A contribution of more than USD$30m from the USA government to its “friends in the Pacific” was announced by US President Obama at the East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, on Thursday, 1 September.
In welcoming 8000 delegates from more than 180 countries at the Center for the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN 2016 Congress, Obama reminded Pacific Islands leaders to be prepared to counter the impact of climate change that “we can no longer avoid”. He stressed the important ance of investing in “stronger infrastructure, more sustainable development, and safer drinking water.”
The IUCN has held a congress every four years since it was established in 1948 and the United Sates is hosting this year’s congress for the first time.
Leaders from 20 Pacific Islands countries were also at the East-West Center for the triennial 10th Pacific Islands Conference of Leaders from 30-31 August. The theme for this year's conference with the United States was 'Sustainability in our Pacific Islands: Collective Action for our Shared Future'.
The 20 members countries of the PIC are: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Hawai’I, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Republic of Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Commonwealth of Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
The Tongan delegation to Hawaii was led by the Prime Minister, Hon. ‘Akilisi Pohiva.
While in Hawaii, President Obama traveled to Midway Atoll where he declared an expansion of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument to more than half million square miles, the largest ecological reserve on earth.
According to Obama, ancient Hawaiians believed that the area around Midway Atoll contained the boundary between this life and the next (Pulotu).
Two days later on 3 September at Hangzhu, China Presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping of China ratified the Paris Agreement. It is anticipated that the Paris Agreement will become International Law in 2017.
