FIJI and Sweden will co-host the first ever UN conference on seas and oceans in early June 2017.
The first of five triennial conferences will be held to drive momentum among national governments and civil society Action to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on oceans by 2030.
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama confirmed this yesterday saying the Pacific Islands were deeply concerned because they saw the declining health of the ocean every day.
“Together with the government of Sweden, Fiji has agreed to co-host the first of the five UN conferences on oceans and seas to be held in early June 2017,” Mr Bainimarama said while attending the UN general Assembly in New York.
“We are taking this action for one reason and that is to ensure the successful implementation of SDG 14, the ocean SDG so that we can rectify the decline in which the ocean has been caught.”
SDG 14 is the first ever development goal for oceans, prescribing different targets for the reduction in marine pollution and sustainable management and protection of marine and coastal ecosystems.
Another major feature of SDG 14 are the targets to end overfishing as well as illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing.
The phasing out of subsidies that allow fishing vessels from certain countries to stay out at sea and still turn a profit are also a major feature of SDG 14 expected to impact the region.
Source: Fiji Times
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