Protect Threatened Species in the Tropical Andes

It is a truly a great honor to be the first recipient of Rare’s Inspiring Conservation Award. I accept this award on behalf of all of those who have worked so hard in Palau and in our Region to preserve our ocean and terrestrial environment. And thank you to the Rare Fellows from the Philippines, their mayors and their communities. You inspire me with the incredible work you are doing to preserve marine resources in the Philippines. I hope you will now bear with me as I bring you my story from our far Pacific corner of the world.

My friends, Palau, I will divulge a little secret to you tonight. One of the primary criteria for a good husband in my country is to be a good fisherman. Obviously, my family will have to buy their own fish tonight while I am here with you in New York.  

But Ladies and Gentlemen, I am here because I am a fisherman. Unlike my father and my grandfather, and generations of fathers before them, in just my one generation on this planet, I have seen first-hand the impacts of pollution, Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing, acidification from climate change, coastal runoff and other stressors that have resulted in the dwindling stocks our critical fishery resources. 

And I fear, I truly fear, for the future of our islands, the future of our culture, but most especially the future of our children and the next generation. There was a time, as a fishermen, I saw great stocks of fish, both inside and outside our reefs. On any given day, I could choose which fish to take. Now that is not the case. The fish stocks are smaller, both in terms of schools and number of fish and our current course is definitely not sustainable if we don’t do something about it.

As many of you may be aware, Palau is home to some of the world’s most scenic islands, lakes, and reefs in the world which provide the habitat for some of the world’s greatest biodiversity, including 1,300 species of fish and 700 species of coral.

My friends, my people have long understood that we must be the stewards of this rich endowment, and that Palau’s past, present, and future are tied to the health of our natural environment, ­particularly our oceans.

My forefathers did not know the modern science of their environment, but they knew how to live in harmony with their surroundings. They understood that the people’s health and prosperity rises and falls with the Ocean tides. When resources became scarce, they would declare a “Bul” - what we might today refer to as a moratorium. Reefs would be deemed off limits during spawning and feeding periods so that the ecosystem could replenish itself. Certain areas, like Ngirukuwid, were given permanent protection because of their important biodiversity. The goal was not conservation for its own sake, but to restore the balance between people and nature. The best science now confirms that our ancient approach to managing the oceans was sound.

This traditional ethos of the Bul is now enshrined in Palauan law: Article 6 of Palau’s Constitution requires Palau’s government to “take positive action” to conserve “a beautiful, healthful and resourceful natural environment.”

With this cultural and political mandate, Palau has:

• Led the Micronesian Challenge to conserve at least 30% of near-shore marine resources and 20% of the terrestrial resources;
• Implemented some of the world’s most stringent regulations outlawing bottom trawling; and
• Created the world’s first shark sanctuary.

These initiatives have helped sustain the vitality of Palau’s waters. But I return again and again to a question my forebears never conceived of: how much will Palau’s efforts matter if the world is not on the same page?

The international community has allowed fish stocks to plummet. Once thought to be limitless, more than 80 percent of global fish stocks are now fully or overexploited. Reckless and destructive fishing practices, overfishing, and illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing have robbed us of our resources. These activities must be stopped.

Given the enormity of these threats, the need for simultaneous international, national, regional and local action is obvious.

My friends, investments in sustainable ecotourism, local fisheries, marine management, data collection, and monitoring, control, and surveillance of our waters can make a generational, transformative impact. We require only the right tools and the right partnerships to protect our environment, grow our economies, and enrich our people’s lives.

And until the international community can agree on a holistic framework and implement programs to reverse the devastation to our oceans and seas, I will work to close Palau’s waters to commercial fishing. That is why, at last year’s UN General Assembly, I declared Palau’s intent to establish our 200-mile exclusive economic zone as a marine sanctuary. And within months, we will work with our legislature to put into place the necessary laws to begin the implementation of this sanctuary.

You might wonder how closing our waters to lucrative commercial fishing will help Palau’s economy grow. The answer is simple: Palau’s economic potential lies in tourism, not tuna. Tourism, in fact, already provides more than half of our GDP, and it depends upon our pristine marine environment.

Make no mistake, this is not an effort to lock up Palau’s waters and throw away the key. Like a Bul, ending commercial fishing will give nature a chance to heal from what the scientists are telling us is the damage caused by the intensive fishing pressures. It will also release the vast potential of our waters to provide more food for our people, more fish for the region, and to grow Palau’s economy.   

These objectives — environmental health, food security, and economic growth — are the very essence of Sustainable Development. And partnerships with organizations like Rare are critical to our achieving these objectives

Ladies and Gentlemen, that is why I am so grateful that Paul Butler came to Palau over 25 years ago and introduced my country to Rare’s Pride campaigns. Today, Rare has run more than two dozen campaigns in Micronesia, five of which were in Palau.

The work Rare and its partners are doing in Palau and throughout the Pacific helps create the community support necessary to make the marine sanctuary declaration truly an ecological and social success. By helping Palauans realize our goal of conserving marine resources, Rare’s unique approach will help Palau become a beacon of hope for other island nations facing similar predicaments.

For it is only by taking control of our territory and our sovereignty that we can ensure that generations more of Palauans can preserve their heritage and enjoy the natural bounty provided to us.

My friends, you are here because you care about this Earth and the plight of others. You understand that we are all connected by the same oceans. What Palau needs now, what the Pacific region needs now, what the world needs now are real partnerships that will help make Palau’s modern Bul an effective and enforceable reality that can serve as a model, as one small step that can stem the tide of marine degradation.

Please, let your interest and our partnerships ensure that my children will grow up to be good fishermen someday. Together we can make it work.

Thank you.

Tommy Remengesau