Leadership makes the difference

6 December 2013, Suva Fiji - Ten actions from the High Level Segment of the 9th Pacific Islands Conference on Nature Conservation and Protected Areas were announced today as the gathering of over 750 delegates in Suva, Fiji came to a close.

The High Level Session brought together the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Hon. Henry Puna, the Minister in Assistance to the President of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Hon. Tony deBrum, the Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Tourism of Palau Hon. F. Umiich Sengebau and Fiji's Minister of Environment and Attorney General, Mr. Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, in a special session on Thursday to discuss the role of political leadership in strengthening nature conservation.

"We commit our roles in Government, our institutions, our activities and resources to support, enable and deliver conservation outcomes at a local, national and regional level, recognising that leadership is key to challenging and changing our economic pathway from one focused on short term gains to one focused on long term sustainable development outcome" reads the outcomes statement.

The 10 actions encompass Ecosystem-based Adaptation; Food Security - Agriculture; Food Security - Fisheries; Invasive alien species; Information for Decision Making; Capacity Development; Rigor Responsibility and enforcement; Long term Financial Mechanisms; Blue - Green economies and; Private sector engagement and impacting Markets.

"As explained in the preamble, these actions are proposed as the ten overriding key actions that must be undertaken by Pacific Island Countries and Territories and partners if we are to deliver our conservation commitments by 2020," Mr. Sayed-Khaiyum stated.

Acknowledging the importance of all these outcomes to the framework, Mr. Sayed-Khaiyum encouraged everyone to commit to the strategy.

"Each of these is important in its own right. But without action, it is merely a list of aspirations, nothing more. I ask that you that you take the next few months to seriously consider these points and how they might fit into your existing efforts before returning to Fiji in the New Year, ready to make firm commitments," Mr. Sayed-Khaiyum said in closing.