Source: EMTV online

Pacific indigenous people made their stand clear on seabed mining at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Speaking on behalf of the Pacific indigenous people, Dr Samson Viulu from the Solomon Islands addressed the world leaders, reiterating the facts of the lifestyles of Pacific people and their dependency on the marine environment.

The marine environment is home to important resources that support and sustain the livelihoods of the Pacific people.

“The people of the Pacific seek to obtain a moratorium against any seabed mining activities in the Pacific until such time that national governments establish relevant institutional, proper regulatory, legal, and monitoring, enforcement and fiscal frameworks involving indigenous peoples”.

Dr Viulu stressed that proper frameworks must be established by national governments in a manner that was meaningful and allowed for equal participation throughout the process; including but not limited to, maximum benefit sharing mechanisms and compensation.

 “Since the marine environment is source of islanders’ livelihood, the Pacific urges full commitment from all UN member states to achieve the goals outlined in the outcome document by the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals.”

Speaking at the UN General Assembly, Dr Viulu called upon all indigenous people to engage in full participation in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Adding further, that developed states must take responsibility and manage sustainable fisheries; highlighting the unsustainable practise of overfishing, linked to climate change in the region.

Dr Viulu also spoke of the concerns of the Pacific islanders with regards to the climate change mitigation and the lack of tangible progress since the Kyoto protocol expired in 2012.

He stated that there were many cases of displaced people, forced to leave their island homes as a direct result of climate change.