Fijian envoy calls for more awareness on Oceans Health

Fiji’s Ambassador to the European Union and COP23 Climate Ambassador, Deo Saran, called for more awareness on the decline in the health of the oceans and its impacts on small islands developing states including Pacific island nations.

Speaking at an oceans side event that was organised by the Nature And Biodiversity Conservation Union of Germany, Ambassador Saran linked the role of oceans to the survival of Pacific island countries.

“Coming from the Pacific, we all know that there is a strong link between healthy oceans, healthy livelihoods and a healthy climate. Our people rely on the Oceans for feeding their families. Oceans are important both for mitigation and adaptation. In the Pacific, but also in many other parts of the world, the rapid destruction and bleaching of coral reefs is depriving us from coastal life and fish”, Ambassador Saran told participants.

As the event focused on how climate change affects the oceans and their biodiversity, Ambassador Saran said that “in the Pacific, but also in many other parts of the world, the rapid destruction and bleaching of coral reefs is depriving us from coastal life and fish.

Our Oceans are also the natural coolers and stabilizers of our global climate. We see the melting of the Arctic ice, sea level rise and the warming of the Oceans temperature – this natural balance is being challenged.”

Ambassador Saran was joined by the former President of Kiribati His Excellency Anote Tong and Jochen Flasbarth – State Secretary, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), Germany. The event was organised as part of a series of side events that are taking place at COP23 in Bonn, Germany.