The Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Fa’amoetauloa Dr. Faale Tumaali’i, has called on participants of S.I.D.S to “reach a consensus and agree to an overarching network to monitor” what he described as a “new phenomenon.”
The Minister was referring to the issue of Ocean Acidification when he spoke during pre-S.I.D.S conference attended by leading international ocean scientists and policy experts in Apia.
Held on the Pacific Jewel cruise ship at Apia Harbour yesterday, the event was to help participants better understand the threat of ocean acidification to the Pacific.
“There can be no doubt that OA is a global problem with the same root causes - as Climate Change -- i.e. Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions,” said Fa’amoetauloa.
“OA is a new phenomenon to SIDS and perhaps the scientific community as evident from the lack of information on it in the literature plus the fact that scientific researches on monitoring OA and its impact assessment are fairly new.”
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According to the Minister, an acidic ocean will reduce the ability of marine shell forming species such as coral reefs, plankton and shellfish to sustain healthy life.
“As a result, this will impact negatively on the locals’ livelihoods, commercial fisheries and tourism.”
He said yesterday’s meeting happened at a “most opportune time to highlight the urgent need to strengthen our national capacity for rehabilitating, protecting and conserving our threatened marine ecosystem and its rich resources.”
The Minister said Samoa believes that genuine and durable partnerships are necessary in efforts to mitigate against the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification.
“With the support of our development partners, efforts are concentrated on the concept of green growth as a driver to transition to green economy."
“Samoa is doing its fair share of addressing the emerging problem of Ocean Acidification.
To name some; A concerted effort by Samoa’s Energy Sector to shift from conventional energy source such as fossil fuels to renewable energy or green-clean energy has materialized."
“Also work has being done to rehabilitate, protect and conserve Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) e.g. our mangrove forest as breeding grounds for specific fish species such as mullet.
There is also work done on reforestation as an important sink for greenhouse gases.”
US Embassy chargé d’affaires Marie Damour says US Secretary of State John Kerry’s ‘Our Ocean’ conference in June highlighted ocean acidification as a key threat to the world’s oceans.
“The workshop, in addition to coming up with practical solutions for the challenge of ocean acidification in the Pacific, showcases the strong partnership between the US and New Zealand on oceans and science issues,” she says.
“As Minister Steven Joyce highlighted this week, the United States is New Zealand’s most significant research and technology partner.”
Dr. Todd Capson, an American oceans scientist and science and policy adviser to the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership in Washington DC, says ocean acidification is real.
“There’s really no debate that it’s happening. It’s simple chemistry,” he said.
“Worldwide, oceans have absorbed more than a quarter of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere since the beginning of the industrial revolution. We’ve seen a 30-40per cent increase in the acidity of our oceans, and it’s hurting.”
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