KOROR (Palau Horizon) – Around 200 foreign dignitaries from other Pacific Island countries will come to Palau to attend the 21st Annual Pacific Islands Environment Conference in June, Resources and Development Minister Fritz Koshiba said.
One of the foreign officials who has already confirmed attendance is Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris. He has accepted invitation to be keynote speaker.
The five-day convention will mainly focus on merging traditional ways of protecting the environment with modern technology. Koshiba, who chairs the organizing committee for the upcoming conference said Palau will share its traditional practices with other countries in terms of preserving its environment.
“The idea here is, we have by law the existing agencies responsible for implementing rules and regulations with regards to environment. Through the centuries, despite modern technology, Palau survived because of our own traditional ways in environment conservation,” he said in an interview.
Koshiba said modern technology, once merged with the tradional ways will bear significant role in the over-all approach in protecting Palau’s environment.
“The purpose of the conference is directed at protecting the environment through science. We want to pursue controlled development. We do not encourage development at the expense of the environment,” said Koshiba.
One thing Palau intends to gain from the conference is to broaden its know-how in further guarding the environment in tradional ways with the help of modern technology.
“Modern technology is a formula for long-term development in sustainability,” he explained.
Koshiba said one of the plans for the convention is to allot one whole day to visit the Melekeok State and meet with the traditional and state leaders and showcase Palau’s own ways of saving the environment.
Another target output is to further boost national drive to make the public more aware of shield Palau’s pristine island.
