BY LORETTA B MANELE
Together, we can make a difference for a safer, cleaner and a more sustainable future for our marine environment.
British High Commissioner to Solomon Islands, Tom Coward, made the statement at the “Strengthening Marine Pollution Incident Resilience in the Pacific Islands” workshop which kicked off yesterday at the Heritage Park Hotel.
He stressed that marine pollution is widely recognized as one of the three major threats to our ocean along with habitat destruction and over exploitation of marine resources.
Coward said marine pollution incidents can have devastating impacts on the marine life, coastal communities, local livelihoods, the national economy and the global system.
He voiced that the importance of coastal and marine environments to every aspect of people’s livelihood in Solomon Islands cannot be overstated and the impacts from marine pollution is a major concern for Solomon Islands and the pacific.
“People know and have seen the huge damage on fragile environments, the damage on communities and the high cost to the economy”
Coward expressed that this is not only a local issue but a global one and the United Kingdom is delighted to be able to support Solomon Islands on maritime pollution response.
“I am absolutely delighted that we are able to support Solomon Islands’ regional efforts on maritime pollution response”
He said by sharing our knowledge and experience and bringing together best practice and lived experiences, we can develop more effective strategies and enhance our readiness.
Coward encouraged participants from the region and regional agencies to participate in discussions, ask questions and share their experiences through open dialogue.
“Together we can make a difference for safer, cleaner and more sustainable future for our marine environment”
He said the workshop is part of UK’s wider efforts on building a sustainable ocean partnership with Solomon Islands.
“Something that is of paramount importance in Solomon Islands and in the pacific is a global significance to us all”
