During the opening ceremony at the Sea Passion Hotel on Tuesday, president said that the meeting was very timely for Palau as previously the nation had suffered a severe water shortage and water hours were put in place to limit use.
“I’m not an expert, but I know that without water no one can survive. Even when scientists look for life on Mars the first thing they look for is water.” Toribiong said.
“The availability of freshwater is important to the quality of life, and I will go further, it is critical to the economic development of every country,” he added. “So I urge all of you to take this conference as a serious collective effort by all of us in the Pacific region to address these important challenges.”
The already fragile water resources found on most Pacific islands, due to their small size and lack of natural storage, are coming under increased pressure from competing land use, vulnerability to natural hazards and increased climate variability and change. In many Pacific countries, even small variations in water supply can have a significant impact on health, quality of life and economic development.
The region’s access to improved drinking water and sanitation lags behind the rest of the world. About 46 percent of Pacific populations have access to improved drinking water compared to the global average of 87 percent. Similarly only 48 percent of Pacific populations have access improved sanitation compared to 62 percent globally.
The meeting’s participants are involved in two projects, based out of the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC), that are trying to improve this situation. They include 14 Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded demonstration projects in 13 Pacific island countries that aim to show the benefits of an integrated approach to water management through tangible on the ground activities and a European Union (EU) funded integrated water resources management (IWRM) project that seeks to provide the governance and regulatory support for this type of approach.
Marc Wilson, Regional Manager of the GEF IWRM project, said that it was appropriate that the meeting was being held in Koror where water availability and wastewater management is an acknowledged constraint to development.
Jose Padillo, Regional Technical Advisor for Marine, Coastal and Island Ecosystems with the United Nations Development Programme, (UNDP), for his part also said the relevance of these projects cannot be overemphasized given the situation the Pacific finds itself in.
Tiare Holm, Vice Chairperson of Palau’s Environmental Quality Protection Board (EQPB) said that the meeting was a great opportunity for countries to share information and learn from one another. She reminded delegates that change was slow and needed the dedication and commitment of many people.
The GEF projects focus on four key areas: watershed management, wastewater management and sanitation, water resources assessment and protection, and water efficiency and safety.
In Palau the GEF project is looking at ways to better manage and protect the Ngerikiil watershed, which supplies 80 percent of all of Palau’s water.
