Vanuatu Prime Minister Jotham Napat has called on Pacific nations to act with courage and unity to protect the ocean, warning that climate change and overfishing are already threatening livelihoods across the region.
Speaking at the the Melanesian Ocean Summit in Port Moresby, Napat said marine biodiversity is declining and tuna stocks, vital for national budgets will be disrupted by 2050 if action is delayed.
“Our traditional custodians hold knowledge that no satellite can replace. Our scientists hold tools that no canoe can carry. We need both,” he told leaders.
The Prime Minister announced that Vanuatu has protected more than 17,000 square kilometres of northern waters, about ten (10) percent of its exclusive economic zone, and plans to expand protection once maritime boundaries are settled.
He said regional cooperation is essential, noting that no single nation can manage its exclusive economic zone alone.
Napat also urged Melanesian countries to overcome colonial divisions by working together through a “Melanesian corridor” linking Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Fiji.
He said solidarity, not colonial borders, should shape the future of the Pacific.
Closing his address, Napat declared: “We are not sacrificing our ocean to save it. We are choosing protection over extraction, and the long memory of our ancestors over the short interest of others.”
He offered Vanuatu as host of the next Melanesian Ocean Summit in two years’ time.
