BY AGNES MENANOPO
THE Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology (MECDM) together with the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Recourses (MFMR) and the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) commemorated World Environment Day, World Oceans Day and Coral Triangle Day 5 June 2019.
Minister for MECDM, Hon. Dr. Culwick Togamana in a statement said the World Environment Day (WED) is a United Nation’s initiative to raise global awareness and action for the Environment.
“We celebrate this special day by putting a “voice and face” to environmental issues, and by “giving hand” to address these challenges and advocate for positive actions to safeguard the environment.
“The theme of this year’s WED is “Beat Air Pollution” with the slogan “We can’t stop breathing, but we can do something about the quality of the air that we breathe. Together we can beat air pollution,” Minister Togamana said.
He said the theme encourages all stakeholders from the government, investors, individuals, communities and the public at large to take collective actions to reduce the quantity of pollutants emitted into the atmosphere, which not only threatens our health but also contributes to global warming and climate change.
The World Oceans Day (WOD) provides an opportunity to honor, help and protect our World’s shared oceans.
“Healthy oceans are critical to our survival. Oceans whilst they separate us, they also connect people across the earth. Oceans regulate the climate and provide a home to an array of marine plants and animals. They are sources of food, income and the backbone of coastal communities’ livelihoods.
“This year’s WOD theme is “Gender and Ocean”. Gender equality is the equal valuing of both the similarities and the difference between women and men and the different roles they play,” the minister said.
He added that the aim is to build greater ocean and gender literacy and discover and implement possible ways to promote gender equality in ocean-related activities such as fisheries, labour, migration, human trafficking, policy-making, and management.
“Gender equality and especially the empowerment of women and girls in all ocean-related sectors are particularly important for effective conservation and sustainable use of oceans and marine recourses.”
“The focus of this year’s theme encourages men and women and stakeholders to demonstrate joint leadership and stewardship in the use of the ocean and its recourses; removal of threats to the ocean including preventing plastic pollution and to share solutions that inspire and activate the global community,” Minister Togamana said.
Coral Triangle Day is an annual tradition which is set aside by six Coral Triangle countries, namely: Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste.
As a signatory Solomon Islands recognize the day to celebrate the Coral Triangle as a globally significant eco-region and to highlight its relevance to the region and the world.
It also aims to gain support to help conserve and protect this natural treasure.
The theme of this year’s Coral Triangle Day is “Corals of Change: Paving in for gender equality”.
The theme aims to promote gender-balanced participation in governance and processes to ensure more holistic and equitable decision-making for better development and sustainable outcomes for the Coral Triangle region.
