Federated States of Micronesia Vice President Aren B. Palik addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Sunday and presented the FSM's priorities of peace, security, climate action, ocean governance and sustainable development.
Palik said his nation’s health system is already burdened by non-communicable diseases, which also reduce workforce productivity and strain limited resources.
Now, the country’s health is also being affected by more frequent tropical storms, heat waves and changing tidal patterns, and officials are seeing more vector-borne diseases, including dengue and Zika.
“The ocean is the heart of Micronesian identity, livelihood, and future prosperity. It faces mounting pressure from climate change, sea level rise, pollution, and unsustainable exploitation,” Palik said.
He said the FSM supports gathering and reviewing comprehensive knowledge, data and science about the marine environment before decisions are made about seabed mining. Indigenous people, residents of coastal areas and local communities in the Pacific must also be consulted, he added.
“We must address the growing threat of plastic pollution that degrades the Pacific ecosystem and communities,” he said. “Marine debris, microplastics, and associated toxic substances are accumulating on our shores, our lagoons, for example, in the state of Chuuk, where oil leaks from World War II remnants led to the emergency declaration last year, continue to threaten our livelihood.”
He said the impact of ocean pollution “imposes disproportionate cleanup and economic burdens on small island governments, whose waste management infrastructure is inadequate.”
“National efforts should be matched by strengthening international cooperation, including technical assistance, predictable finance, and collective actions across the plastic life cycle to prevent pollution at its source and protect the blue Pacific for present and future generations,” Palik said.
