Alik said it is SPREP’s mandate to make sure that “our island environment does not get unduly compromised with the growing aspirations of our citizens for better economic and social life.”
“It is incumbent upon us to ensure a harmonious balance between our economic and social needs, and aspirations, and the capacity of our natural surrounding to sustain those needs,” he said.
He added, “This is what sustainable development is all about, and it presents a formidable challenge for islands like ours with small economies of scale, meager resource base and limited capacity. In view of these shortcomings, many of us resort to the need for prioritization of competing interests and needs, with the support and generosity of our donor partners to lend a helping hand.”
Alik said he is “fully cognizant of the environmental challenges that confront my people and for which the council is tasked to prioritize them and to coordinate national efforts. Most notable is the concern for Climate Change and its related consequences of rising sea-level, extreme weather events, collapsing ecosystems and freshwater contamination. Much has been said on this critical issue for small island states at the international fora including at the United Nations both individually and collectively.”
Alik said climate change remains the number one security and existential threat to small vulnerable islands.
“More effort is needed in the region and the global level to raise recognition of climate change as a threat to our existence, and to global peace and security,” he said.
