fish supplies. They use a combination of traditional techniques and high tech tools. We know that many Commonwealth countries have a similar relationship to the ocean, from Scotland and Trinidad to Tobago and the Seychelles.
The international community has a critical opportunity in the coming months to recognize the urgency of protecting the ocean, our collective resource, before it’s too late.
Cedric Schuster is the Minister for Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and Minister for Samoa Tourism Authority, which collectively oversee the country’s climate change, forestry, water resources, and lands. The Minister is a traditional chief from the village of Satapuala.
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