Our ancestors knew that they owned the sea surrounding their islands. To them, any other conclusion was totally incomprehensible. They owned the sea because it was part of their physical environment which dominated their lives. Nearly every aspect of life, especially in the smaller islands, was influenced or controlled by the sea. The rhythm of life was dictated by the sea. Its turbulence told people when they could travel and when they could not. It controlled the habits of fish and the habits of human seeking them. The sea challenged people, it tested their character, and provided life with drama and meaning.
The only way one can understand how an islander feels about this world dominated by the sea is to adopt his perspective, to perceive life from his point of view. To an islander, one’s “territory” is its surface habitat, and the sea is an important part of an islander’s surface habitat as is the land. In the mind of a traditional islander, there is no logical distinction between continental nations and islands in the allocation of the earth’s resources. They cannot understand the fairness of continental nations having rights in the resources of the sea of small islands but islanders having no rights in the land based resources of continental nations.
To understand the resentment an islander feels at outsiders taking huge quantities of fish from his surrounding waters, one need only imagine how an American would feel if islanders were permitted to freely drill for oil in their backyard, without permission or payment of compensation. The territory and resources of continental nations are terrestrial; the territory and resources of small islands are largely aquatic. Rights in both categories of surface area exist equally in the minds of men and should therefore be equally respected.
Yet we have been told the CNMI has lost the courts case about controlling our submerged lands. This created fury and distrust toward the U.S. and complicates reasonable consideration of proposals such as the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument. For this reason and probably more, the CNMI governor and most lawmakers have strongly opposed the proposed marine sanctuary. Such designation would restrict our people’s ability to fish and conduct activities in the proposed site.
At the same time, the CNMI proved we can create our own zone of a protected sanctuary by adopting Article XIV, Section 2, of the NMI Constitution that protects Maug, Uracas and Asunsion. For 30 years since we became a U.S. commonwealth, we have proven we are able to enact laws, rules and regulations in the name of conservation and I am proud to say we are a regional leader in this regard.
Our ancestors gave us our beautiful island and the clean environment we enjoy today. Are we willing to give up forever one-third of our northern islands water regardless of what economic opportunities may arrive in the future in the areas of future fisheries development and deepsea mining? Are we willing to permanently lockup this vast ocean area and give the key to the federal government forever?
Our commonwealth government and our relationship with the U.S. is only 30 years old. For thousands of years before that, our ancestors passed on to generation to generation the rights we enjoy today to our islands, surrounding waters and resources. Who are we to give away these precious rights to our resources? We owe it to our children, their children and future generations to come to preserve and protect our lands and resources forever
JUAN BORJA TUDELA
Mayor of Saipan
