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• Secretary-General Calls for donor support for Ocean Governance

Secretary-General Calls for donor support for Ocean Governance

14 January 2005

Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon has called for international donor support for an innovative project in the Caribbean, Pacific and Indian Oceans aimed at improving the governance of the world’s seas and oceans.

It is far less widely recognised that the seas and oceans surrounding small island states are also highly vulnerable.

Speaking at a meeting on ocean governance on 14 January in Mauritius, in the wings of the International Meeting on Small Island States, the Secretary-General said,

"It is widely recognised internationally that small island states have unique vulnerabilities. It is far less widely recognised that the seas and oceans surrounding small island states are also highly vulnerable. Day by day, much human activity is increasing the negative impact on the fragile oceans that surround us and we should all be alarmed at the trends. Not only is the effective and sustainable governance of our oceans critical to the wellbeing of islanders through the resources that they provide, but oceans also play a critical role for us all in balancing the world's environment. Small island developing states need our support in the role they play as stewards of a critical world resource. The Commonwealth Secretariat is delighted to be associated with a project which is working to preserve our oceans for future generations and which does so by encouraging collaboration and co-ordinated effort across international borders."

The project seeks to improve ocean governance across the three regions in which there are Small Island Developing States, through initiatives promoting sustainable ocean management and development through strategy formulation, building institutional capacity, human resource development within governments, universities, technical and research institutions and the private sector, science and technology transfer, and increased regional and inter-regional consensus building.

The project evolved from earlier collaborative work conducted by Caricom, the Indian Ocean Commission and the Pacific Islands Forum with the support of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).